Keep Wimberley Weirder

Thank goodness, this photo was NOT taken in Wimberley. But it was taken in Kyle, just a few short miles away. Seems the steady growth of the Austin suburbs is getting frighteningly close to our beloved and quirky small town.

"Keep Wimberley Weirder" is a play on the "Keep Austin Weird" movement. KWW's aim is to help ensure that mass-market, cookie-cutter development does not happen in Wimberley. Development like this stunning example of crap housing.

I have nothing against modest housing. What makes me sad and even sick is to see development done in ignorance. Ignorance of the endless possibilities of designing with nature rather than obliterating it, ignorance of the delight that COULD have been achieved for the same money if only someone had tried harder. So, even if you are a right-winger who is against government control over what individuals or developers can do with their own property, take a second look at this photo. Ask yourself why we can't do better. Keep this crap out of Wimberley, and every other town for that matter. We can all take action by not buying crap. Crap housing, crap anything.

I'm going to take more direct action someday, and the more stuff like this I see, the sooner it will be. I'm going to develop some modest housing that is not crap, somewhere between five and fifty years from now. Need to think of a really clever name for my company like "No Crap Housing". I have no idea of the details or how I'll make it happen, but I'll work hard to ensure that it looks as little like this development as possible. Thought I should set my intention now and manifest it!

Fiona Apple was not talking about housing in these lyrics to her song "Please Please Please", but I think it applies:

Give us something familiar
Something similar
To what we know already
That will keep us steady
Steady
Steady going nowhere