Alex Gilliam

Recent Actions

• Commented on The Weekly What If: What If We Turn Austin Into A Continuous Playground And Outdoor Gym?
  Submitted via facebook by K.- Oh my god...I love it...it is a fantastic idea...and just a side note- I take my community based clients to playgrounds. I spend at least 4-5 hours a week on slides, hanging upside down, climbing,...
• Posted The Weekly What If: What If We Turn Austin Into A Continuous Playground And Outdoor Gym? to Austinist
  Install recumbent bicycle benches at CAP Metro Bus stops? Outdoor stair climbers on Congress Ave.? In-ground trampolines on Guadalupe? Criss-crossing balance beams on 2nd Street? Concrete ping pong tables at intersections throughout town? Climbing boulders on East 5th Street? Let's face it, many of you would consider me quite out of my mind if I were to suggest that we turn Austin into one big playground, a landscape of physical challenges and gleeful adventures by installing outdoor stair climbing machines, 30 foot wide slides, rock climbing boulders and in-ground trampolines at our bus stops, on our sidewalks and in the unused spaces of our overly wide streets. The diagnosis of insanity would surely be cemented were I to claim that by creating a streetscape that is more challenging to traverse we will lure children away from the television, increase their mobility, create a generally healthier Austin and decrease our community health care costs.
• Posted The Weekly What If: What If You Helped Build A Healthier Austin? (Special Event Tonight) to Austinist
  Building A Healthier Austin- Tonight! Time: 7.00-9.00 pm Location: The Independent- 501 Studios @ East 5th and Brushy. Extra's: It's free and open to the public. Local, organic appetizers will be kindly offered by East Side Showroom and free beer will also be provided. The design of our public spaces, the layout of our streets, the distribution and condition of our schools and the availability of affordable housing impact the well-being and economic health of all Austinites? Really? Our urban environment is more than a visual backdrop for our lives— it creates opportunities for where and how we work, learn, gather, commute, eat, and play. By promoting opportunities for healthy everyday living our community can ultimately impact the greater well-being of Austin. Join us tonight at 7.00 pm for a panel discussion that will feature short presentations of visions for a healthier urban future for Austin from six leaders in the community on critical issues such as food access and community agriculture, affordable housing, youth environmental education, alternative transportation, playgrounds and urban connectivity, and access to health care. These presentations will be followed by a discussion of how to implement these visions for a healthy future, and how citizens can advocate and support their visions by getting involved in Austin's current comprehensive planning process.
• Commented on The Weekly What If?: What if children became our judges, our litmus test for whether we’ve done a good job of designing our streets and cities?
  Submitted via email from Ragna in Germany!! Thanks Ragna, you rock.- ----- i just read your blog and i was just lately discussing a very similar topic with tobi. and we talked about how we spent our childhood and compared...
• Commented on The Weekly What If?: What if children became our judges, our litmus test for whether we’ve done a good job of designing our streets and cities?
  Re-posted from an email- (Your article) Brought back fond memories of my childhood in canada. I'm the product of a completely hands off approach to parenting where my parents set very few boundaries and relied on us learning to make...