Huntsville city leaders near completion of plans to rebuild Holmes Avenue
The pedestrian and bike path improvements along the road connecting the university to downtown will begin construction in 2027. Disappointing construction won’t even begin for another year and won’t be complete until 2030. Funding was first secured in 2024.

Can American cities grow AND stay affordable?
Huntsville was featured on NPR as an example of a growing city with very affordable housing. Its true. Huntsville is growing rapidly while housing and rent costs for the past 5 years have been flat or even declining. A big part of this is due to the explosive growth of housing inventory. When housing inventory grows with the population, housing costs remain stable.

Real estate developer announces plans for music venue, retail and new location for the Camp in subdistrict at MidCity
Midcity will continue to see growth and mixed-use densification. Midcity is one of my favorite developments in the city. Its becoming a very livable and walkable area. Once a BRT line is connected to midcity, there will be a strong argument for being able to live car-free there.

New housing community in Huntsville takes another step forward
This is the “Westmoore Landing” community, presumably name as such due to being west of the small town “Mooresville”. This area was annexed by Huntsville only very recently and borders Decatur. In fact, its more than 3 times closer to downtown Decatur than downtown Huntsville, being 8km (5 miles) to downtown Decatur and 30km (18 miles) to downtown Huntsville.

Despite being so far away from the downtown, or much other development, Westmoore Landing is seeking to be a mix-use development with walkability as a primary focus. Below are images from the city documents

To showcase the priority given to walkability, here is a quote from the 182 page document

Pedestrian sheds are integral to creating vibrant, walkable communities where residents and visitors can easily access essential services and public spaces. By focusing on a compact, accessible area, these spaces promote walking as a primary mode of transportation, encouraging a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle. They foster an environment where daily needs, like shops, schools, and local services, as well as squares, greens, parks, and paseos, are all within a short, 5-minute walk (1/4 mile), reducing the dependence on cars. This design approach enhances street life, promotes local businesses, and contributes to a safer, more connected community. Prioritizing pedestrian- friendly infrastructure not only improves mobility but also creates a more enjoyable and inclusive urban experience.

I’m happy to see the city taking strong focus on creating walkable neighborhoods. Its much better than the typical suburban sprawl. With local shops, there will be less traffic on the roads.

I do question the location though. This land was annexed specifically for the creation of this neighborhood, but Huntsville already has huge swathes of empty land. Presumably this neighborhood was created to be close to the manufacturing and warehouse jobs located in west Huntsville, but most of those jobs are located on the north side of 565. Wouldn’t you want to build the community north of 565, so nearby workers can use local roads to get to work, rather than getting on 565 and adding more traffic there?

I’m also disappointed that nowhere in the 182 page document is there any mention of public transit. A bus or shuttle route between Westmoore and the nearby job centers would be a no-brainer.

With no bus route, you may be able to live car-lite, but never car free. Mixed-use density is good, but when you still need a car to do most tasks, it just makes me ask “whats the point?”.

While I’m happy to see more mixed-use development, I’m a little disappointed by its lack of connectivity to the rest of the city. While it could be better, its certainly a much better development than the endless sprawl happening south of Town Madison.