Livability is the principal theme that governs the City’s planning processes for land use, transportation and economic growth. Managing physical growth and preserving the environment are key components of the Council’s vision for Austin.

The oldest and most fundamental building block of our long-range planning is the Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan (“Austin Tomorrow”) which was adopted in 1979 as a planning tool to guide development. The plan itself is required by the City Charter, which specifies that one responsibility of the Planning Commission is to “make and amend a master plan for the physical development of the city.”

Aspects of the plan are timeless. For example, the first goal of the plan is to “assure that the development of the urban environment is compatible with the unique natural and constructed features of the Austin area. The second goal is to “protect and improve the desirable image and character of neighborhoods and districts.” Clearly these two goals remain relevant in our community today. A few elements of the plan are dated. For example, Austin Tomorrow states that most new residential construction would be low density single family units, which is not in line with the discussions of high-density building that are common today. However, the City Council has the flexibility, in adopting neighborhood plans, to amend elements of the comprehensive plan that no longer reflect our policy strategies and priorities, and has done so on many occasions.

Austin Tomorrow was clearly intended to be implemented and ultimately, updated by a diverse set of specific plans and policies that would change over time. The City Charter also recognized this phenomenon, "The Council may also adopt by ordinance other elements as are necessary or desirable to establish and implement policies for growth, development and beautification within the city, its extraterritorial jurisdiction, or for geographic portions thereof, including neighborhood, community or area wide plans."

The plan had to be altered slightly to put it on the website. Some of the pages were reformatted, and some decorative pictures were deleted in order to make the document smaller. As a result, some of the page numbers are different from the original printed document. None of the wording has been altered. If you would like to see the original printing of the plan, please visit your local library.

• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan front cover to page 4
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 5-19
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 20-30
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 31_49
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 51-76
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 77-100
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 101_118
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 119_129
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 131-133
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 135-141
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 144-151
• Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan pages 152-176

There are three (3) maps that are included in this plan. They are very large files, and must be downloaded from the City's ftp site.

1975 Land Use Map
Growth Areas Map
Environmental Development Limitations Map