. . . within walking distance.

One of the stated goals of Mueller is to provide a very walkable community, where people feel safe as pedestrians, where they have purposeful destinations, and such destinations within walking distance.

Let's zoom in on that big purple blob I drew on the Austin Map. Take a look at the Illustrative Plan below. Interstate 35, which bridges Dallas and San Antonio, can be seen clipping the upper left corner. Grouped near it in red is a regional retail center, hosting national chains like Old Navy, Best Buy, and Starbucks. Its proximity near that heavy traffic expects most patrons to enter directly from their cars from a parking lot in front.
But despite the allure of some of those stores, the really good stuff lies to the southeast. That's where the Town Center and the Neighborhoods are located, places where people can walk along an avenue, visiting local shops and stores of unique character, products, and services. Mueller has not yet announced who will be a part of the Town Center (shown as red and brown near the middle), but we're hoping for Austin favorites like Amy's Ice Cream, Dan's Hamburger's, Mozart's, and the Alamo Draft House.

We will be living in one of the four Neighborhoods, shown primarily in yellow, a mixture of rowhouses, yardhouses (the "normal" kind), and Mueller Houses, which are multi-family buildings made to look like unified mansions. More on the Neighborhoods in a later post.

As you can see from the legend above, many areas are labeled "Mixed Use." This means that businesses, residences, recreation, shopping, and working are encouraged to coexist in the same area, even the same life. The result, when well designed, turns streets into friendly places, places where people actually want to hang out.
And, of course, this "bleeding together" of functions shortens the distance between home and destination, potentially making visits to the grocery store or any other location a walkable event. See the image below to see the location of the four neighborhoods, the town center, and the two employment centers, listed as "quadrants."