AUSTIN
It’s a 3 1/2-mile walk between Gene Burd’s apartment near Barton
Springs Road and his office on the University
of Texas campus, a walk that he
makes twice a day. He’s easy to spot on downtown streets, namely because Burd
hoofs his daily commute at a brisk pace that belies his 76 years.
A compactly built man with thinning white hair, Burd has
walked the same route with only slight variations since he started teaching
journalism at UT in 1972. He eschews cars, believing they have a negative
effect on the urban environment. He walks to the doctor, to the grocery store
and to work. He never uses elevators because “you meet a better class of
people” on staircases, he says.
A reporter since 1953 and teacher since 1959, Burd has a
gentle, high-pitched voice and often holds his hand over his mouth when he
talks, as if telling a secret. His office is so full of papers and books
stacked to the ceiling that it’s nearly impossible to step inside.
He’s also famously frugal so much so that in 2004, he used
more than $1 million of his own money, most of it just from saving up his
paychecks and investments, to establish the Urban Communication Foundation,
which gives financial awards to journalists and researchers who specialize in
city planning, architecture, zoning, environmental issues and other urban
topics. He has since given the foundation $25,000 for operational costs.
This from a man known as one of the lowest-paid tenured
professors in his department.
While Burd expects that many people think of him as
“that crazy old fart who walks everywhere,” his daily walk gives him
a chance to observe his city as it grows and changes.
