New - Austin Urban Rail Studies

The City of Austin is studying alternatives for a transit investment to serve key destinations in Central Austin and provide direct connections to other regional transit systems and the overall Central Texas mobility network. 

Work continues on planning efforts to provide the community with the information it needs — about routes, technologies and costs — to make an investment decision. The Austin City Council has expressed its interest in bringing the first phase of any future Urban Rail system to Austin's voters in November 2012.

Here's where you'll find the latest resources and information about the evolving Urban Rail program. Check back for future updates.  All documents are in .PDF format unless noted.

Veiw All Studies

What do you think?  

Tweet Lecture on Social Media and Planning in ATX

Now you can see what we learned from SNAPP in a quick and easily viewed presentation and 140 tweet format.

Microparticipation in Transportation Planning

View more presentations from Jennifer Evans-Cowley.

Thanks to Dr. Jennifer Cowley who put the lecture in 140 tweets at hashtag #phdmex.  Here's the lecture from @EvansCowley

How it works. Citizen shares their thoughts on Twitter. #snappatx #phdmex

Sharing perhaps that they don't feel safe riding their bicycle in a certain area of the city. #snappatx #phdmex

Or posting to the SNAPPatx FB page that their commute down Mopac takes more than 40 minutes #snappatx #phdmex

#SNAPPatx sweeps the internet every 15 minutes searching for new microblogs and posts to the snappatx.org live feed on their website #phdmex

#snappatx and the rest of the world can see the microblogs on transportation in austin in near real-time via snappatx.com #phdmex

#snappatx captures all of the microblogs related to Austin and transportation based on keywords into a database. #phdmex

#snappatx and myself review the Ks blogs to analyze and aggregate themes and trends monthly using experimental analysis methods. #phdmex

#snappatx then sends the analysis over to the City to help support development of the ASMP and the preparation of the bond package #phdmex

public was invited to friend, follow and comment on transportation topics between April and October of 2010. #phdmex

goal was to engage public in helping to solve Austin's pressing transportation challenges using social media platforms #phdmex

#snappatx allows microblog sorting by topic, such as rail&social media type. Everyone in ATX start ridin the Metro Rail via Twitter #phdmex

Social Media Novice: See slide 17 for social media lingo. Note # @ RT http://slidesha.re/ea9SRj #phdmex

ppl say Ill admit most of the appeal of cycling is wearing nothing but multicolor underwear in public like some sort of superhero. #phdmex

SNAPPatx responds. Ex: “Did proximity to work factor into where you chose to live? Were you actively trying to reduce driving?” #phdmex

#SNAPPatx pushs to stimulate conversations: “In 5 words or less: How would you describe Austin?” Answer Over crowded and congested #phdmex

#SNAPPatx Micro-survey: Get public to take a two-minute survey to create meaningful input on important and complex issues #phdmex

Results: Spending priority for bond $34 for regionally significant projects reducing congestion but $32 for complete streets Yea us! #phdmex

Priorities iconic projects inc. boardwalk @ Lady Bird Lake, walk trail, & great street. Followed by fixing backlog for all modes. #phdmex

Microblogs incl. URLS pointing public to blog posts simply explaining key elements of plans. Such as better bus vs urban rail option #phdmex

#SNAPPatx provided links to the detailed studies that support the bond package. http://www.snappatx.org/learnlinks.html #phdmex

#SNAPPatx collected 49K microblogs which they coded based on my supervision of coding protocol. #phdmex

Coding Type: Based on 3 classes Sharing, Engaging, Analyzing see slide 28 for examples http://slidesha.re/ea9SRj #phdmex

Theme: Coded based on ASMP priorities Topic ½ based on content of tweet EX Austin’s bicycle-motorist collisions (bike is 1 car is 2) #phdmex

Sentiment Analysis: tweet is either + or - simple vers. Complicated is LIWC software looks at many attributes of sentiment #phdmex

Can analyze sentiment by mode by grouping all tweets abt a mode, Ex. Ppl r pos abt bikes but neg abt bus. Car is 50/50. #phdmex

Ppl tweet in real time & space. Ppl tweets r neg abt traffic cause theyre stuck in it. Where bike tweet is social & leisure #phdmex

Compare plan v bond. Ppl r + abt bond & specific locations. Where sense of achievement expressed abt plan #phdmex

How 2 analyze content? @ rocks ppl r talkin abt trans. When SNAPP blogs 54% get response When SNAPP cyberstalks 42% respond Woo hoo! #phdmex

Ex conv c slide 35. High level of detail down to grade separation. Ppl efficiently communicate key points http://slidesha.re/ea9SRj #phdmex

#SNAPPatx is effective in asking right questions to get concrete suggestions to address public’s problems. Here timing of bus is key #phdmex

Have 2 know cultural refs. G-string biker is famous. Tweets abt him r frequent. I agree Austin=weird biking #phdmex

Equality =no dominant users, equal part. Among users. This exp. Rocks cause 98.5% of users rep. 82% of tweets #phdmex

So, did this experiment work? How do we measure success? #SNAPPatx got people to participate, but what does that mean? #phdmex

Results exceed every past study Ex. <2%of Twitter users have >300 followers. Avg RT reaches 1,000. ATX pot. Reach 45K #phdmex

But did not infl. decisions cause reports slow, no trust in microbloggers or what they say. Fail on analysis reporting. Blows, huh? #phdmex

Look tech is evolving. I am inventing new analysis tools, and > ppl r using Avg person spends 7 hrs/mo on social media. #phdmex

R U ready for micro-participation? Planners need training on how to microblog for engagement. They need more analytical tools. #phdmex

Slide Show About SNAPP

Challenging Myths of Cities and Suburbs

There were two great items which together do a great job of contrasting and challenging our myths about Cities and Suburbs.


The first is Edward Glaeser on Jon Stewart talking about the Triumph of the City

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Edward Glaeser
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

The second is William Wimsatt's Opinion on "The Truth about Suburbia"
Austin American Statesmen Published: 6:42 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011
Today, the suburbs aren't what they used to be. Since more than 50 percent of Americans live in them, suburbs have become more like cities, while cities have become more like suburbs, complete with gated communities and big-box stores. For better or worse, the suburbs reflect America, so let's dispense with a few misunderstandings.
Full Story

Social media and the end of lame demographic profiles

Johanna Blakey, Norman Lear Center USC, challenges the Old Media use of demographics.


Social media is requiring media industries and others to rethink demographic profiles and begin to consider how social media helps people to come together based on shared interests.


This is a great talk about why demographics don't matter and it will present interesting challenges for how decision makers and planners view/use of social media too.  

15 Minutes by Transit

A new interactive map lets you see what you can get to within 15 minutes by transit.  Great for house shopping, someone coming to town for SxSW, and much more.

Just click the link.  Place the flag on the map and viola a highlighted area of travel within 15 minutes.

Show me the Map.

Artist Opportunity: Cap Metro Adopt a Stop

austinartblogs.com

10 February 2011 

Artist Kris Swift

Call for Artists.  This is your chance Austin Arists to create a public artwork and make an impression on the community at large.  

The Adopt-a-Stop program is a partnership between the community and Capital Metro which seeks to ensure that riders have an enjoyable experience.  Adopting a Stop is a way artists can add a unique touch to the City of Austin by incorporating their art into a Cap Metro Bus Stop through either  an individual or collective effort.     Capital Metro welcomes creativity and art in transit. Capital Metro will review projects prior to development. If there is enough space available, an organization wishing to landscape a stop must submit a landscaping plan and sketch of the proposed project for Capital Metro’s approval. Cost for development, installation, and care is the organization’s responsibility.

Glaeser: The 'Triumph Of the City' May Be Greener

Living in cities is greener, because it "uses less carbon and of course less driving."  Check out this provocative thinker about urban economics.

Austin Makes US News and Worlds 10 Best Cities for Public Transportation

Austin ties with Denver for 9th place.  All cities on the list, except Austin and Honolulu, have a long standing commitment to both rail and bus services.

"President Obama is calling for $8 billion to go towards high-speed rail, as part of a six-year, $53-billion plan. The administration is hoping that the program will create jobs and boost American competitiveness in the long run. But on a smaller scale, an effective public transportation system can simply increase the quality of life in a city. By transporting people to work, school, local attractions, and healthcare facilities, public transit can reach into nearly every area of city life, from public health to tourism. Statistics show that public transit has experienced rapid growth, providing economic benefits to individuals and municipalities alike."

For the list of cities and Full Story

By DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN

Posted: February 8, 2011

SNAPP Analysis of Comments and More

As part of the SNAPPatx experiment we collected 50,000 comments from Tweeter, Facebook, and blog RSS feeds related to Austin and transportation.  Some of these comments have been SNAPP conversations others are simply what people are thinking about.  Now you can see both an aggregate and month by month summary analysis of these comments.

• We found interesting differences between what people want to talk about and what the media wants to talk about.  
• We identified themes on topics and sentiment for peoples' comments.

We have also posted an independent evaluation by Dr. Jennifer Cowley, a national expert on social media and planning, and survey results from participants as well as decision makers on their perceptions of SNAPP.

SNAPP analysis and more

A Better Way to Measure Walkability

When we posted links to Walk Score, there as a great deal of conversation about problems with scores.  So you all may be delighted by a recent Sightline Daily posting.

If you're not familiar with Walk Score, you should be.  It's become the de facto standard for measuring neighborhood walkability in the US, with both real estate marketers andserious researchers using neighborhood Walk Scores as a gauge of pedestrian friendly municipal design and zoning.

But now, one of the smartest web apps out there is getting even smarter.  The good folks behind Walk Score are beta-testing a brand new algorithm -- they call it "Street Smart Walk Score" -- that takes their pedestrian-friendliness rankings to a whole new level. 

Full Article