[00:00:02]
WAKE EVERYBODY UP OVER, OVER IN OUR IT SECTION.
ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE A QUORUM AND WE HAVE ONE VOTING MEMBER ONLINE.
THAT'S GONNA BECOME IMPORTANT HERE IN A, A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA LOSE THIS FINE COMMISSIONER TO ANOTHER MEETING.
SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
[CALL TO ORDER]
UH, WELCOME TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION'S OCTOBER 18TH, 2023 MEETING.IT IS WHAT TIME? 5:31 PM AND WE ARE IN ORDER.
UH, THE FIRST ITEM IS TO CALL THE BOARD, UH, OR WOULD YOU BE KIND ENOUGH TO CALL ROLE FOR ME? AND IF THERE ARE ANY VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT, UH, ON THE JUMBOTRON OR ON THE JUMBOTRON, UH, ELECTRONIC.
IF YOU COULD, IF YOU COULD SHOW YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACE FOR A LITTLE BIT, UM, AS WE VOTE, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
THAT'S A HEALTHY REMINDER THOUGH, THAT WE NEED TO HAVE COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE, UH, ATTENDING ONLINE AT ALL TIMES.
YOU MUST KEEP YOUR CAMERAS ON TO BE COUNTED AND PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER? HERE.
THAT WAS, UH, AND ONE VACANCY.
DO WE HAVE ANY EXCUSED ABSENCES TODAY? NONE.
UH, THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
DO WE HAVE ANYBODY FROM THE PUBLIC WHO'S REGISTERED TO SPEAK? WE DO NOT.
I'M DELIGHTED TO SAY THAT WE HAVE A VERY BUSY AGENDA TODAY AND, AND WE HAVE A QUORUM AND, UH, WE HAVE OUR PRESENTEES AND ATTENDANCE.
UH, THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Downtown Commission September 20, 2023 meeting]
HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE MINUTES? ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
UM, BEFORE WE GET GOING ON DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS, I'D LIKE CHRISTINE TO COME UP AND ADDRESS.
WE'VE HAD CHANGES TO THE FORMATTING OVER THE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
UH, AND THOSE ARE DIRECTIVES COME FROM THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
UH, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME CONFUSION OVER THE CHANGE, UH, TO OUR FORMAT.
AND CHRISTINE, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND JUST GIVING US A COUPLE OF MINUTES, UH, ON WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND IT IS, WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE CONFUSION AND WE DIDN'T JUST, WE AREN'T JUST CONFUSING YOU, WE'RE ALSO CONFUSING THE PUBLIC IN HOW WE'RE POSTING STUFF.
AND I THINK WHAT THE, WHAT THE CLERK'S OFFICE IS TRYING TO DO IN MUCH GREATER STRICT SCRUTINY IS, UH, TEXAS OPEN MEETING ACT COMPLIANCE AND THE OVERALL ARCHING CHANGES THAT UNDERPIN HOW WE ARE TRYING TO POSE DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS, AS WELL AS, UH, BRIEFINGS FROM OTHER COMMISSIONERS, WHICH HAVE BEEN THE, UH, UH, I THINK THE SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES, AT LEAST IN THIS AGENDA.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE KEEP LEARNING EVERY SINGLE MONTH.
SO I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE HAVE A A A A FULL UNDERSTANDING, AS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS FOR OUR UNDERSTANDING WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE, IS THAT WE NEED TO INDICATE WHENEVER WE POST WHAT WITH AS MUCH SPECIFICITY AS POSSIBLE, WHAT ACTION THE COMMISSION MIGHT TAKE AT ANY GIVEN COMMISSION MEETINGS.
[00:05:01]
OF THE MATTER IS HOW WILL YOU KNOW WHAT RECOMMENDATION YOU MIGHT MAKE WITHOUT HAVING A PRESENTATION AND KNOWING THE INFORMATION? AND THAT'S THE CHALLENGE.AND SO WHAT WE, WHAT WE DID, AND, UM, PROBABLY NOT AS SUCCESSFULLY AS STAFF COULD DO IT, IS THAT GIVEN TO GIVE THE COMMISSION LATITUDE TO ACTUALLY, ONCE, UH, A PRESENTATION THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE HEARING TODAY IS POSTED TO INDICATE TO THE PUBLIC THAT Y'ALL MIGHT BE TAKING ACTION.
AND THERE'S NO RECOMMENDATION THAT'S BEEN AUTHORED AS BACKUP.
'CAUSE YOU'RE JUST HEARING THE INFORMATION.
SO I, I DO WANT TO SAY ON EACH OF THESE, IT SAYS, TAKE ACTION ON A RECOMMENDATION.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION.
AND YOU MIGHT NOT EVEN THINK IT WISE, BUT WE HAD TO SIGNAL, OR WE CHOSE TO SIGNAL WITH THIS LANGUAGE THAT THE COMMISSION MIGHT CHOOSE TO.
AND THAT DOESN'T HAVE, I MEAN, THAT'S STILL NOT GIVING THE ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL OR YOU WILL NOT.
AND IT, AND IT, IT IS CONFUSING LANGUAGE.
SO I WILL SAY I AP WE APOLOGIZE, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMMODATE TOMA REQUIREMENTS WITH THE CLERKS.
ONE OTHER THING JUST TO, AND I SEE, UH, THE HAND OF COMMISSIONER WEAVER, AND I THOUGHT I SAW COMMISSIONER MOOC'S HAND UP, BUT I, BUT I, BUT I DO WANNA SAY FOR THE REPORT OUTS FOR THOSE COMMISSIONERS WHO, UH, SIT ON ANOTHER, UH, COMMISSION AGAIN, AS PART OF THE ISSUE IS WE, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO INDICATE TO THE PUBLIC WHAT YOU'RE GONNA REPORT OUT ON.
SO FOR THIS, UH, AGENDA, WE, WE ARE ASSUMING YOU'RE GONNA REPORT OUT ON YOUR LAST, ON WHATEVER HAPPENED AT YOUR LAST COMMISSION.
GOOD, BAD, RIGHT OR WRONG, THAT'S WHAT WE POSTED FOR BACKUP.
BUT JUST GOING FORWARD, IF THAT IS NOT THE PLAN IS, IF THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU WOULD SEEK TO WANT TO REPORT OUT ON AT THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING AND YOU WANNA REPORT OUT ON SOMETHING ELSE, PLEASE, WE, WE NEED TO KNOW, UH, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THAT LANGUAGE IN THERE.
OTHER, OR IF YOU DON'T WANNA REPORT OUT ON ANYTHING, LIKE IF YOUR COMMISSION DIDN'T HAPPEN, LIKE IF YOUR COMMISSION MEETING DIDN'T HAPPEN BETWEEN THIS MEETING AND THE NEXT TIME WE MEET, THEN WE WOULD JUST NOT HAVE YOU LISTED, NOT HAVE THAT COMMISSION LISTED OUT.
SO I KNOW THIS IS CONFUSING, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON IT.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR GRACE AND I APPRECIATE THE GRACE FROM THE PUBLIC.
DO WE HAVE ANYBODY FROM THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT WHO MIGHT BE HERE THAT MIGHT WANNA ADDRESS TOMA? THERE IS NO ONE.
BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS BACK AND WORK WITH THE CLERK AND THE LAW OFFICE, UH, TO, TO WORK THIS OUT.
AS I SAW PEOPLE FILTERING IN, I THOUGHT THERE MIGHT BE SOMEBODY HERE ON THAT SUBJECT.
SO, UH, AT ANY RATE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AGAIN TO, UM, TO UNDERSCORE THE COMMISSION MEMBERS, BECAUSE THE LA OF THE POSTING LANGUAGE, WE ARE NOT REQUIRED TO TAKE ANY ACTION.
IT'S JUST THERE AS A PLACEHOLDER.
AND I SUSPECT THAT WE'LL SEE CHANGES IN THE MONTH, MONTHS TO COME.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? YES.
UH, THANK YOU CHRISTINE FOR THE UPDATE.
UM, AND THIS IS A NUANCED QUESTION.
I THINK IN THE PAST I'VE SEEN THE LANGUAGE USED DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION, UM, AS OPPOSED TO THE CURRENT LANGUAGE, WHICH IS APPROVE IS ARE WE, ARE WE TRENDING TOWARD APPROVE NOW INSTEAD OF, OF DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION? WE TRIED TO, WE TRIED TO PASS THAT LANGUAGE THROUGH AND IT DID NOT PASS MUSTER.
OKAY, NOW THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE JUST CAN'T KEEP RUNNING AT THE SAME WALL.
AND EVENTUALLY THAT WALL'S GONNA GONNA COME DOWN.
SO, OKAY, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK ON IT.
THE LANGUAGE THERE IS NOT, UH, OPTIMAL OR IDEA BECAUSE IT SIGNALS THAT THE COMMISSION MIGHT AND YOU JUST MIGHT NOT.
SO, UM, IF THERE, IF THERE IS, UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, IF THERE IS AN EARLY INDICATION THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA TAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON A THING IN THE FUTURE, WE CAN, WE CAN USE THAT AS THE THING.
UH, AGAIN, IT'S NOT IDEAL, BUT, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA KEEP RUNNING AT THIS.
WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA KEEP, KEEP WORKING AT IT.
SO ONE OF THE TAKEAWAYS IS IF YOU LEAVE TODAY'S MEETING WITH A RESOLUTION THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA BRING FORWARD, I WOULD CERTAINLY THINK
[00:10:01]
ABOUT THAT AND PUT THAT INTO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS SO WE CAN HAVE A PLACEHOLDER ON THE NEXT MEETING'S AGENDA.ONE LAST THING I I WILL SAY IS THAT, UM, AARON, WHO'S DOING A FANTASTIC JOB TRYING TO LIAISE ALL THIS, TALKED WITH EACH ONE OF THE STAFF CITY STAFF MEMBERS, AND NO ONE INDICATED THAT THEY NEEDED SOMETHING FROM THE COMMISSION WITH REGARDS TO ACTION IF, IF THAT IS HELPFUL.
THANK YOU CHAIR FOR YOUR TIME.
I KNOW WE'RE ALL EQUAL, EAGER TO STAY IN, UH, THE GOOD GRACES OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
AREN'T WE NOT NOD COLLECTIVELY.
[2. Approve the Downtown Commission 2023 meeting schedule.]
DISCUSSION IS TO APPROVE THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION 20 23 24 MEETING SCHEDULE.I BELIEVE IT'S NOT, IT'S POSTED AS THE 2023 MEETING SCHEDULE, BUT I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE FOR 2024.
UM, SINCE, CAN WE MOVE ON THAT ITEM
UM, IT, IT SHOULD BE THE 2024 MEETING SCHEDULE.
UH, DO YOU HAVE THAT TO PRESENT TO US? I THINK YOU'LL NOTE THAT THE GREEN DATES ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED FOR FUTURE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETINGS.
UM, IN THIS YEAR, FOR INSTANCE, UM, WE ARE NOT HAVING, UM, OUR DECEMBER MEETING BECAUSE IT BUTTS UP TO HOLIDAY WEEK.
AND, AND WE DON'T WANT TO CREATE A BURDEN FOR STAFF OR FOLKS WHO MIGHT COME TO SEE THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
UM, AND, UH, SO WE'RE NOT HAVING A DECEMBER MEETING FOR THE 2024 PROPOSED DOWNTOWN COMMISSION DATES.
WE DO HAVE A DECEMBER MEETING, UH, THERE, I DON'T SEE ANY REASON NOT TO, NOT TO APPROVE IT WITH THE DECEMBER MEETING AS A PLACEHOLDER, WHETHER A FUTURE, UH, COMMISSION DECIDES THEY WANT TO HAVE THAT MEETING OR NOT.
I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE 2024 SCHEDULE.
UH, THE NEXT ITEM IS TO, UH, APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL
[3. Approve a recommendation to Council regarding the Downtown Resiliency Plan. Presentation by of the City of Austin Management Services Office) Laura Patiño]
REGARDING THE DOWNTOWN RESILIENCY PLAN.UH, WE HAVE LAURA PATINO HERE TO PRESENT TODAY, AS FOR THEIR, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME OKAY? GREAT.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE TODAY.
MY NAME IS LAURA PATINO, AND I'M THE CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, DOES THIS WORK OKAY, GREAT.
UM, SO TODAY I'LL BE GIVING YOU A PRESENTATION OF, UH, HOW WE LOOK AT RESILIENCE IN AUSTIN, HOW WE'RE DEFINING RESILIENCE IN AUSTIN, UM, AND REALLY THE NEXT STEPS INTO HOW WE'RE, UH, DEVELOPING THE COMPREHENSIVE RESILIENCE STRATEGY.
UM, WE'LL ALSO GO THROUGH AN OVERVIEW OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE, UM, AND I'LL CONCLUDE WITH THE IMMEDIATE NEXT STEPS IN TERMS OF WHAT, UH, WE'LL BE MOVING FORWARD IN OUR PLANNING EFFORTS.
UM, SO JUST AS A BRIEF, UH, RECAP, UM, THE POSITION OF CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER WAS INITIATED THROUGH A RESOLUTION, UM, THAT DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER IN MAY OF 2020 TO CREATE A RESILIENCE OFFICE AND BRING ON A CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER TO REALLY LOOK AT HOW TO ADDRESS DIFFERENT RISKS AND CHALLENGES THAT WE WERE FACING AS A CITY.
UM, ALONG WITH THAT, UH, THE RESOLUTION REQUESTED THAT THE CITY DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AN COMPREHENSIVE EQUITABLE RESILIENCE PLAN AND DEVELOP SPECIFIC PILOT PROGRAMS FOR IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION.
ALONG WITH THAT, IT ALSO MENTIONED, UM, THE NECESSITY TO FORMALIZE PARTNERSHIPS BOTH AT A GLOBAL LEVEL AS WELL AS AT A REGIONAL AND LOCAL LEVEL WITH AUSTIN'S BUSINESS, PHILANTHROPIC AND, UM, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK ABOUT, UH, LOOK AND TALK ABOUT RESILIENCE, UM, THE FIRST THING THAT WE REALLY, UH, CONSIDER IS HOW WE DEFINE IT IN CITIES AND HOW WE DEFINE IT SPECIFICALLY IN AUSTIN.
AND WE START REALLY BY TALKING ABOUT HOW, UM, TO BUILD RESILIENCE, IT REALLY REQUIRES CITIES, UH, TO ADDRESS BOTH SHOCKS AND STRESSES
[00:15:01]
IN AN INTEGRATED WAY.AND SO SHOCKS ARE REALLY THE MAJOR DISRUPTIONS, THE NATURAL DISASTERS AND MI MANMADE DISASTERS TO REALLY IMPACT, UM, AND CREATE A MAJOR DISRUPTION IN THE CITY IN THE WAY THAT WE WORK AND IN THE WAY THAT WE FUNCTION.
AND STRESSORS ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE REALLY THE CHRONIC, UH, CHALLENGES, THE VULNERABILITIES THAT AFFECT OUR COMMUNITIES ON THE DAY-TO-DAY.
SO, SETTING SOME EXAMPLES OF SHOCKS OF MAJOR SHOCKS ARE HERE ON THE SLIDE.
AND THESE COULD BE FIRE WILDFIRE, A HEAT WAVE INFRASTRUCTURE FAILURE, UM, A POWER OUTAGE, RAINFALL, FLOODING, UM, AND STORM SURGE, FOR EXAMPLE.
SOME STRESSES ARE THE OVER, UH, THE OVERARCHING LIKE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, UM, CRIME AND VIOLENCE, LACK OF SOCIAL COHESION, POVERTY AND INEQUALITY.
AS YOU CAN SEE, A LOT OF THESE ARE AS EXAMPLES THAT ARE, UH, GIVEN GLOBALLY, UM, ALSO RELATE TO AUSTIN AND TO OUR CITY.
SO WHAT DOES THAT SPECIFICALLY MEAN FOR AUSTIN? AND WHAT ARE THE SHOCKS AND STRESSORS THAT WE EXPERIENCE? EVERY CITY THAT HAS GONE THROUGH A RESILIENCE PLANNING PROCESS REALLY STARTS BY DEVELOPING A VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS, AND THAT REALLY IS, UH, A WAY TO CATEGORIZE THE DIFFERENT SHOCKS AND DIFFERENT STRESSES THAT WE EXPERIENCE AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND THEM.
AND SO IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THAT, WE LOOKED AT THE HISTORY OF OUR, UH, OF OUR CITY AND THE GROWTH IN POPULATION.
AND ALONG WITH THAT, WE STARTED MAPPING, UH, REALLY THE MAJOR SHOCKS AND THE MAJOR STRESSES THAT, THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED.
SO I KNOW THAT IT'S HARD TO SEE ON THE SLIDE, BUT ONE OF THE KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS GRAPHIC IS THAT AS WE SEE A GROWTH IN POPULATION IN OUR CITY, WE'RE ALSO SEEING MORE FREQUENT SHOCKS, AND WE'RE ALSO SEEING THE UNDERLYING IMPACTS OF THOSE STRESSORS THAT ARE COMPOUNDING AND EXACERBATING, UH, THE CHALLENGES THAT OUR COMMUNITIES FACE.
SO WITH ALL OF THAT INITIAL ANALYSIS, UH, WE WORK WITH DIFFERENT, UH, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
WE HAVE A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
WE WORK WITH INTERNAL, UH, CITY DEPARTMENTS AS WELL AS OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO REALLY CREATE THE MISSION OF THIS NEW RESILIENCE OFFICE.
AND THAT MISSION IS TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF ALL AUSTINITES COMMUNITIES, INSTITUTIONS, BUSINESSES, AND SYSTEMS WITHIN OUR CITY TO PREPARE FOR WITHSTAND, ADAPT AND THRIVE NO MATTER WHAT KINDS OF STRESSES, WHICH ARE THE SLOW MOVING DISASTERS.
AND NO MATTER WHAT KINDS OF SHOCKS, WHICH ARE THE MAJOR DISASTERS, THREATEN OUR WAY OF LIFE AND EXACERBATE THESE INEQUITIES.
UM, SO WE STARTED BY LOOKING AT OVER 12 DIFFERENT PLANS AND REVIEWED AND ANALYZED, UH, THEIR PRIORITIES AND, AND MAPPED OUT HOW THEY MESH MENTIONED SHOCKS AND STRESSES.
AND SOME OF THE EXAMPLES OF THE PLANS THAT ARE ANALYZED WERE IMAGINE AUSTIN, THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS DOCUMENT, THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, THE HOUSING BLUEPRINT, UM, AND SO FORTH.
UM, WE ALSO LEVERAGED THE WORK OF ALL OF THESE PLANS THAT HAD ENGAGED OVER 21,000 AUSTINITES.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS IN THE CREATION OF THE OFFICE AND STARTING, UM, THE RESILIENCE OFFICE AND A RESILIENCE PLAN IS THAT WE WEREN'T STARTING FROM SCRATCH AS ALL OF THESE PLANS ALREADY WERE ADDRESSING A SPECIFIC SHOCK, A SPECIFIC CHALLENGE, OR A SPECIFIC STRESSOR THAT WE WERE FACING.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE WANTED TO HONOR THE WORK THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN SET IN PLACE AND LEVERAGE AND UPLIFT THAT.
UM, AND WE DID THAT WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS WELL.
UM, AND WE ALSO LEVERAGED THE WORK OF 113 CITY DOCUMENTS THAT CATALOG AND CATALOG THEM FOR THEIR INCLUSION AND RELATION TO AUSTIN'S RESILIENCE.
SO HERE ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS AND SOME OF THE KEY DATA POINTS, AND I'M NOT GONNA LIST THEM ALL, UM, BUT THEY HELP REALLY PROVIDE A CONTEXT IN TERMS OF HOW WE DESCRIBE RESILIENCE IN AUSTIN.
WE KNOW THAT ABOUT 155 NEW RESIDENTS MOVED TO AUSTIN, UM, COME TO THE AUSTIN METRO AREA PER DAY.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN EAST AUSTIN TEND TO FACE GREATER SOCIAL VULNERABILITIES THAT MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO RECOVER FROM SHOCKS AND STRESSES.
UM, BY THE END OF THE CENTURY, AUSTIN IS EXPER IS EXPECTED TO EXPERIENCE OVER 60 DAYS OR MORE OF TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING 100 DEGREES PER YEAR.
UM, AND OVER 49% OF AUSTIN STRUCTURES ARE IN THE WILDLAND
[00:20:01]
URBAN WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE AND FACE A HIGHER WILDFIRE RISK.UM, THERE'S ALSO A GREAT, UH, LIFE EXPECTANCY DISPARITY OF UP TO 20 YEARS BETWEEN WEST AND EAST AUSTIN.
AND, UM, WE ARE LOSING MORE LAND, UM, UH, WHICH IS INCREASING OUR FOOD INSECURITY.
WE'RE LOSING MORE FARMLAND, SO IT IS INCREASING OUR FOOD INSECURITY IN THE REGION.
SOME OTHER, UM, KEY, UH, DATA THAT HELP DEPICT OUR, OUR, OUR STATE IS THE FACT THAT 58 OF AUSTIN'S NEIGHBOR 200 NEIGHBORHOODS ARE VULNERABLE FOR DISPLACEMENT.
UM, IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, AUSTIN HAS HAD FOUR MAJOR FLOODS, AND THIS FREQUENCY IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
UH, WE'VE FACED THE NUMBER OF SHOCKS SINCE 2008 ALONE.
UM, AND THESE SHOCKS HAVE IMPACTED OUR PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROVISION OF CITY SERVICES RESULTING IN DISRUPTION TO OUR WATER SERVICES AS WELL AS TO POWER.
UM, AND WE ALSO SEE SOME OF THE, UM, UH, DIFFERENCES THAT AUSTINITES EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF THEIR EDUCATION ATTAINMENT AS WELL AS THEIR ECONOMIC MOBILITY.
SO WHAT DO WE DO WITH ALL OF THAT INFORMATION AND HOW DO WE PIECE IT ALL TOGETHER? WE HAVE MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE WORKING TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES AND HAVE ALREADY IDENTIFIED THESE CHALLENGES.
SO THIS ISN'T NEW, UM, OR NECESSARILY NEW INFORMATION.
IT'S MORE ABOUT HOW WE WORK TOGETHER AS A CITY AND HOW WE WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UM, AND OTHER LOCAL AGENCIES TO REALLY ADDRESS, UM, AND HAVE A HOLISTIC, UH, UH, PLAN.
SO, LIKE I MENTIONED, UH, WE STARTED WITH THE PLAN ANALYSIS.
WE CONDUCTED NA DATA ANALYSIS AND THEN, UM, CONDUCTED SOME CITY, INTERNAL, CITY AND COMMUNITY ADVISORY CONSULTATIONS.
AND THAT LED TO THE RELEASE OF OUR FIRST ITERATION OF THE ONE AUSTIN BLUEPRINT, WHICH IS A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY OF AUSTIN'S SHOCKS AND STRESSES AND THE EMERGENT FOCUS AREAS.
THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE, AND IT'S ALSO LINKED IN THIS PRESENTATION, AND I INVITE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
IN THIS DOCUMENT, WE INTRODUCED THE RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION, UM, WHICH REALLY LIES IN THREE MAJOR CORE PRIORITIES.
THE FIRST IS ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE.
THE SECOND IS IN, UM, ADVANCING RACIAL EQUITY.
AND THE THIRD IS INCREASING AFFORDABILITY.
ALL OF THESE THREE CROSS-CUTTING PRIORITIES ARE STRUCTURED IN A WAY THAT WE CAN LOOK AT HOW WE, UM, WE CAN TAKE ACTION THROUGH OUR ASPIRATIONS AND ACTIONS THROUGH SCALES.
AND SO THROUGH THAT, YOU SEE, UM, THE ACTIONS THAT WE CAN TAKE TO GET TO HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS AUSTINITES AT THE INDIVIDUAL AND LOCAL SCALE, HOW WE LOOK AT THRIVING NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES, HOW WE LOOK AT, UH, ACTIONS THAT AFFECT OUR GOVERNANCE AND WHAT THE CITY CAN DO THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP.
AND FINALLY, THE LARGER SCALE AND THE REGIONAL SCALE, WHICH IS REALLY ABOUT OUR ECOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE THAT TIES THOSE SCALES TOGETHER.
THAT INITIAL FRAMEWORK IS WHAT'S SETTING US UP FOR THE CONVERSATIONS OF OUR PHASE TWO, UH, CO-CREATION PHASE.
THE PHASE TWO IS ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND A VERY ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
SO WE HAVE CONTINUED TO DO ADDITIONAL DATA AND EXISTING INITIATIVE ANALYSIS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTIONS THE CITY IS ALREADY DOING, UM, THAT CAN BE UPLIFTED THAT ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES.
BUT ALSO WE'RE LEVERAGING DATA SUCH AS THE AUSTIN SUSTAINABILITY, AUSTIN AREA SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS TO HELP GUIDE US INTO WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC METRICS AND HOW WE TRACK THIS PROGRESS.
THE SECOND PHASE OF THAT IS REALLY ABOUT THE CO-DESIGNING OF NEW RESILIENCE INITIATIVES.
AND SO WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF INITIATING, UH, PROJECT DESIGN WORKSHOPS THAT WILL HELP US DEFINE THE INITIATIVES THAT FALL UNDER, UH, THE FOUR CATEGORIES AND FOUR SCALES THAT I DESCRIBED THAT WILL HELP US, UM, UH, ADDRESS THE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND THE SHOCKS THAT HAVE BEEN PRIORITIZED AND THE STRESSES THAT HAVE BEEN PRIORITIZED FOR AUSTIN.
UH, WE JUST CONCLUDED, UH, A SURVEY IN WHICH WE REACHED OVER 4,650, UH, AUSTINITES, UH, TO UNDERSTAND, UH, CORE PRIORITIES OF RESILIENCE RELATED TO HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, HEALTHCARE, AND PREPAREDNESS.
AND THAT, UH, INITIAL DATA THAT WAS GATHERED BY, UM, UH, THE FIRST SET OF THE COMMUNITY SURVEY IS GOING TO BE USED AS ADDITIONAL DATA FOR THE PROJECT DESIGN WORKSHOPS.
ALL OF THAT IS GOING TO BE COM, UH, COMBINED INTO THE NEXT, IN THE NEXT MONTH TO ULTIMATELY LEAD US TO
[00:25:01]
THE FINAL STRATEGY RELEASE, WHICH IS IN JUNE OF 2024.SO I DO WANNA BRING UP THAT I'M NOT DOING THIS ALONE.
UM, AND CURRENTLY I HAVE A TEAM OF FIVE.
UM, SO WE ACT AS FOCAL POINTS FOR THE CITY, UM, AND AS THE MAIN CONTACT FOR RESILIENCE INITIATIVES, WE ACT AS STRATEG A STRATEGIST TO LEAD THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESILIENCE AGENDA.
WE ACT AS CONVENERS AS WE BRING STAKEHOLDERS TOGETHER TO LEARN ABOUT THE CITY'S CHALLENGES AND HELP BUILD SUPPORT FOR INITIATIVES.
AND WE ACT AS INTERNAL CONSULTANTS AND PROGRAM MANAGERS.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT IS A VERY SMALL TEAM WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ADDRESSING A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT CHALLENGES.
AND SO THIS IS ONLY THE COORDINATING TEAM WITHIN THE RESILIENCE OFFICE, BUT WE WORK WITH ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AS WELL, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS IN CREATING THAT ALIGNMENT BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS.
AND SO I WANTED TO, UM, COMPLETE THIS PRESENTATION BY REALLY TALKING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING AND HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD IN THE STRUCTURING OF THE RESILIENCE OFFICE.
AND SO I REALLY TALKED AND SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT OUR COMPREHENSIVE RESILIENCE PLANNING EFFORTS, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT FALLS UNDER THE RE REGIONAL, UM, SCALE OF ACTION.
AND WE HOPE THAT AS A CITY GOES THROUGH THIS PROCESS THAT WE'RE ALSO ENCOURAGING PARTNERS, UM, TO ALSO DO THE SAME.
BUT AGAIN, WE ALSO WORK AT THE NATIONAL INTERNATIONAL LEVEL WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, IN EXCHANGING INFORMATION, IN BUILDING KNOWLEDGE AND, UH, LEVERAGING RESOURCES AND RELATIONSHIPS TO BRING THAT KNOWLEDGE AND ALSO EXPORT THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE IN AUSTIN OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING TO OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE WORLD.
WE'RE ALSO FOCUSING ON SPECIFICALLY CITYWIDE RESILIENCE OPERATIONS.
SO THAT MEANS REALLY WHAT'S HAPPENING WITHIN OUR OWN ASSETS, OUR OWN WORKFORCE, AND OUR OWN OPERATIONS IN THE CITY.
AND THAT STARTED THAT WORK, STARTED WITH THE CLIMATE RESILIENCE ACTION PLAN, UH, FOR CITY ASSETS AND OPERATIONS.
AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF EXPANDING AND UPDATING THAT PLAN AND EXPANDING IT TO INCLUDE, UM, MORE TACTICAL, UM, MORE TACTICAL ACTIONS THAT WILL ALLOW US TO GET TO, UH, OUR UTILITIES BEING BETTER PREPARED, OUR WORKFORCE TO BE BETTER PREPARED AS WELL AS OUR, UM, OUR CAPACITY TO RESPOND.
AND FINALLY, ONE OF THE BIG ELEMENTS OF THIS WORK IS THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE HUBS NETWORK, WHICH ARE, UH, A NETWORK OF FACILITIES ACROSS, UH, THE COMMUNITY THAT PROVIDE SERVICES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A DISASTER FOR PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY.
AND SO WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE, AS WELL AS OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO BUILD UP THE RESOURCES THAT ARE PROVIDED AT THOSE FACILITIES, UM, THAT INCLUDE PREPAREDNESS, GUIDES, PREPAREDNESS, TRAININGS, EMERGENCY RESPONSE SUPPORT, AND ALSO LOOKING TO FORTIFY THESE FACILITIES.
SO, UM, HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS, UH, SINCE 2022.
UM, AND SO WE KICKED OFF THE RESILIENCE HUB NETWORK PILOT PROGRAM.
WE'VE DEVELOPED OUR EQUITY GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT GUIDE ALL OF THE WORK.
WE'VE ENGAGED WITH OVER 200 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, ESTABLISHED AN INTERDEPARTMENTAL CLIMATE RESILIENCE ACTION PLAN FOR CITY ASSETS AND OPERATIONS, AND HAVE REALLY WORKED TO INTEGRATE RESILIENCE AND THEIR RESILIENCE TEAM INTO EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER ACTIVATIONS.
UM, WHAT I DO WANNA SAY IS ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS IN BRINGING IT BACK TO WHAT WAS CALLED FOR UNDER THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION IS TO DEVELOP THAT RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK AS THE KEY, AS A KEY, UM, TO BEING ABLE TO, UH, AS A KEY FRAMEWORK TO BE ABLE TO HELP DEFINE HOW WE WORK ACROSS OUR CITY, UH, FOR RESILIENCE.
AND SO THE INITIAL LAUNCH OF THE FRAMEWORK, UM, HAS REALLY ALLOWED US TO KICKSTART AND ACCELERATE CONVERSATIONS AND WORK WITH DEPARTMENTS AND WORK WITH, UH, COMMUNITY PARTNERS AS WELL IN TERMS OF WHAT SPECIFIC ACTIONS THEY ARE TAKING ON AND WHAT LEVEL OF IMPACT THEY'RE HAVING.
AND SO FOR THE NEXT STEPS, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK.
UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO CONDUCT INTER INTERDEPARTMENTAL AND INTER-AGENCY COORDINATION ON CLIMATE RESILIENCE, AND WE'LL FOCUS ON REALLY, UM, MOVING AND, AND MOVING FORWARD THE RESILIENCE HUBS EFFORT.
UH, SO THIS MEANS REALLY THE LAUNCH OF THE RESILIENCE TOOLKIT, UM, CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD THE PREPAREDNESS TRAININGS AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL.
AND ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IS A PARTNERSHIP
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WITH THE GLOBAL RESILIENT CITIES NETWORK THAT WILL ALLOW US TO, UM, UH, REALLY HAVE ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF CITIES THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS PROCESS AS WELL.AND SO WITH THAT, UM, I'LL CONCLUDE THE PRESENTATION AND HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THAT WAS A BIT OVERWHELMING WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF WORK AND THE NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS THAT YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH TO MOVE THE BALL FORWARD.
UH, COMMISSIONER'S QUESTIONS? YEAH, SOME QUESTIONS I HAVE.
UM, CONGRATULATIONS ON PUBLISHING ONE AUSTIN.
A REALLY GREAT WORK FOR YOUR FIRST YEAR.
SORRY, IS MY MIC ON NOW? OH, OKAY.
UM, UH, CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT.
UH, SO ARE YOU, IS THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCE, IS THAT AN INDEPENDENT OFFICE? UM, AND THEN HOW DOES IT WORK WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS? WHAT'S THE FUNDING AND WHAT WOULD IDEAL FUNDING BE? SURE.
SO, UH, WE CURRENTLY ARE IN THE CITY MANAGEMENT, UH, STRUCTURE AND CITY MANAGEMENT OFFICE, AND WE WORK, UM, THROUGH THE CITY MANAGER ACROSS A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT.
SO WE'RE NOT STRUCTURED AS A DEPARTMENT, RATHER AS AN OFFICE THAT ADVISES CITY MANAGER AND ADVISES DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ON BUILDING RESILIENCE AND ADVANCING RESILIENCE EFFORTS.
UM, OKAY, SO THIS IS A BRAND NEW DEPARTMENT.
IF YOU HAVE FULL SUPPORT FOR THE INITIATIVES THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON, HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR DEPARTMENT GROWING IN FIVE YEARS? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, AND THAT IS PART OF THE EVALUATION ANALYSIS THAT WE'RE CONDUCTING RIGHT NOW AS WE DEVELOP THE RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK AND STRUCTURE, REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE VULNERABILITY AND CAPACITY OF EACH DEPARTMENT TO MOVE FORWARD, UM, THROUGH THIS PROCESS WILL ALLOW US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ROLE AND FUNCTION THE RESILIENCE OFFICE HAS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, FROM WHAT WE SEE ACROSS, YOU KNOW, THE GLOBE OF DIFFERENT CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICERS, IT REALLY HAS TAKEN A DIFFERENT, UM, IT REALLY HAS TAKEN A DIFFERENT MODEL, AND THAT IS BECAUSE EVERY CITY IS DIFFERENT AND HAS DIFFERENT CHALLENGES AND DIFFERENT WAYS OF APPROACHING AND IMPLEMENTING THE SOLUTIONS.
AND SO, UM, WHILE THERE ARE BEST PRACTICES THAT CAN BE BROUGHT FORTH, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO HONOR WHAT IS, UH, HERE IN AUSTIN AND WHAT WORKS FOR AUSTIN SO THAT WE CAN DEVELOP THAT PLAN THAT WILL ENABLE US TO CONTINUE TO SERVE AS THAT COORDINATION ARM.
UM, AND, AND THAT ARM THAT HELPS BREAK SILOS ACROSS DEPARTMENTS TO HELP MOVE, UH, PROJECTS FORWARD.
SO IT'LL BE PUBLISHED IN JUNE, 2024 IN YOUR STRATEGY REPORT? YES,
UH, DO YOU SEE ANY, I THINK THERE WERE SIX RESILIENCE HUBS INITIALLY, AND THEY WERE ON THE PERIPHERY, PERIPHERY OF THE CITY.
DO YOU SEE, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT INCLUDING A RESILIENCE HUB NEAR DOWNTOWN OR DOWNTOWN? ABSOLUTELY.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT WE'VE DONE, IT'S INITIALLY, IT STARTED, THE PROJECT STARTED WITH SIX PILOTS IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT, UM, THAT HAS NOW BEEN EXTENDED TO, UH, 10 FACILITIES.
THEY'RE ALL AT RECREATION CENTERS THAT HAVE SERVED AS THIS FUNCTION, WHETHER AS A COOLING OR WARMING CENTER DURING THE WINTER OR, UH, SUMMER MONTHS OR AS COLD WEATHER SHELTERS FOR THE UNHOUSED.
THOSE FACILITIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN PREPPED AND HAVE THE CAPACITY TO SERVE SOME, SOME, SOME LEVEL OF FUNCTION THAT IS REQUIRED FOR A RESILIENCE HUB.
WE'RE NOW LOOKING AT EXPANDING THAT, UM, THOSE FACILITIES WITH ADDITIONAL SIX OTHER FACILITIES, UH, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, ACROSS THE CITY.
THAT BEING SAID, THAT'S ONLY JUST THE CITY FACILITIES AND CITY OPERATIONS.
UM, THE RESILIENCE HUB TOOLKIT THAT I MENTIONED, UM, IS A TOOLKIT THAT WE CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AN ORGANIZATION CALLED FUSE FUSE CORPS, UM, THAT WILL ALLOW THAT.
AND IN, IN THE YEAR OF PARTNERSHIP WITH FUSE CORPS, WE CREATED, UH, A GUIDE FOR HOW BUSINESSES, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND PRIVATE FACILITIES CAN SET UP THEIR OWN RESILIENCE HUBS AND CAN BE PART OF THIS RESPONSE MODEL.
SO, UH, ONCE THAT, UM, UM, UH, TOOLKIT IS LAUNCHED AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO FULLY LAUNCH THE PROGRAM FOR THE COMMUNITY OWNED HUBS, UM, THEN THAT WILL ALLOW US TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM AND ALSO ACTIVATE HUBS THAT ARE NOT CITY OWNED OR CITY OPERATED ACROSS THE WHOLE CITY.
[00:35:01]
I APPRECIATED, UM, ONE OF THE STRESSORS LISTED WAS ECONOMIC.UM, I THINK WE'RE SEEING THAT DOWNTOWN RIGHT NOW WITH THE OFFICE VACANCIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, GOOGLE, FACEBOOK INDEED JUST ANNOUNCED THEY'RE SUBLETTING A LOT OF THEIR OFFICE SPACE.
UM, AND THE VACANCY SEEMS TO LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN CRIME, UM, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY FROM THE UNHOUSED BECAUSE THERE'S JUST MORE SPACE AND, AND LESS EYES ON THE STREET.
UM, IS THAT, IS THIS, IS THIS TOPIC IN CONSIDERATION FOR THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCE, OR HOW, HOW DO YOU SEE THAT POTENTIALLY BEING APPROACHED? I THINK IDEALLY, YES.
UM, THAT IS ONE OF THE TOPICS THAT IN GENERAL HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP IN TERMS OF THE INTERSECTION OF HOUSING AND ECONOMIC, UH, OPPORTUNITY ECONOMIC MOBILITY AS WELL.
UM, AND SO THROUGH THE WORKING GROUPS AND HOW THEY'RE BEING DEFINED, DEFINED AS, UH, AND THEMES IS WHEN WE HOPE TO REALLY GET TO, UM, THE PROJECT CREATE CO-CREATION, ONE OF THEM SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO HOUSING AND THE OTHER SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO ECONOMIC ECONOMY AND WORKFORCE.
AND SO THAT IS WHERE WE'LL BE DOING THE DEEP DIVE WITH STAKEHOLDERS, SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND KEY COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT WILL HELP US REALLY IDENTIFY THE, UH, THE, THE, THE OVERARCHING CHALLENGES THAT WE WANT TO TACKLE SPECIFICALLY THROUGH SOLUTIONS, WHETHER THAT IS DOWNTOWN OR CITYWIDE.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING IS REALLY IMPORTANT AND, UM, TYPICALLY WE'RE, WE WE'RE EXCITED TO WRITE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT I THINK, UH, THIS IS A GENERAL UPDATE.
UM, BUT I HOPE IN THE FUTURE IF THERE ARE ITEMS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT OR IF WE CAN CREATE A WORKING GROUP ON A SUBJECT, I, I HOPE THAT YOU KEEP THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION IN MIND.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER KOFI? YEAH, I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK AND YOUR PRESENTATION TO KEEP AUSTINITE SAFE.
SOME ARE VERY MICRO, SOME ARE MACRO.
SO STARTING WITH THE MACRO, UH, I WAS LOOKING OVER THE SHOCKS AND STRESSORS THAT YOU HAD OUTLINED.
SOME OF THEM SEEM REALLY OBVIOUS, LIKE, OH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE FACING THIS THING, BUT IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SHOCKS AND STRESSORS THAT OUR CITY IS MOST AT RISK FOR? AND ARE WE PREPARED EVEN IF THEY'RE, THEY'RE OBVIOUS, MAYBE THEY AREN'T.
UM, THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION, AND I'M GONNA GIVE KIND OF A, PROBABLY NOT ANSWERING YOUR ANSWER SPECIFIC OR NOT ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION SPECIFICALLY.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE, UM, AS WE BUILD OUT THEIR RESILIENCE STRATEGY, DIFFERENT SHOCKS IMPACT DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND DIFFERENT POPULATIONS IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND SO WHAT MAY BE IN THIS PROFESSIONAL OPINION, UM, AND AS I STAND HERE AND SAY, IN MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION ON THE BIGGEST SHOCK FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS, YOU KNOW, X, Y, AND Z, THAT WOULD MEAN NOT REALLY GETTING INTO THE WEEDS AND INTO THE DETAIL OF HOW DIFFERENT POPULATIONS ARE IMPACTED BY THESE STRESSORS.
SO, UM, WE INTEND TO OUTLINE THAT SPECIFIC, THE SPECIFIC VULNERABILITIES TO THE SHOCKS AND STRESSORS, UM, AS AS IT COMES OUT IN, IN THE PLAN, UM, IN THE UPCOMING PLAN.
BUT I WILL SAY THAT THE THREE OVERARCHING PRIORITIES THAT WE SEE, SEE, AND HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REALLY CATEGORIZE, UM, ALL OF THE RANGE OF SHOCKS AND ALL OF THESE RANGE OF STRESSORS ARE THROUGH THE CROSS-CUTTING PRIORITIES OF CLIMATE CHANGE, AFFORDABILITY, AND RACIAL EQUITY.
AND SO THOSE ARE BROKEN DOWN, UH, FURTHER BY THE SPECIFIC CHALLENGE THAT COMMUNITIES FACE.
UM, AND THE, ALSO, THE OTHER THING THAT I WILL SAY AND I WANNA ADD IS THAT AS WE LOOK SPECIFICALLY AS HOW, UM, WE SOLVE AND WE PROVIDE SOLUTIONS FOR EACH OF THOSE CHALLENGES THAT, UM, AS WE, AS WE LOOK AT THE LEVEL OF URGENCY AND THE LEVEL OF IMPACT, WE ALSO NEED TO LOOK AT, UM, THE UNINTENDED, UNINTENDED OR UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IN LOOKING AT AS A SYSTEM AS WELL.
AND I'M SURE THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF THEM AS WELL.
ONE, THIS IS ALSO THE MACRO QUESTION.
AS YOU NOT ONLY BUILD OUT YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT ALSO AS YOU FUNCTION IN DAY TO DAY, HOW DO YOU MEASURE SUCCESS FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR OFFICE? ARE YOU TRACKING DATA? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? SO THAT IS ALSO, UH, KEY METRICS THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING.
AS IT RELATES TO, UM, THE SPECIFIC HAZARDS AND THE SPECIFIC SHOCKS AND STRESSES THAT WE IDENTIFY.
UM, SO ALONG WITH THE CREATION OF THE RESILIENCE STRATEGY, THERE
[00:40:01]
WILL BE AN IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX THAT ALLOWS US TO NOT ONLY TRACK THE STATUS OF THE SPECIFIC ACTIONS, BUT ALSO METRICS THAT WILL ALLOW US TO DETERMINE WHAT IS, UH, WORKING AND WHAT IS TAKING US TO OUR DESIRED, UM, OUTCOME AND, AND WHAT ISN'T.UH, BUT I WILL SAY THAT WE DON'T WANNA RECREATE THE WHEEL IN THIS PROCESS, AND THAT THERE ARE ALREADY METRICS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND CREATED, UH, THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE AND UPLIFT IN THIS WORK AS WELL.
AND SO THOSE, UH, METRICS INCLUDE DATA, UH, AND BASED ON DATA LIKE THE SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX, AS WELL AS THE AUSTIN AREA, UM, UH, SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS THAT ARE BEING UPDATED, UM, THAT WE WORK WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS THIS YEAR TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT RESILIENCE SO THAT WE CONTINUOUSLY MEASURE THE PROGRESS ON THAT.
AND MY LAST QUESTION IS, IS THIS IS MORE ON THE GROUND LEVEL.
YOU ALL OVERSEE THE HEATING AND COOLING CENTERS? WE DO NOT.
BUT YES, WE DO NOT, WE WORK, UH, CLOSELY WITH THE HOME AND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE, UM, AS THEY GET ACTIVATED.
UM, THOSE ARE LIBRARIES, THOSE ARE REC CENTERS, AND THOSE ARE CITY FACILITIES THAT OPEN FOR EXCITED HOURS DURING THE SUMMER, UH, MONTHS FOR COOLING DURING WINTER MONTHS FOR WARMING.
UM, AND WE ARE IN COORDINATION WITH HEATH HIM TO UNDERSTAND HOW COOLING CENTERS ALSO MERGE GOT IT.
I HAVE A QUESTION, COMMISSIONER.
WITH REGARDS TO THE GLOBAL RESILIENT CITIES NETWORK, WHAT OBLIGATIONS WOULD YOU BE INCURRING BY PARTNERING WITH THEM? OR IS IT MERELY JUST INFORMATION SHARING? YEAH, UM, THAT'S ALSO A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, THE GLOBAL RESILIENT CITIES NETWORK WAS, UM, AS IT STANDS NOW, IS REALLY AN, UH, AN OFFSHOOT OF THE ORIGINAL 100 RESILIENT CITIES NETWORK THAT WAS, UH, FUNDED AND CREATED BY THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION.
UM, THAT PROGRAM, UM, UH, WAS, UH, ROCKEFELLER STOPPED FUNDING THE PROGRAM IN 2018.
AND SO THE GLOBAL RESILIENCE CITIES NETWORK, AS IT STANDS NOW, IS OVER A HUNDRED CITIES, UM, ACROSS THE WORLD THAT ARE PARTNERED, ARE PART OF THAT PARTNERSHIP.
UM, THE CITIES THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THAT PARTNERSHIP, UH, WERE CITIES THAT WERE PART OF THE 100 RESILIENT CITIES NETWORK FUNDED BY ROCKEFELLER, WHICH DID RECEIVE $2 MILLION, UM, AT THE, THE START OF THEIR RESILIENCE PLANNING PROCESS THROUGH, THROUGH THAT FUNDING, UM, AND ALLOWED IT TO, ALLOWED THEM TO CONTINUE BEING PART OF THAT.
UM, RIGHT NOW, CITIES LIKE AUSTIN AND MANY OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE, THE UNITED STATES ARE DEVELOPING RESILIENCE PLANS AND ARE USING OTHER TYPES OF FUNDING MODELS FOR, UM, REALLY OPERATIONALIZING AND BUILDING RESILIENCE INTO, INTO OUR CITY OPERATIONS.
AND SO, UM, UNDERSTANDING SPECIFICALLY WHAT IS THE COMMITMENT OF THE CITIES THAT ARE COMING IN THAT DON'T HAVE THAT FUNDING AND THAT BACKUP SUPPORT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE RESOURCES IS PART OF WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING AND PILOTING WITH THE GLOBAL RESILIENT CITIES NETWORK.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? I HAVE ONE QUESTION.
HAVE YOU PRESENTED TO CAP COG YET? I HAVE NOT.
DO YOU HAVE THAT ON YOUR AGENDA? YES.
EVERY ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT YOU BROUGHT UP AFFECTS US AS A REGION, AND CAP COG IS IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO TAKE THAT MESSAGE TO THE, TO OUR PARTNER COMMUNITIES.
UH, SO THE SOONER WE CAN GET THIS PRESENTATION TO THEM, I THINK THE BETTER.
AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION TONIGHT.
LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU BACK AGAIN.
[4. Approve a recommendation to Council regarding the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) Project Connect. Presentation by Nan Dowling of the City of Austin Project Connect Office and Yannis Banks, Austin Transit Partnership. ]
APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL REGARDING THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PROJECT, UH, CONNECT PRESENTATION BY NAN DOWLING.UH, HI EVERYBODY, THIS IS PETER MULLIN FROM AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
I'M GONNA BE GIVING THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT.
SORRY FOR THE MIX UP ON THE AGENDA.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.
SORRY, I'M NOT THERE IN PERSON.
UM, YEAH, SO I THINK I HAVE THE ABILITY, DO I HAVE THE ABILITY TO SHARE MY SCREEN? YOU DO NOW.
GET THIS INTO PRESENTATION MODE.
UM, CAN Y'ALL SEE MY SCREEN? YES, WE CAN.
SO, UH, JUST THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.
WANTED TO GIVE YOU A, JUST A QUICK UPDATE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM, SPECIFICALLY AS PART OF PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, JUST A REMINDER, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP IS THE,
[00:45:01]
UH, NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION, UM, THAT WAS CREATED TO OVERSEE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT CONNECT.UM, BUT WE ARE, MUCH OF OUR WORK IS REALLY FOCUSED ON THE LIGHT RAIL PORTION OF, UH, PROGRAM WITHIN PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHERS, INCREDIBLY VALUABLE, IMPORTANT, UM, ASPECTS OF PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY METRO RAPID LOCAL BUS PICKUP, UH, RED LINE IMPROVEMENTS, ET CETERA.
BUT TONIGHT I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT UPDATES TO THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM.
UM, SO IN JUNE, UM, THE THREE, UH, PARTIES IN THE PARTNERSHIP, A T P AS WELL AS THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CAP METRO BOARD, UH, UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED AN UPDATED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM.
UH, THIS WAS DEVELOPED, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THE PREVIOUS NINE MONTHS IN RESPONSE TO, YOU KNOW, PER RISING COSTS ON THE PROGRAM AND GETTING, MAKING SURE THAT THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM WILL BE ALIGNED WITH OUR FINANCIAL RESOURCES.
UM, SO WHAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU IS ESSENTIALLY THE FIRST PHASE OF THE PROGRAM THAT WE ARE NOW MOVING FORWARD WITH, THAT RUNS FROM 38TH STREET IN THE NORTH, UM, DOWN TO
UM, BASICALLY AT 71, UM, ALONG EAST RIVERSIDE, UH, TO THE EAST.
UM, UH, IN ADDITION, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THIS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TWO, UM, SECTIONS, WHICH WE'RE CALLING PRIORITY EXTENSIONS.
SO IF WE'RE ABLE TO SECURE ADDITIONAL FUNDING, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE, THE PROP A TAX REVENUE AND OUR CURRENT EXPECTATIONS ABOUT FEDERAL FUNDING, UM, COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH THE, UH, EXTEND THE LINE UP TO CRESTVIEW IN THE NORTH.
UM, THAT'S THAT SORT OF TRIPLE STRIPED LINE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THE SEGMENT THAT LAST BIT TO THE AIRPORT FROM YELLOW JACKET OUT TO THE AIRPORT.
SO THOSE ARE IDENTIFIED AS PRIORITY EXTENSIONS.
UM, ONE OF THE, UH, THINGS THAT'S SLIGHTLY, UH, NEW-ISH ABOUT THE UPDATED PLAN IS THAT WE ARE, AND IT'S RELEVANT TO YOU ALL, I THINK, IS THAT WE ARE, UM, ON THE STREET, WE'RE AT PARADE RUNNING THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
UH, THIS WAS SEEN AS THE, YOU KNOW, AS THE WAY TO ACTUALLY GET US THE ABILITY TO BUILD MORE LIGHT RAIL IN THE FIRST PHASE BECAUSE OF THE REDUCED COST OF ON STREET VERSUS BELOW GRADE.
BUT I THINK DURING THE, THE, THE EVALUATION PROCESS, WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE REAL OPPORTUNITIES TO THIS AS WELL.
UM, INTEGRATING THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM, UH, WITHIN, UH, THE, THE URBAN FABRIC OF OUR CITY, UM, MAKING IT MORE VISIBLE, MORE ACCESSIBLE, UM, AND, UM, REALLY MAKING IT PART OF OUR URBAN LIFE AND BUILDING A CULTURAL TRANSIT, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW WE NEED TO DO.
IT'S INTERESTING, IT'S COMING ON THE HEELS OF THE RESILIENCE PRESENTATION.
CERTAINLY TRANSPORTATION RESILIENCE IS PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO, PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE.
AND SO GETTING MORE PEOPLE ONTO TRANSIT, MAKING IT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO GET ONTO TRANSIT, USED TRANSIT BUILD TRANSIT INTO THEIR LIVES, UM, IS GONNA BE PART OF THAT LONG-TERM, UH, TRANSPORTATION RESILIENCE.
SO, UM, SO WE ARE MOVING THAT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FORWARD.
AND, UM, THIS DIAGRAM BASICALLY IS MEANT TO REPRESENT THAT WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE WORK STREAMS MOVING FORWARD SIMULTANEOUSLY, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING, AND WE'RE DEVELOPING, UH, THE DESIGN OF THOSE SORT OF IN AN INTERTWINED WAY.
AND THEY CONSTANTLY, YOU KNOW, ARE TO REFER TO ONE ANOTHER AND, AND ARE COORDINATED.
UM, THAT OBVIOUSLY IS ALSO INFORMED BY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ALONG THE WAY.
UM, BUT IT ALSO HAS TO BE CALIBRATED WITH OUR OTHER FEDERAL, UH, PROCESSES THAT WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE ENGAGED IN, UM, THE NEPA PROCESS WHERE WE MEASURE ALL THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE PROGRAM, UM, AS WELL AS OUR CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROCESS.
THE C I G PROCESS, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THE APPLICATION PROCESS WHERE WE GET OUR FEDERAL FUNDING, WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT, UH, 50% OF THE PROGRAM WOULD BE FUNDED WITH FEDERAL DOLLARS.
UM, THE FT A IS VERY EAGER TO SUPPORT US, BUT THERE'S A WHOLE PROCESS THAT GOES ALONG WITH THAT.
THE NEPA PROCESS IS PART OF THAT.
UM, BUT THE C I G PROCESS HAS ITS OWN REQUIREMENTS AND STEPS ALONG THE WAY AS WELL.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS, RIGHT? HOW DO WE ACTUALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY TO OPERATE AS A COMMUNITY AND IT'S REALLY CAD METRO, UM, WORKING, UH, ARE WE READY TO OPERATE THE SYSTEM ONCE IT'S BUILT? AND, UM, HOW THAT TRANSLATES INTO THE IMMEDIATE, THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS IS THAT, UM, FROM A DESIGN STANDPOINT, WE ARE GONNA, WE'RE ADVANCING THE DESIGN, UM, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO, YOU KNOW, THAT WILL CONTINUE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY INTO THE MIDDLE OF 2025 IN TERMS OF GETTING THAT SORT OF FINAL BASE DESIGN COMPLETED.
UH, SIMULTANEOUSLY WE WILL BE, UM,
[00:50:01]
REENTERING THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS.UH, WE EXPECT TO, UH, FILE THE NOTICE OF INTENT EARLY IN 2024, UM, AND WORK TOWARDS A DRAFT D I SS IN THE FALL OF 2024.
UH, AND THERE WILL OBVIOUSLY BE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ON THAT PROCESS WITH THE FINAL E I S A YEAR FOLLOWING THAT IN 2025.
UM, AND THEN SIMULTANEOUSLY THE C I G PROCESS ENTERING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY 2024 AS WELL, UM, AND COMPLETING THAT IN EARLY 2026.
SO, UM, THIS IS NOT A, A, I WILL JUST SAY THIS IS NOT A QUICK PROCESS, RIGHT? THERE ARE A LOT OF STEPS ALONG THE WAY.
UH, WE WANNA PURSUE THESE VERY SYSTEMATICALLY AND WITH THE COMMUNITY EVERY STEP OF THE WAY AS WELL.
UM, AND, UH, DESIGN IS ONE PART OF THAT, BUT THAT'S ONE PART THAT I, YOU KNOW, WANNA FOCUS ON A LITTLE BIT TONIGHT, JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING TO BASICALLY ADVANCE THAT PROCESS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALK A LOT ABOUT IS, UM, HOW DO WE MAKE A, BUILD A SYSTEM THAT AUSTINITES WANT TO USE AND WILL USE? AND SO REALLY CONCENTRATING ON THE TRANSIT RIDER, THE USER EXPERIENCE OF THE SYSTEM AS A BASIS OF DESIGN, UM, IT SEEMS KIND OF OBVIOUS, BUT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THIS GETS LOST IN THE SHUFFLE OF ALL THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRAINS THEMSELVES.
BUT WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO GROUND THIS BACK ON THE USER NEEDS OF, UM, OF THE SYSTEM.
AND, UM, IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE HAVE, UM, STARTED BEFORE WE GET INTO ACTUAL DESIGN.
UM, WE HAVE ENGAGED IN A FAIRLY RIGOROUS RESEARCH PROCESS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE CORE PRIORITY USER NEEDS NEED TO BE THAT WE NEED TO SOLVE FOR.
UH, AND THAT CAN BE THE BASIS OF DESIGN, RIGHT? UM, AND WE'VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH, WHICH I WANNA SHARE A LITTLE BIT WITH YOU TONIGHT.
UM, THOSE USER NEEDS WILL GET TRANSLATED INTO DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND THOSE DESIGN PRINCIPLES THAT WILL THEN FORM THE BASIS OF THE, THE DESIGN WORK THAT GETS EXECUTED OVER THE SUBSEQUENT YEARS.
UM, SO THIS IS A PROCESS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE STILL AT THE VERY EARLY, EARLY DAYS OF IT.
UM, SO, UH, AND WE HAVE A GREAT CONSULTANT TEAM THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH TO DO A LOT OF THIS RESEARCH.
UM, AND JUST WANNA SHARE WITH YOU HOW OUR, HOW WE'RE APPROACHING THIS FROM A PROJECT STANDPOINT.
SO, UM, PART OF THAT RESEARCH INVOLVES JUST UNDERSTANDING, UH, LOCAL CONTEXT PARAMETERS AND INPUTS THAT ARE GONNA BE CRITICAL IN THIS PROCESS.
SO WE KNOW WE WANT THIS SYSTEM TO REFLECT AUSTIN, BE OF THIS PLACE, UH, USING, UH, LOCAL, UM, LET'S SAY CONTEXTUAL, UH, INPUTS TO, TO DEFINE IT, UM, BOTH FROM A CONSTRUCTION STANDPOINT, BUT ALSO AS A FORM STANDPOINT, AS WELL AS A USER NEEDS STANDPOINT.
SO WE LOOK AT THINGS LIKE URBAN FORM, WHAT ARE THE TYPICAL, UM, URBAN CONDITIONS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITHIN IN AUSTIN, UM, AND HOW ARE THEY EVOLVING, RIGHT? LOOKING AT CULTURAL AND HISTORIC CO TOUCHPOINTS, RIGHT? WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE WANNA REFERENCE THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, INCORPORATE INTO OUR DESIGN SO THAT THIS, THIS IS ROOTED IN THIS PLACE.
UM, LOOKING AT LANDSCAPE AND SUSTAINABILITY, OBVIOUSLY OUR NATURAL RESOURCES ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF OUR, OUR GREATEST ASSETS IN AUSTIN.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RESPECTING THEM AND ALSO BUILDING WITH THEM SENSITIVELY AND ALSO BUILDING THE SYSTEM, UM, IN A WAY THAT, UM, IS, UH, I WOULD SAY CLIMATICALLY RESPONSIBLE, BOTH IN TERMS OF THE, OUR IMPACT ON CARBON, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF THE USER EXPERIENCE.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT MORE IN A SECOND.
UM, LOOKING AT LOCAL MATERIALS AS WELL AS, AND LOCAL TRADES, LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE, THE MATERIALS WHERE, WHERE WE HAVE A HISTORY OF, OF CRAFTSMANSHIP AND, AND A STRONG, UM, LOCAL TRADE COMMUNITY THAT WE CAN TAP INTO AS WE, UM, DEVELOP THE DESIGN FOR THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT WAYFINDING, UM, AND NOT JUST LIKE THINKING ABOUT SIGNAGE, BUT HOW DO WE ACTUALLY BUILD, UH, A SENSE OF WAYFINDING AND NAVIGATION INTO THE DESIGN AS WE, UH, DEVELOP IT SO THAT WE'RE NOT ALWAYS RELYING ON SIGNAGE, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT THE TRANSIT SYSTEM, LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IS AS EASY AND, AND INTUITIVE TO USE AS POSSIBLE.
SO THESE ARE ALL KIND OF PART OF OUR, OUR LOCAL CONTEXT RESEARCH THAT WE'VE, WE'VE UNDER UNDERGONE.
UM, THE OTHER PART OF THIS IS LOOKING AT, I WOULD SAY USER, UH, BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, RIGHT? SOME OF WHICH IS, UM, SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN, RIGHT? AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT IT DEVELOPING A HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN, UM, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY BEHAVE RIGHT IN THIS, THIS IMAGE? THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW SOMETIMES WE DESIGN THINGS WITH A CERTAIN INTENT AND PEOPLE TEND TO, TO NOT USE 'EM THE WAY THAT THEY WERE INTENDED, RIGHT? UM, AND SO WE'RE REALLY, WE'RE TRYING HARD TO REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY USE OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM? UM,
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HOW DO THEY IMAGINE AND CONSTRUCT THEIR TRANSIT JOURNEYS? UM, WHERE ARE THE FRICTION POINTS THAT THEY ENCOUNTER ALONG THE WAY? AND HOW DO WE THEN DESIGN, UM, TO AVOID THOSE AND TO REDUCE THOSE.UM, SO REALLY DOING A LOT OF, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE ARE MOVING AROUND AUSTIN TODAY, BOTH IN TRANSIT AND OTHER WEST, RIGHT? AND WE DO THAT THROUGH A VARIETY.
UH, WE'VE DONE THAT THROUGH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TOOLS.
UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF THIS IS ABOUT JUST GOING OUT AND OBSERVING PEOPLE, UM, AND LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO THEY MOVE? WHERE DO THEY CROSS THE STREET? WHY? UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DISCOVERED IS THAT, YOU KNOW, YEAH, THIS IS NOT GONNA COME AS A SURPRISE TO ANYBODY, BUT PEOPLE TEND TO USE THE SHORTEST DISTANCE POSSIBLE, EVEN IF IT'S UNSAFE.
SO WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF PLACES WHERE PEOPLE HAVE CRAFTED DESIRE LINES, UM, ON PATHS THAT CROSS MULTIPLE LANES OF TRAFFIC THAT ARE NOT AT A CROSSWALK.
UM, SO THE LESSON FROM THAT IS, LET'S PUT THE CROSSWALKS AND THE, AND THE PATHS OF TRAVEL WHERE THEY MAKE THE MOST SENSE AND WHERE PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY MOVING, RIGHT? UM, THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF THE KINDS OF BEHAVIORS THAT WE'VE NOTICED IN, IN JUST WATCHING HOW PEOPLE MOVE AROUND THE CITY.
UM, THE SECOND PART OF THIS IS LOOKING AT OUR, OUR PUBLIC REALM INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT? AND HOW ARE PEOPLE ENGAGING WITH THAT? UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT BOTH URBAN FORM CHARACTERISTICS AND HOW THAT INFORMS HOW PEOPLE RELATE TO IT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE NOTICED IS THAT PEOPLE TEND TO WALK ON STREETS.
AND THIS, AGAIN, NOT A SURPRISE FOR THIS COMMISSION THAT'S, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ACTIVE DOWNTOWN.
PEOPLE WALK ON STREETS THAT ARE ACTIVATED BY ADJACENT RETAIL, RIGHT? IF THEY HAVE LONG STRETCHES OF, OF SIDEWALK THAT HAVE, THAT ARE UNINTERRUPTED OR UNDIFFERENTIATED AND DON'T HAVE THINGS TO ANIMATE YOU AND, AND TO, TO PULL YOU ALONG THAT, THEY TEND TO HAVE LOWER LEVELS OF PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY.
UM, THE OTHER THING WE NOTICE IS THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR MICRO MOBILITY IS, UH, LET'S JUST SAY INCONSISTENT, RIGHT? AND SO YOU END UP WITH CONDITIONS LIKE THIS PICTURE ON THE RIGHT, WHERE, ON THE TOP WHERE, UH, SCOOTERS JUST GET PILED UP IN PLACES WHERE WE DON'T WANT THEM IN THEIR OBSTRUCTIONS IN OUR PUBLIC PATHWAYS, UH, BECAUSE WE AREN'T PROVIDING ENOUGH INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THEM WHERE THEY CAN GO, UM, SAFELY AND COMFORTABLY.
UM, WE'VE ALSO DONE SOME INTERESTING THINGS WITH TECHNOLOGY IN, UM, USING, UH, BASICALLY BIOMETRIC SENSORS AND ALSO, UH, EYEBALL TRACKING, UH, GLASSES.
UH, LEMME SEE IF THIS, THIS WILL, LET'S SEE IF THIS WILL WORK, MAYBE NOT.
UM, THE, THE, THE VIDEO ON THE BOTTOM, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE ANIMATED, UM, CAN YOU SEE ABOUT, CAN YOU ALL SEE THAT ANIMATED, THE VIDEO ISN'T RUNNING, IF THAT'S, THE VIDEO IS RUNNING, IS NOT SO, IS NOT, OKAY.
SO, UM, BASICALLY WE, UH, WE GOT VOLUNTEERS, UM, THAT FIT A VARIETY OF PROFILES, RIGHT? SO PEOPLE WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH TRANSIT, PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH TRANSIT, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO USE A WHEELCHAIR TO MOVE, UM, ABLE-BODIED, UH, UH, PEDESTRIANS.
UM, SO A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PROFILES.
WE GOT THESE VOLUNTEERS TO WEAR, UM, WATCHES THAT MEASURE YOUR SWEAT AND YOUR HEART RATE AND YOUR TEMPERATURE, UM, AS WELL AS THESE GLASSES THAT ACTUALLY TRACK YOUR EYEBALL MOVEMENTS TO SHOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
AND WE SET THEM ON TRANSIT JOURNEYS THROUGH THE, UM, THROUGH THE CITY.
AND FROM THE COMBINATION OF THOSE INPUTS, WE COULD LEARN FROM MA EACH OF THESE DIFFERENT PROFILES WHERE THOSE MOMENTS OF FRICTION ON THEIR JOURNEY WERE RIGHT, SO THAT WE CAN THEN SEEK TO BASICALLY DESIGN OUR WAY, UH, DESIGN AROUND THEM, OR TO ELIMINATE THEM AS WE IMAGINE THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM THE WHEELCHAIR USER IS THAT, UM, BECAUSE, UH, THEY ARE LOWER AND CLOSER TO THE GROUND, THIS USER, UM, WHENEVER SHE APPROACHED THE INTERSECTION OR ENGAGED WITH A CAR OR A ROAD THAT WHERE THERE WAS, THERE WAS POSSIBILITY OF ENGAGING A CAR, UM, HER HEART RATE WENT UP, RIGHT? SHE FELT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ANXIETY BECAUSE SHE FELT LIKE SHE COULD NOT BE SEEN RIGHT, BY CARS AND OTHER VEHICLES.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT INDICATED TO US IS WE HAVE TO DESIGN PATHWAYS FOR WHEELCHAIR USERS WHERE WE HAVE CLEAR SIGHT LINES SO THAT THEY FEEL SAFER AND MORE COMFORTABLE AS THEY'RE MOVING THROUGH THE CITY.
SO AGAIN, TRYING TO GET TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PEOPLE FEEL AS THEY MOVE THROUGH THE CITY, UH, AND, AND DESIGN THAT JOURNEY SO THAT IT CAN BE AS COMFORTABLE AND PLEASURABLE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, WE ALSO ENGAGED IN SOME WORKSHOPS AND, UM, ON THE GO WORKSHOPS, UM, SOME SPECIFIC USER GROUPS, UM, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR SPECIFIC NEEDS WOULD BE.
SO, UM, BLIND AND LOW VISION USERS, UM, KIDS, UH, DEFINITE PART OF HEARING USERS,
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UH, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, AND THEY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS, RIGHT? THAT WE HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE.UM, AND SO TRYING TO CATALOG THOSE AND UNDERSTAND THOSE THAT WE CAN BUILD A INTO OUR DESIGN PROCESS.
SO FROM ALL OF THAT RESEARCH, WE HAVE DEVELOPED, UH, A SET OF PRIORITY USER NEEDS THAT WILL BECOME THE BASIS FOR DESIGN.
UM, AND, UH, WE'VE ARRANGED THEM IN THIS PYRAMID OF PRIORITIES.
WE'RE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE, OF THE PYRAMID AT THE FOUNDATION ARE NEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH SAFETY AND SECURITY.
SO EASE OF ACCESS, PREDICTABILITY, UM, CHOICE.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT.
WE'VE FOUND THAT PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO CARVE OUT THEIR OWN PERSONAL SPACE WITHIN THEIR TRANSIT JOURNEY.
SO WE HAVE TO PROVIDE THE, THE ABILITY FOR THEM TO DO, FOR USERS TO DO THAT.
UM, WE ACTUALLY MOVED THE THERMAL ISSUE OUT OF THE COMFORT PART OF THE PYRAMID DOWN INTO THE SAFETY AND SECURITY PART OF THE PYRAMID.
UM, WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF DOING SOME OF THIS RESEARCH OVER THE COURSE OF THIS PAST SUMMER WHERE WE ACTUALLY HAD OVER 60 DAYS OF OVER A HUNDRED DEGREE HEAT.
SO WE'RE VERY AWARE OF, OF THE IMPACT OF THAT, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOTTA SOLVE FOR THERMAL SAFETY WITHIN OUR PUBLIC REALM AND SPECIFICALLY OUR TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, IN ORDER TO REALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO USE IT AND ALSO PROTECT PEOPLE THAT NEED TO USE IT.
UM, THE NEXT LEVEL UP ARE OUR NEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, A SENSE OF COMFORT AROUND THE USE OF TRANSIT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS INCLUDES COMFORT FROM NOISE, UM, WALKABILITY, UM, WE SAY EVERYBODY STARTS THEIR TRANSIT JOURNEY AS A, AS A PEDESTRIAN.
UM, CLEAR NAVIGATION THAT'S RELATED TO THAT, THOSE DESIRE LINES I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
UM, BUT ALSO CONNECTION TO NATURE, RIGHT? THIS IS A WAY THAT ACTUALLY WE CAN PROVIDE A SENSE OF CALM AND RELIEF IN WHAT WOULD BE VERY CHAOTIC AND, UH, AGITATING, UH, EXPERIENCE.
SO WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE PUT THAT INTO, UH, OUR, AND THEN AT THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID, WE HAVE, WE HAVE NEEDS THAT ARE, I THINK, A LITTLE BIT MORE ASPIRATIONAL, BUT NEEDS NONETHELESS.
UH, SO SOCIAL CONNECTION, CONNECTION TO PLACE, RIGHT? WANTING TO, TO, TO THIS PLACE, THIS SYSTEM TO BE OF AUSTIN AND OF OUR, OUR LOCAL CULTURE.
UM, BUT MORE, MOST OF ALL SENSE OF BELONGING, RIGHT? HOW DO WE USE THE TRANSIT SYSTEM TO BUILD A SENSE OF COMMUNITY? UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT TRANSIT DOES IS THAT IT, IT, IT'S LIKE PARKS.
I WILL SAY IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WHERE YOU BUMP INTO PEOPLE WHO