Austin

Colorful "atx" sign in front of Whole Foods store in Austin, Texas

Austin’s ‘Affordability Unlocked’ Initiative Faces Lawsuit

A group of 18 plaintiffs is suing to overturn the city of Austin’s “Affordability Unlocked” planning initiative.

August 30, 2023 - Austin Monitor

Row of new contemporary rowhouses in Austin, Texas

Report: Why It Costs so Much to Build Housing in Austin

The study highlights high real estate costs as well as restrictive zoning regulations and building requirements that delay multi-family construction.

August 9, 2023 - Community Impact Newspaper

Austi city skyline with freeway in foreground

Letter Reveals Changes to I-35 Expansion Plan in Austin

In addition to new HOV lanes and a proposed boardwalk, TxDOT agreed to engineer the freeway for caps in some areas, but the city would have to fund their construction.

August 7, 2023 - KUT

Colorful "atx" sign in front of Whole Foods store in Austin, Texas

Austin Could Reduce Minimum Lot Sizes

In an effort to increase housing production and bring down housing costs, the city council approved a resolution calling for reduced lot sizes and higher density in single-family neighborhoods.

July 24, 2023 - The Architect's Newspaper

Aerial view from behind Texas State Capitol dome in Austin, Texas

Zoning Reform Proposed in Austin

Proposed changes would create more room for mid-density housing and shift away from single-family homes on large lots.

July 13, 2023 - Towers

Brown and yellow two-story apartment buildings in Austin, Texas

Austin Council Proposes Multi-Family Affordable Housing Program

The proposal would permit larger buildings on single-family lots.

June 13, 2023 - Austin Monitor

"Welcome to Texas" road sign with Texas flag and "Drive Friendly - the Texas way" slogan

Report: Austin’s State Roads Deadlier Than City Roads

Traffic fatalities and serious injuries grew on state-owned roads in the Texas capital, even as city-owned streets saw death rates plateau.

June 6, 2023 - Smart Cities Dive

Aerial view of scorched forest area in Round Mountain, central Texas

As Central Texas Population Grows, So Does Fire Risk

Sprawl in and around Austin is contributing to growing wildfire risks, and local officials worry about a lack of public awareness of the issue.

June 1, 2023 - Bloomberg CityLab

rendering of red light rail tran at crowded station platform

Texas Attorney General Calls Project Connect Funding Scheme Illegal

The massive transit project’s unique funding scheme could run afoul of state law.

May 23, 2023 - Austin American-Statesman

View from street level looking up at high-rise apartment building with multi0floor garage at bottom in Austin, Texas against blue sky

Austin as a Model for Parking Reform

The Texas capital’s new parking law signals a shift in thinking about the relationship between land use, transportation, and housing affordability.

May 18, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

Texas State Capital

Austin Eliminates Parking Requirements

After eliminating downtown parking requirements ten years ago, the city will now end minimum parking mandates citywide.

May 9, 2023 - Austin Monitor

Texas State Capital

Austin Employs Team to Help Residents Avoid Displacement

The city’s new Displacement Prevention Navigators will conduct outreach and assist with finding resources to help cost-burdened residents at risk of losing their housing stay in their homes.

May 3, 2023 - Route Fifty

Rendering of blue light rail train and people walking around train station in Austin, Texas

Austin’s Project Connect Faces More Hurdles

Two proposed bills in the Texas state legislature call for more voter oversight of the mass transit project, which could imperil the transit expansion approved by voters in 2020.

April 25, 2023 - KXAN

Aerial view at dusk of downtown Austin, Texas with river in foreground

New Zoning Category Proposed in Austin

The ‘town zoning’ category would create more flexibility and encourage developers to build more affordable, transit-oriented housing.

April 24, 2023 - Austin Business Journal

Austin's Sixth Street full of pedestrians during SXSW festival with yellow sign for Chuggin Monkey bar in foreground

Austin Could Eliminate Parking Minimums for Bars

Proponents of the resolution say the city’s parking mandates encourage drunk driving and drive up construction costs for small businesses.

April 12, 2023 - Towers

Aerial view of Interstate 35 bridge over river into downtown Austin, Texas with skyline in background

Controversial Highway Widening Breaks Ground in Austin

Texas’ transportation priorities were on display in March—a few days after the gutting of a transit plan, a highway expansion broke ground depite years of local opposition.

April 3, 2023 - KUT

Aerial view of green trees over residential neighborhood with Austin, Texas skyline in the background

Street Trees as Climate Resilience

An Austin-based urban designer explains how protecting and encouraging the planting of street trees will make the city more resilient to increasingly common extreme heat events, among many other benefits.

April 3, 2023 - Diana Ionescu

Electric bus in Austin, Texas

Austin’s Project Connect Transit Plan Drastically Reduced

The details of drastic reductions to the proposed building program for Austin’s Project Connect long-range transit plan are now open for public comment.

March 23, 2023 - KUT

A bright red traffic lane reads “Bus Only.”

Texas Legislation Would Add More Roadblocks for Transit Funding in Austin

A former Austin city councilmember, now at the Texas State Legislature, is trying to make it harder for Austin Transit Partnership to borrow money to fund Project Connect, the Austin region’s big, ambitious transit investment plan.

March 20, 2023 - KUT

Electric bus in Austin, Texas

Revisions Looming, Austin’s Project Connect Reveals the Obstacles of Transit Planning in 2023

A once sprawling and singularly ambitious capital investment plan for the Capital Metro system will soon be reduced in size and scope. The episode is more evidence of an emerging era of transit planning austerity.

March 15, 2023 - TransitCenter

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