Browsing by Subject "Austin"
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Item 1,000 miles : bridging the distance between Austin and Chicago(2013-05) Hinderaker, Andrew Dean; Dietz, Steven; Lynn, Kirk; Zeder, Suzan1,000 miles marks the culmination of my course of study at the University of Texas. As an MFA student in the playwriting program, I have juggled my responsibilities to the department with my role as a professional playwright, frequently splitting time between Austin and my hometown of Chicago, where I opened four world premieres from 2010-2012. In this thesis, I discuss the ways in which my work has been influenced by the aesthetics of both artistic communities. I focus on two of my plays in particular: Kingsville, which premiered in Chicago during my first semester at UT, and Colossal, which opened in Austin just weeks before graduation. Through the lens of these two plays, I outline my artistic evolution over the past three years, highlighting the ways in which my work has drawn from the very best of Chicago’s storefront theaters and Austin’s experimental scene.Item A study of regulation and placemaking in Austin, Texas : analysis of the Grove at Shoal Creek PUD proposal(2016-08) Sanders, Colton Wayne; Paterson, Robert G.; Wegmann, JacobLand use planning requires patience, organization and fortitude. This especially true in Austin, Texas and specific to The Grove at Shoal Creek PUD that is determined to create a mixed-use development that will be a model for future urban infill projects in Central Austin. The City of Austin is currently rewriting its Land Development Code embracing form-based code to better facilitate the complete communities objectives of the Imagine Austin comprehensive plan adopted in June 2012. This report explores the strengths and hindrances of the current land development code’s planned unit development (“PUD”) regulations to address the goals of complete communities through a case study of The Grove at Shoal Creek PUD proposal. The proposed development has been touted as a leading example of how PUD zoning can be used to accomplish these objectives, and this report will critically analyze both the regulatory processes and content of the developer’s proposal against the desired objectives of the Imagine Austin Plan. CodeNEXT is a three-year undertaking by city staff to rewrite Austin’s land development code (“LDC”) that began in September 2013. CodeNEXT embodies the re-visioning of the LDC incorporating form-based code districts to providing an illustrative, hybridized land development code guided by participatory planning activities (Community Character Manual, 2015). The concepts of form-based code are introduced to discuss current trends surrounding the re-visioning of conventional (Euclidean) land development code to one that primarily focuses on the form of the public spaces and then the uses within the buildings as a secondary concern. There is also an emerging trend of hybridized code which combine convention and form-based codes, and it is expected that CodeNEXT will follow this process to guide future development in Austin, Texas with a new regulatory framework. Hybridized land development codes seek to retain and clarify the objectives of conventional code while formulating districts along activity corridors incorporating form-based code to create predictable development. This report seeks to determine, as a case study, how form-based code will facilitate or hinder future urban infill developments similar to The Grove at Shoal Creek. The developers of The Grove have submitted proprietary Project Design Guidelines to administer development within the site. The design guidelines are analyzed and compared to form-based code districts from other towns and cities in Texas and across the United States within this report. Also, the Envision Tomorrow suite of planning tools are used in connection with ArcGIS mapping analysis to compare and contrast the developer’s proposal with that of the stakeholders and a single family low density development scenario. The conceptual land use plans are evaluated against the requested entitlements of the zoning application to determine whether or not the illustrative concepts may become the final product. My report uses predictability as the ultimate indicator of a successful planning process while given consideration to flexibility required during the planning process and after approval of zoning to allow for changing market conditions. Furthermore, I find that form-based code and the phased planning approach prescribed by the Form-Based Code Institute facilitate predictable form of the built environment and flexibility with the uses within those building. The principles of form-based code seek to create a memorable relationship between the structures and the public spaces that is attractive to people allowing a place to stand the test of time by promoting compatibility and adaptability with its surroundings. My discussions with neighbors, city staff, developers and investors have afforded me a wide perspective on how land development code is understood as well as the perception of the regulatory environment in Austin. The regulatory delays inherent of real estate development in Austin have been observed for decades and widely discussed. This report seeks to address these short-comings by envisioning emerging methods of placemaking through form-based code. My hope is that the lessons learned from this analysis of The Grove PUD application process, and prescriptions formed by the creation of CodeNEXT will address recommendations from the Zucker Report through a hybridized land development code to effectuate placemaking in Austin preserving its eclectic character while guiding development to serve the needs Austin, Texas for the next thirty years.Item A tough route to Eastside Memorial High School : the issue of educational inequality in Austin, Texas(2016-05) Mendez, Vanessa Andreina; Sletto, Bjørn; Oden, MichaelThe following report examines the mobility challenges encountered by youth in the Govalle Neighborhood in East Austin, specifically focusing on the obstacles students face on their daily commutes to Eastside Memorial High School. A case study was conducted of an unofficial, unsafe route that students have developed to walk to school, revealing how children appropriate residual spaces to maintain the route and how they personally experience the route. Students who utilize the route, parents, and local residents in the Govalle Neighborhood were interviewed to gauge their perspectives on the route, and recommendations for alternative and improved routes to school are provided. The study shows that this informal route is a result of economic and spatial inequalities in Austin, which have resulted in poorly developed infrastructures in East Austin that exacerbate the challenges facing minority students of a lower socioeconomic background.Item Activist friendships in the time of burnout : Marilyn Buck and Mariann Wizard, 1966-2010(2016-05) Kramer, Lauren Nicole; Mickenberg, Julia L.; Strong, PaulineDuring the 1960s and 1970s, Marilyn Buck, a white antiracist activist, engaged in activism outside the confines of feminist organizations largely dominated by upper middle-class white women. Marilyn worked in solidarity with both the Black Panther Party (BPP) and the Black Liberation Army (BLA) in the Bay Area, operating almost entirely behind the scenes. Following her arrest in 1973 for allegedly purchasing ammunition and weapons for the Black Liberation Army under a false name, she spent nearly the rest of her life in prison, eventually becoming a well-known prison activist and developing a vast network of friends and supporters from all over the world. For the duration of her long and sometimes grueling activist journey, Marilyn completely evaded burnout. Activist burnout poses a serious threat to the survival of social movements, striking even the most seasoned activists. In this thesis, I argue that Marilyn’s talent for creating and maintaining strong relationships played a major role in facilitating her ability to avoid burnout and keep her activist commitments strong. Many have celebrated Marilyn’s activist work and literary achievements, yet her interpersonal strengths must be acknowledged: she managed to build an immense international support network while living behind prison walls. In this multilayered study, I not only analyze Marilyn Buck’s significance as an activist who built an extensive friendship network and maintained an unwavering, lifelong commitment to her beliefs, but I also attempt to understand her life through the double lens of the perspective of her close friend, Mariann Wizard, and my own scholar/activist positionality. I combine the personal with the archival to demonstrate the value of Marilyn and Mariann’s friendship—both for the two of them and for modern-day scholars and activists looking to gain insight on the importance of activist friendships.Item An analysis of the City of Austin’s TOD guidelines and interim standards of development(2007-08) Clark, Norma Katherine, 1983-; Beamish, Anne, 1954-The purpose of this study is to analyze the interim standards and determine whether or not they provide enough of a design base to produce a site plan which satisfies the City’s TOD principles. These guidelines and standards express vital elements and characteristics which the city desires to implement within their TOD districts. By developing a site plan for a specified TOD using only the given interim standards of development I will be able to examine their strengths and weakness and determine whether or not the goals of the City guidelines were met.Item An anthropologist’s guide to the 21st century : a look at online and offline car culture in Central Texas(2010-05) Lopez, Joseph Todd; Stone, Allucquère Rosanne; Straubhaar, Joseph; Hartigan, John; Garrison, Andrew; McLeland, SusanThis dissertation looks at online and offline car culture in Central Texas. The online car culture observed is on Internet car forums and other Internet sources for car enthusiasts. Offline car culture deals with various types of car events around the central Texas area. These events include, but are not limited to, car shows, street races, and street meets. Cultural practices were observed in both types of environments and are analyzed by using hybridity theory, gender analysis and race analysis.Item The architecture that built "The Live Music Capital of the World" : from Paleolithic caves to the Moody Theater(2016-05) McKeeman, Ryan Keith; Benedikt, Michael; Webster, Anthoy KThis thesis provides a fresh perspective on “The Live Music Capital of the World” from the vantage of its venues, their respective ritual practices, and the aural cultural values they represent through the aural experience of their architecture. These rituals and aural experiences draw upon a canon of archetypes from the history of architecture, many of which are well known to architectural historians for reasons other than aural experience, like their building technology, for example. As this thesis investigates the cultural significance of music in architecture, the venues for live music, the first chapter provides a contextual basis for the origins of music, arguing that music’s cultural significance in general is integrated and intertwined with our sociality as human beings. Like the control of fire, music fundamentally impacted the evolution of humans, allowing early human ancestors to engage in sensually rich and abstract communication that mimicked the novel social designs of the time period. In the second chapter, this thesis establishes a canon of archetypes in architectural history from Paleolithic Caves to late-nineteenth century Romanticism, providing examples as a form of case study. These examples demonstrate pivotal instances of the social, political, religious, and cultural power of music in architecture. In every case, it is clear that music specifically (and aural design more broadly) has been embedded within architecture and ritual practice since the beginning when humans inhabited the borrowed structures of caves, even before designing and building their own structures. Finally, in chapter three, the public and semi-public soundscapes of Austin are explored utilizing the theoretical framework of aural architecture developed by Barry Blesser and Linda-Ruth Salter. In an intimate account of specific “signature” venues in Austin, this thesis identifies aural features that originate from within the canon of archetypes developed in chapter two. The evolution of Austin’s live music venues illustrates an evolving set of cultural values related to where, when and how loudly live music ought to occur in our public spaces.Item Are small efficiency dwelling units the next wave for urban dwellers in Austin's infill development? : Exploring the development feasibility for small efficiency dwelling units in Austin's TODs(2012-12) Galindo Gimon, Andres Ignacio 1979-; Kahn, Terry D.The following report details research and analysis in order to assess the background market and market-based feasibility of the development of efficiency apartment units in the central Austin Area. It explores the potential and opportunities of reducing the size of apartments and promoting efficiency apartment unit development as a strategy to improve housing affordability for the Generation Y (Gen Y) population while taking advantage of urban redevelopment investments near Austin’s main TODs. The body of this study will discuss: (1) Generation Y and its impact on Austin’s housing market; (2) concepts and facts related to housing affordability; (3) strategies used by the city of Austin to promote infill development and existing transit oriented development sites; and (4) an overview of key housing development strategies and the real estate development process, including market analysis and absorption forecast under current housing market conditions. The study evaluates the implications of a significant demand for less expensive and smaller alternative housing products for a growing population group near downtown Austin. This report may contributes to the policy discussion about different approaches to housing affordability and offers an assessment guide for new housing development opportunities for a diverse range of city residents.Item The arts as amenity : a factor in regional economic development?(2007-05) Sullivan, Ryan James; Oden, MichaelArts and cultural activity may play an important role in regional economic development. But to what end and by what means? Traditional economic development theory identifies export expansion and import substitution as the means by which an industrial sector may add to a region’s economic base. Recorded and visual arts may produce exports in some regions, but live performing arts are incapable of exportation. Instead, they must generate tourism to capture extra-regional dollars. Contemporary research argues two additional means by which the arts may encourage growth. First, the presence of a great many artists and arts institutions may increase firm productivity and efficiency by reducing the cost of arts services, increasing the quality of and accessibility to arts services, and promoting innovation. Second, an abundance of arts and cultural activity may attract a highly skilled, competitive workforce, which then attracts firm relocation. This report presents original research designed to test this last hypothesis as applied to Austin, Texas. Results indicate that while the arts in Austin may not attract a competitive workforce, they do appear to have at least some significance in retaining creative professionals.Item Austin housing and the critical workforce(2011-05) Connor, Patrick Thayer; Kahn, Terry D.; Cahoon, JosephThis professional report is a study of urban housing market forces, housing opportunities of the critical workforce population, Austin’s housing market and an analysis of the apartment market in Austin between 2000 and 2010. The report analyzes the supply and demand of property, its influence on the costs of development and how cities intervene into the market to create housing opportunities for the critical workforce. The income levels of the critical workforce in Austin are related to the current market conditions of the apartment market.Item Austin media in the digital age(2012-05) Gomez-Garcia, Oscar David; Gil de Zúñiga, Homero; Alves, Rosental C.This report first explores the changes journalism is experiencing since the advent of the Internet in a broad manner. Second, and more specifically, it aims to shed more light on the mechanisms that are used by the very diverse Austin-area range of outlets and journalistic corporations, and the way they are embracing and adopting new technologies. To that end, it also tries to analyze the current Austin media ecosystem in depth, focusing on some of the most representative local media outlets and interviewing some of the more relevant personalities that are making all of these changes feasible.Item The Austin music scene in the 1970s : songs and songwriters(2011-08) Hillis, Craig Dwight; Smith, Mark C.; Meikle, Jeffrey L.; Stott, William M.; Miller, Karl H.; Foley, Douglas E.; Mooney, KevinIn the early 1970s a collection of singer-songwriters, musicians, and music business operatives captured the imagination of a national audience and launched Austin's reputation as a powerful and prolific international music scene. At the beginning of this seminal decade, the songs, the sounds, and the identities that took shape in Austin's music venues, studios, and back rooms gained traction in the national marketplace by cultivating a cross-cultural, cross-generational musical hybrid that came to be known as "progressive country." This dissertation tells the story of this music scene and explains why it's a story worth recounting in the course of American popular culture. The story begins by focusing on the meaning and utility of a music scene. To this end, I review a series of scholarly scene studies in an attempt to identify common currents of "sceneness" that I contrast with my findings as a participant observer in the Austin musical scene from 1967 to the present. The study then surveys the extant sources on Austin's music history, a commonly accepted history that I'm calling the "creation myth." This "myth" is expanded by introducing new voices, new interpretations, and new developments that have been under emphasized or overlooked in previous accounts. This analysis establishes the foundation for the unifying theme of this study, a theme based on the seminal significance, power, and durability of the song in the Austin music scene. The song was the driving force behind Austin's remarkable climate of musical creativity. The study then focuses on the local scene of the late 1960s as a precursor to the decade of the singer-songwriters. This was a highly productive era in Austin's creative history and although overshadowed by the popular splash of the 1970s, this period provided the underpinnings for music making in Austin for years to come. In the next section, the song is revisited by examining its history and its role in Western culture. Stated simply, songs are important—songs matter. They may mean different things to different people and play different roles in different societies, but they are an essential component of civilization. The discussion then expands from the efficacy of the popular song to the essence of their creators by examining the early professional careers of three prominent Austin-based songwriters—Steven Fromholz, Michael Martin Murphey and Jerry Jeff Walker. Weighing the differences in their respective styles and considering their commonalities help illuminate the process by which the song permeated the creative fabric of the period. The dissertation then explores the creative output of the Austin music scene by focusing on what I'm calling "cultural products." Certainly the songs of the era are prime examples of cultural products and are addressed throughout the dissertation. In this final segment however, I single out four examples of cultural products that are rooted in the 1970s that have either played a notable role in the historical current of Austin music or that continue to contribute to American popular culture in the 21st century.Item Barriers to and opportunities for commercial urban farming : case studies from Austin, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana(2014-05) Vickery, Kathryn Koebert; Dooling, SarahThis professional report addresses 1) where urban agriculture is developing in cities and why; 2) the primary constraints affecting the development of long-term commercial urban farm operations within the boundaries of large metropolitan cities; and 3) how cities are planning and creating policies for commercial urban agriculture under different environmental, economic, and land-use constraints. Using case studies from Austin, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana, I address these questions through a qualitative analysis of current efforts to reform land use policies for urban farming, existing literature, and interviews with practitioners, farmers, policy makers, and planners. The history and context of each case study is addressed, honing in on specific environmental, social, regulatory, economic, and land use barriers to commercial urban farming.Item Best practices in green affordable housing(2008-12) Raish, Julia Katherine; Moore, Steven A., 1945-This report is an exploration of the theoretical and applied aspects of green affordable housing. First, it presents an in-depth examination of the current status of green affordable housing by exploring the synergy between green rating systems which guide and certify developments and the financial and policy mechanisms which either support or curtail them. Second, this report will analyze diverse case studies from around the country in order to examine how green affordable housing is developed in various real-world contexts. Two-tiers of case studies are presented: secondary and primary. Secondary case studies receive a brief overview while the primary case study examines in-depth an ongoing development in Austin, Texas. The primary case is also an example of current innovative movements and provides a glimpse into what the future of green affordable housing might look like. And lastly, conclusions are drawn from the research that itemize best practices in green affordable housing. The report concludes that green affordable housing is not an easy development practice and thus, recommendations are provided to ease some of the existing barriers to further development. This report also concludes that while costbenefit analyses and arguments for energy-efficiency are salient, concerns for public and environmental health need equal weight in the argument and advocacy for green affordable housing. I argue that green affordable housing should be developed with an integrated design process specific to local context, with a local visioning process that cultivates community connections. And most importantly, education for housing providers and tenants regarding on-going operations and maintenance is a crucial part of that integrated design process.Item Biketivists, hipsters, and spandex queens : bicycle politics and cultural critique in Austin(2011-05) Ronald, Kirsten Marie; Davis, Janet M.; Engelhardt, ElizabethThis paper uses an interdisciplinary, multiperspectival approach to analyze biketivism and various anticapitalist biketivist projects in Austin, Texas, in the hopes that a “glocalized” exploration of past and current biketivist struggles can help locate potential sites for political agency in ways that more placeless rhetorical studies cannot. Because the form and content of present-day bike politics in Austin are heavily dependent on biketivism’s historically tense articulations with capitalism, a historical analysis of biketivism as an outgrowth of Progressive Era and Appropriate Technology narratives reveals its crystallization around issues of technological, spatial, and social politics. Three case studies then apply this framework to different sites within the Austin bike community: the sales rhetoric of pro-custom bike shops, the debates over installing a Bike Boulevard in downtown Austin, and the missions and forms of several bike-related cultural organizations. Together, these perspectives on Austin’s bike community indicate that the incorporation (and sometimes outright co-optation) of biketivists’ technological and spatial demands and practices into mainstream culture may fragment the movement into physical and social agendas, but this fragmentation does not necessarily silence biketivism’s more radical social politics. At least in Austin, co-optation of biketivism may paradoxically be helping biketivists meet their goal of bringing (pedal) power to the people.Item Bus rapid transit and transit-oriented development in Austin, TX(2006-05) Marx, Michelle; Zhang, Ming, 1963 April 22-The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is currently in the stages of implementing Austin’s first bus rapid transit line along one of the city’s principal urban corridors. The line will run approximately 20 miles, along North Lamar, Guadalupe and South Congress Avenue. Considering the key role that land use patterns play in determining ridership for mass transit systems, transit agencies are increasingly pursuing strategies to encourage transit-oriented development as a means of securing the success of their transit investments. Considering the relatively intense uses already existing along this corridor, the location of some of the city’s primary institutions along it, and its general importance in defining the “image” of the city, this corridor seems ideally situated to absorb significant density increases. The focus of this study, therefore, is to evaluate the general need for increased densities and transit-supportive development along Austin’s BRT starter route, to examine the overall ability of bus-based transit to generate development pressures, to outline some of the land use policies necessary for encouraging TOD, and finally, to suggest an ideal planning approach for encouraging transit-supportive development along Austin’s BRT corridor.Item Children in the city : the role of public recreational space(2009-05) Todd, Jennifer Lee; Sletto, BjørnWhile American cities are growing in size and population, they are losing one important group of people: children. Young people are essential to the vitality and social fabric of cities, yet cities are becoming increasingly unfriendly to young people and their families. Housing in cities is expensive, streets are devoted more to vehicles than pedestrians or bikes, and recreational space is not frequently convenient or adequate for the needs of children. While working to address any one of these needs would create greater equality for children, this report examines the impact of green recreational space for children. Adding green space to a city not only provides children with opportunities to play, which is vital to social, physical, and emotional development, but it also creates healthier communities with lower levels of crime and higher levels of community engagement. Creating spaces that are child-friendly and cherished by the community is not difficult, and can be achieved through deliberate planning and engagement with children. Due to recent downtown development initiatives, Austin has a unique opportunity to create green places for the community where children can play freely downtown.Item City of Austin’s data culture still under construction(2015-05) Boria Gonzalez, Laura Marina; McDonald, Christian; Chen, GinaMost open government initiatives across the United States focus on transparency, where local governments publish information online about its operations. By giving people access to the data used to run government operations, others can use that data to solve city problems or create additional services, like the congressional tracking website GovTrack. This project is an attempt to understand the issues surrounding the City of Austin’s initiative to open up its data. The city joined the open data movement with the selection and launch of their Socrata portal in 2011. But the local government didn’t just come up with the idea of launching an open data portal by itself. Austin’s open government data movement has been largely led by grassroots efforts.Item Community Wireless Networks : a case study of Austin, Texas(2006-12) Rock, Kathy; Mueller, Elizabeth J.Community Wireless Networks (CWNs) are a fairly new phenomenon. One of the first projects, NYC Wireless, started in 2001. These wireless initiatives are often a response to the lack of high-speed ubiquitous computing. Many of the first users, frustrated neighborhood “techies,” jerry rigged low cost WiFi antennas to rooftops and the side of buildings in order to access a high-speed broadband service. By doing this the wireless pioneers shared high speed wireless signals with neighbors and anyone within reach of their signal. As wireless computing became more popular, and it’s social and economic benefits more obvious, CWNs became an attractive alternative for many rural and low-income urban communities. Populations that had been overlooked by large cable and telephone service companies. The success of CWNs has paved the way for municipalities to build publicly supported wireless projects. Cable and telephone companies, major providers of broadband service, view municipal networks as unfair competition, and thus began the legislative battle over municipal wireless networks. The battle continues to wage. Cable and telephone companies have had some success at the state level and the federal debate is underway at this moment. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to understand the role Austin’s nonprofits play to ensure that high speed broadband access is made available for everyone and how lessons learned in Austin can be applied to other cities and locations around the country. The study found that Austin, compared to other cities of the same size, has a very small nonprofit community to addresses the issue of universal broadband access. Although the group is small, networking and mingling between community service organizations, the city government and wireless projects has created a community that effectively addresses the issue of high-speed access to the Internet.Item Composting opportunities for the city of Austin(2011-12) Mulholland, Katie Jean; Dooling, Sarah; Kahn, Terry DComposting is commonly thought of as practices urban residents can do as part of living sustainably in cities. However, it is also an effective strategy cities can reduce landfilling and move towards Zero Waste. A number of North American cities have already developed residential curbside composting programs, which collect and processes yard and food waste to create compost. The city of Austin is in the process of passing an Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan as a means of working towards its Zero Waste goal. Included in this plan is the charge to begin creating a residential composting pilot. To assist in these efforts, I researched the opportunities the City of Austin has for developing a residential composting program. Using a framework of sustainability, I focus on how the city can create a program that addresses issues of equity. Through interviews with representatives of cities with composting programs and local stakeholders, I identify a number of best practices and recommendations. These interviews also outline methods to address equity through increasing outreach, participation, access to the final compost product as well as incorporating input into program design. First, I begin with a brief history of waste management to examine the social drivers that prompt the creation of waste diversion programs. Then, I identify variables that influence individual behaviors with a review of the consumer behavior literature. Next, I provide an overview of what is currently happening in Austin and explain my organizing framework of sustainability. After outlining my methods, I present the findings of my interviews. Then, I discuss eight proposals the City of Austin could use to develop its residential composting program. Lastly, I conclude by identifying opportunities for future research.