In the last several years, student mode choice has increasingly become an important area of study. Findings from these studies can be applied to regional travel demand modeling efforts, campus planning efforts, and sustainability initiatives, among others. This paper presents an analysis of student mode choice at the University of Texas at Austin, using statistical and geographic information systems analysis, based on the University of Texas Parking and Transportation Services mode choice survey administered during the spring 2014 semester. Results showed that within this sample, more students take alternative modes than drive alone, though the proportion of students driving alone to campus remains substantial. Among other conclusions, analysis also indicated clustering of respondent residential locations, and drive alone hotspots in several zip codes primarily in south/southeast Austin. These results point to a geographic area where it may be beneficial to concentrate resources aimed at inducing drivers to switch to an alternative mode of transportation, in order to support UT’s mobility and sustainability goals. / text

This report serves as a first-person account of the conceptualization, pre-production, and post-production phases of my short documentary thesis film. We Will Always Be Here interweaves stories from residents, historians, and grassroots activists in a visual essay about the transforming landscape in the rapidly expanding neighborhood of East Austin. The film explores themes of identity politics and cultural resistance amid the seemingly unstoppable expansion of the city of Austin. / text

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La pratique de l'empirisme s'appuie sur des propensions réalistes sans les questionner, et tout particulièrement la propension réaliste contenue dans des attitudes comme la connaissance ou la perception. En effet, tout empirisme propose une forme de connaissance et se base sur la perception. Mais, dés lors que la connaissance et la perception sont prises comme objet de l'analyse, et envisagées comme porteuses d'une propension réaliste intéressante pour qui veut questionner l'adéquation du schème conceptuel à la réalité, alors le problème de la connaissance et celui de la perception ne peuvent plus être envisagés dans le cadre d'une simple enquête empirique. Ils doivent être envisagés dans le cadre d'une enquête qui veit rendre compte de la propension réaliste elle-même.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 347-371). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-156). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

This report addresses building envelope conditions of the Main Building of the Austin State Hospital (ASH), formerly the Texas Lunatic Asylum. Designed in 1857 to be constructed in phases and follow the nationally recognized Kirkbride plan, this four-story, solid limestone wall building remained a patient dormitory for almost a century. At present, the Main Building serves as the administration building for the ASH campus but has experienced deterioration due to inappropriate repairs and neglect as a result of inadequate funding. This report provides a historical record of the Main Building, documents existing exterior conditions, discusses mechanisms of deterioration for conditions and provides selected treatment recommendations. Observed conditions include biological growth, iron staining, limestone erosion, and inappropriate repairs with portland cement. / text

Pedestrian and cyclist collisions with motor vehicles are a growing problem in the United States and in particular Austin, Texas. These collisions cause unnecessary loss of life and injury. This research explores strategies in the realms of engineering, education and enforcement from three leading cities for pedestrian and cyclist safety. Based on the analysis, I have identified possible strategies for use in Austin, Texas to prevent these collision types. I also offer a conceptual model that can be used as a framework for organizing and thinking about the various components involved in preventing pedestrian and cyclist collisions with motor vehicles. / text

The primary concern of this dissertation is to give historical perspective to the idea of the creative city and the creative, or "new," "knowledge," or "postindustrial" economy that has produced this new form of urban space. Austin, Texas, one of the developed world's premiere creative cities, is used as a test case. Like many urban scholars, I focus on the manifestation of the city as a unique material expression of the capitalist order, and also on the city as a symbolic discourse that has helped to generate its material conditions, including consistent socioeconomic unevenness. In broad outline I am interested in the forces of capitalism that cause cities and regions to grow. I begin with a basic question asked by geographer Allen J. Scott: "How do competitive advantages (including capacities for creativity) of cities emerge, and how might they be enhanced by public action?" In the case of Austin, I argue that the city's competitive advantage was engendered by an ethos that valued free market competition and a focus on the dual economic engines of technology and leisure which city and university leaders identified during World War Two. Austin's economic ideology, which consciously eschewed fordist modes of production in favor of knowledge-based growth associated with the University of Texas, was poised to blossom when macroeconomic ruptures forced massive restructuring associated with globalization during and after the 1970s. The city's inherent advantage as a site of surplus knowledge production for Texas and the Southwest created a highly paid, educated labor market that business people and politicians viewed as the core element of a non-industrial city. Even before the 1970s Austin was well on its way to economic growth through technological accumulation and modes of production that took advantage of skilled labor markets. The creative city thus has a history that must be understood before policy is adopted based on non-transferable conditions of growth. / text

This report reviews the cost of urban sprawl and shows the fiscal impact of smart growth. The report then focuses on the West Campus University Neighborhood Overlay (UNO) District in Austin, Texas, and it analyzes and estimates the fiscal impact on the City of Austin. Through fiscal impact analysis, it examines the contribution of the UNO District to the fiscal position of the City of Austin. As a result, this report gives the City of Austin fiscal reasons for redevelopment based on the smart growth scenario. This report begins with showing the cost of urban sprawl. Then, it reviews the history,principles, and policies of smart growth. The following section demonstrates the fiscal impact of smart growth. Lastly, the case of the West Campus area is examined by fiscal impact analysis. The result after the analysis shows the fiscal impacts on the City of Austin from both sides of budget, including expenditures and revenues. The revenues received from the residents of the area increased due to the sudden jump in property value, growth population, housing constructions, and mixed-use development. However, the costs also increased due to the needs for public services. / text