This comprehensive plan provides the framework for a network of trails and pedestrian infrastructure throughout the city of Austin.
To bring greater depth and equitable representation to community engagement, AR collaborated with 12 community members who worked as Community Ambassadors to offer their unique personal insights and further help the team to expand their reach, engaging community members who otherwise may not have access to traditional participation opportunities.
Developing an Equity Framework at the onset of broader trail & connectivity planning situates equity in the foreground, integrating equity components and community insights into future efforts as fundamental guiding principles.
This project sought to understand patterns of inequitable investment in connectivity, incorporating these insights into guidance highlighting how to recognize and mitigate inequitable decision making, pushing instead for greater access for communities most in need of improved infrastructure.
The City boasts a growing, yet incomplete, network of urban trails, sidewalks, and bikeways to safely and conveniently get people where they need to go, be physically active, and be outside with each other. To help the City provide these opportunities in an equitable way through future investments and policies, Asakura Robinson consulted with community stakeholders to develop a rigorous Equity Framework. This framework helped drive decision-making during the update process for three City plans: The Urban Trails Plan, Sidewalks Plan, and Bikeways Plan.
The plan includes the development of urban trails that provide off-street connections for pedestrians, cyclists, and other non-motorized modes of transportation. The trails are designed to connect neighborhoods and provide access to key destinations such as schools, shopping centers, and recreational areas. The plan also calls for the improvement of sidewalks, crosswalks, and other pedestrian infrastructure to increase safety and mobility for pedestrians.
Additionally, our team recruited, trained and directly managed a team of 12 Community Ambassadors, each bringing their lived experience as members of historically marginalized communities, and leveraging their personal networks to encourage deeper participation from historically underrepresented demographic groups.
Asakura Robinson also led public outreach strategy and conducting quantitative analysis of survey data, and will support development of new design guidelines for urban trails.
