Download Report:

Databook:

Figures:

Chapter 2.0: Austin Peer Cities Analysis

Roadway congestion affects only a small portion of the Central Texas region, despite it being a very large area of the state (9,480 square miles, about the same size as the state of Maryland). In analyzing congestion data, the Austin-Area Transportation Databook relies on data from the 2005 Urban Mobility Report. The Austin area, as defined by the researchers in the mobility report, is confined to the urban area. Limiting the size of the area examined and applying the same calculus to other cities throughout the nation allows researchers to better compare mobility and congestion trends across metropolitan areas.

This section presents a comparison of Austin with other select peer cities and provides a framework for the discussion of congestion trends in Austin. The peer cities were chosen by metrics including similar sizes, growth rates, or economic bases, and many have large college campuses or are their respective state's capital. The cities comprising the following peer city comparison are Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, Raleigh/Durham, Salt Lake City, and Tucson.

In order for the data to be as consistent as possible, population estimates in this section are sourced from the 2005 Urban Mobility Report. This allows information regarding population growth in future sections to be more closely correlated with congestion data. Demographic data was acquired from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey, as the Urban Mobility Report does not collect data on demographics.

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey
  2. Texas Transportation Institute. 2005 Urban Mobility Report, Texas A&M University, http://mobility.tamu.edu/, May 2005.

List of Figures