Austin's Atlas to crowdsource ‘People’s Field Guide’ with Austinites
The City of Austin and local artist Ann Armstrong of Austin's Atlas have teamed up to produce a crowdsourced “People’s Field Guide” to Austin’s South Central Waterfront.
Creating the people’s guide will unfold at a series of public events over the next few months, beginning this week with a “Walk and Draw,” a pedestrian-powered mapping project.
The project will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 27 and from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 29.
These “walkshops” will start each day at the Austin American-Statesman Bat Observation Center, 305 S. Congress Ave., under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. Persons may participate one or both days.
Drawings and text from all participants will be stitched together to form a single map that will be on display during two Design Workshops for the South Central Waterfront Initiative on Sept. 1 and 3.
“The walkshops are just one way that Austinites can engage with the South Central Waterfront Initiative,” said Alan Holt, City of Austin Principal Planner leading the master-planning effort. “As we imagine the future of this special place, the people’s guide will reflect on what was and what it is today.”
Participants will be outfitted with paper, pen and clipboard; then spread out to document a specified block of the South Central Waterfront.
“This is a family-friendly event and all are welcome to come and take part in a creative and fun way to connect to the City and one another,” said Armstrong, a local architect, artist, welder, and mapmaker with Austin’s Atlas, a collaborative art project interested in discovering, capturing, and expanding Austin's sense of place.
For event-goers
Austin’s Atlas will provide everything needed to participate.
- Each event runs for two hours. Arrival “on time” in not required. New groups will be briefed and sent off every 15 minutes.
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Riding a bike or walking to the event in encouraged. Parking options include:
- Statesman pay-to-park lot starting at $6.
- Free parking in lot at Auditorium Shores Park at Riverside Drive and South First Street (To get to Observation Center, walk east along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail to South Congress Avenue Bridge.)
- A bonus for participation: Those who submit completed blocks at the end of the Walk and Draw will receive a copy of the Austin’s Atlas “Urban Oddities” illustrated pedestrian guide.
About the South Central Waterfront Initiative
The Austin City Council in August 2013 authorized creation of a small area plan for the South Central Waterfront.
The project area encompasses 97 acres and is bounded by South First Street on the west, Blunn Creek to the east, Lady Bird Lake on the north, and East Riverside Drive and East Bouldin Creek on the south.
As the area evolves and faces different development pressures, the purpose of the plan is to facilitate high-priority objectives:
- Expand open space and create great public spaces.
- Enhance connections to and along the waterfront.
- Establish a lively, attractive pedestrian environment.
- Include affordable housing.
To learn more about the South Central Waterfront Initiative and upcoming engagement events, visit www.austintexas.gov/waterfront.