State of the City - Austin

Recently the Mayor (and about 75 others) had breakfast at the Metropolitan Breakfast Club to discuss the "State of the City" and how Austin is positioned at a national level.

Austin now has 715,000 people and is the 16th largest city in the US.
Currently our population is 50% bigger than Atlanta which is the 43rd biggest city.
Austin is the youngest big city in the US per capita with 90,000 total college and university students. Over 50,000 at The University of Texas, 33,000 at Austin Community College and the rest spread among the remaining institutions of higher learning.
Austin land mass comprises 280 square miles.
Austin ranks as the safest big city in the US. In 2006 we had 19 murders. By comparison in 2006 Seattle had 125 murders. In the 1970s when Austin was one third the population it now has we averaged 50 murders a year.
70% of the city's $600 million dollar budget is spent on police, fire and emergency services.
Austin is the fastest growing big city in the US. In 1990 were ranked 27th largest city. In 2006 we are ranked 16th.
For the past eleven decades --- since 1895 --- Austin has grown EACH year by 3.5% population.
That means every 20 years Austin has doubled in population.
Mayor Winn sees that as the forecast for our future. A steady 3.5% population growth and that we will once again double in size over the next 20 years.
In 2006 we added over 25,000 new jobs.

In 2006 we added over 25,000 new jobs.
In 2006 the sales tax revenue was up 12% and hotel occupancy was up 25%.
Every day 85 new residents are added to Austin. This includes new people moving to town ---- and births / deaths.
That equates to 70 more cars on the road each day.
Texas is the fastest growing State in the US. Texas adds 500,000 people to the State each year. Austin is the fastest growing city in the fastest growing State in the US. Austin is a very economically attractive location and environment.
To manage this growth the Mayor says we need to better manage three things:

A. Existing road ways

B. Mass transit

C. Land use patterns

He sites the new Domain and Mueller airport projects as the way to better use land patterns. In these projects people will be able to LIVE, WORK, SHOP and EAT ---- without driving. The Mayor believe we will see more projects like this in other areas of the city. In the next few years he sees the same thing happening to the 8,000 acre Robinson Ranch. The Robinson Ranch has been purchased for development. It is the land that surrounds Abbot Labs off of the Loop 1 Toll way. By creating mixed use high density developments that allow people to LIVE, WORK, SHOP, EAT and PLAY close to home ---- he feels the congestion on our roadways will be greatly helped.