The Big Representation Gap in Austin's Regional Planning

The names and faces occupying decision-making positions in the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization do not reflect the names and faces of the people they are meant to represent.

1 minute read

September 14, 2016, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Austin

The Congress Avenue Bridge at sunset. | Kushal Bose / Shutterstock

Angie Schmitt shares news of a recently released report [pdf] examining the gender, race, and geography of decision-making boards represented in the Austin region’s Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO).

Jay Crossley completed the study, with crowdfunding to support the project, and arrived at an unsurprising finding: "women, people of color, and urban residents are significantly underrepresented at CAMPO — with potentially profound consequences for transportation policy."

Schmitt shares several of the visualizations from the report, to illustrate the massive disconnect between CAMPO's boards and the populations they represent. Crossley promises to explore question of how much the skewed representation affects transportation policy in the second phase of the project.

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