America’s newest transit system
The Austin Transit Partnership hired Gehl and collaborators HKS and UN Studio to design a human-centered light rail system that drives high ridership and supports a vision for where Austin is headed: a thriving twenty-first century city with a unique and beloved culture. Gehl worked closely with the client, engineering teams, partner agencies, and a series of focus groups to deliver a Research and Vision document that communicates the intent of the system to the public, and guides design teams to create a system built around human comfort, human behavior, and public life.
Gehl led an innovative research approach to arrive at the vision for ATP. The team integrated detailed experience-focused site understandings (from shade and sidewalk quality to public art and local culture) with detailed public life counts and cognitive experience mapping in hot and mild climates to provide a rich and people-focused picture of the opportunities and challenges of transit in Austin. The team synthesized the analysis into a series of user personas and journeys, a vision, user needs, and performance-based design principles.
Throughout 2023, Gehl continued its collaboration with partners on concept design, paying special attention to last-mile connections, urban integration, user experience design, and integrating community input into the plans using a co-creative process.
