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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Austin. Written by Nicole Cobler and Asher Price.

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Data: ParkScore; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Austin ranks 41st among the 100 largest U.S. cities for its public parks, per the latest report from the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a pro-parks nonprofit.

The group rates cities on a variety of metrics, including the percentage of residents who live near a park, the share of city land reserved for parks, parks investment and more; cities are then awarded a "ParkScore."

Why it matters: For play, for health, for picnics, parks are key to our peace of mind.

They were especially crucial during the throes of the pandemic as a way to get outside while keeping distance.

The big picture: At a national level, parks spending still hasn't recovered to pre-Great Recession levels, per TPL officials.

But that statistic is largely driven by the country's biggest cities — by contrast, many midsize cities are increasing their parks spending.

The current fiscal year budget for Austin's Parks and Recreation Department is $114 million — up $8 million from the previous year — with a five-year plan to spend $224.4 million on capital projects, from reviving East Austin's Parque Zaragoza Bathhouse to rehabilitating South Austin's Dittmar Recreation Center.

In 2018, Austin voters approved a $149 million bond measure to pay for parkland acquisition and city pool repairs, among other things.

Reality check: Not every city park is a multi-acre Olmstedian masterpiece — yet even diminutive "pocket parks" and community garden lots confer physical, mental and social benefits.

"If there's a pocket park with no sports facilities at all, but I walked 12 minutes to get there and I walk 12 minutes home, I've got my 24 minutes of moderate activity for that day," says Howard Frumkin, TPL senior vice president and director of the Land and People Lab.

Of note: 70% of Austin residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, slightly under the 100 largest U.S. cities' average of 76%.

Zoom in: Austin gets relatively high marks in the new rankings for its number of splash pads and dog parks but gets low grades for its number of basketball hoops, playgrounds and rec centers.

The city was ranked 39th nationally last year.

What they're saying: "The ranking on the TPL report reflects Austin's investment in the parks system and underscores the need to continue to invest in green spaces as our city expands," Kanya Lyons, a spokesperson for Austin's Parks and Recreation Department, tells Axios.

Between the lines: Residents in low-income neighborhoods have access to 39% less park space per person than those in the average Austin neighborhood and 55% less than those in high-income neighborhoods.

How Austin's parks rank nationally

70% of Austin residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, per a new report.

Austin ranks 41st among the 100 largest U.S. cities for its public parks, per the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="latest report" data-vars-click-url="https://www.tpl.org/parkscore" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.tpl.org/parkscore" target="_blank">latest report</a> from the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a pro-parks nonprofit.<ul><li>The group rates cities on a variety of metrics, including the percentage of residents who live near a park, the share of city land reserved for parks, parks investment and more; cities are then awarded a &quot;ParkScore.&quot;</li></ul>

News

Have you ever quibbled with friends over where one neighborhood ends and another begins? Think you know your city better than other Axios readers? Now you can prove it.

Our very awesome visual storytelling team at Axios came up with a game in which you can draw what you think are the boundaries for your local neighborhoods and compare your answers to those of other Axios readers. 

How it works: Follow this link to the game on our website and select your city, then hit play! 

You'll get some instructions and then play through, drawing five neighborhoods. 

If you're not familiar with a neighborhood, you can skip it, and we'll choose a different one for you to draw.

At the end, you can compare your answers to the average of other Axios readers to see how similar or different your guesses were.

Don't forget: You can download images of your results to share with friends and on social media, letting them know where you think your neighborhoods are!

How to play the Austin neighborhood game

A gif of a drawing of an Austin neighborhood

How accurately can you draw some of Austin's neighborhoods? Illustration: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Have you ever quibbled with friends over where one neighborhood ends and another begins? Think you know your city better than other Axios readers? Now you can prove it.Our very awesome visual storytelling team at Axios came up with a game in which you can draw what you think are the boundaries for your local neighborhoods and compare your answers to those of other Axios readers.

Things to Do

Data: RentCafe analysis of Yardi Matrix data; Note: Analysis includes U.S. metro areas (defined by Yardi Matrix market boundaries) with the most apartments located in multi-family buildings of 50 units or more; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

New apartments in the Austin area are getting smaller as other Texas cities, like Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, see their average square footage increase.

Why it matters: Apartment sizes are shrinking nationally, a reversal in the rental market that saw units get bigger during the early part of the work-from-home era.

By the numbers: The average size of a newer Austin apartment is 884 square feet, 0.3% smaller than the 2022 national average of 887 square feet, per a new report from listing service RentCafe.

Meanwhile, other Texas cities are bucking that trend, with new apartments averaging 923 square feet in Houston, 901 square feet in San Antonio and 895 square feet in Dallas.

The big picture: Nationwide, newly built apartments in 2022 shed 30 square feet on average compared to 2021, per the report.

That sharp decrease was fueled in part by more studios and one-bedroom apartments entering the market, researchers found, analyzing the 100 metro areas with the most high-density buildings.

Flashback: In 2020 and 2021, demand for more space resulted in larger unit configurations, RentCafe analyst Adina Dragos tells Axios.

"Fast forward to 2022, the demand for more apartments prompted developers to accommodate more units in their projects," Dragos says.

What we're watching: Apartments under construction. As the market keeps fluctuating, their size could signal whether the trend of smaller rentals will stick.

New apartments in Austin are smaller than national average

New Austin apartments average 884 square feet.

New apartments in the Austin area are getting smaller as other Texas cities, like Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, see their average square footage increase.Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Apartment sizes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/14/smaller-apartments-flooding-market" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/14/smaller-apartments-flooding-market" target="_self">Apartment sizes</a> are shrinking nationally, a reversal in the rental market that saw units <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="get bigger" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wsj.com/articles/supersize-apartments-are-back-in-demand-11624964401" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/supersize-apartments-are-back-in-demand-11624964401" target="_blank">get bigger</a> during the early part of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="work-from-home" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/15/census-bureau-work-from-home-pandemic-labor" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/15/census-bureau-work-from-home-pandemic-labor" target="_self">work-from-home</a> era.

Real Estate

As the Austin airport continues to see a record number of travelers, new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation reveals the severity of Southwest Airlines' winter meltdown.

State of play: For most airlines, summer will test how well they've rebounded from the chaos of the holiday season.

But in Austin, that test comes early each year when South by Southwest crowds, spring breakers, WGC-Dell Match Play attendees and NASCAR fans swarm the airport throughout the month of March.

Driving the news: The real story of winter holiday travel, of course, was Southwest canceling thousands of flights nationwide.

New data from the U.S. Department of Transportation reveals that just 66.4% of flights — and 60.5% of Southwest flights — at AUS departed on time in December.

That's down from 76.5% of on-time flights — and 74.8% on-time Southwest flights — in November 2022, per the department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Between the lines: 2022 was a record-breaking year for ABIA, but all indications so far suggest Southwest — and the airport — have recovered nicely since December.

AUS saw three of its five busiest days ever this month, according to airport officials.

During the same period last year, AUS dealt with fuel shortages and TSA waits that wrapped around the airport.

What they're saying: "While the terminal is definitely busy, we aren't seeing dramatically long lines," airport spokesperson Sam Haynes tells Axios.

Passengers are still encouraged to arrive early and expect a wait for airline ticket counters, TSA and concessions, Haynes added.

The bottom line: December was truly just as bad as it seemed, the data show.

What we're watching: How AUS handles another busy weekend as WGC-Dell Match Play and NASCAR collide.

Austin airport rebounds from Southwest meltdown

Just 66.4% of flights departed AUS on time in December.

As the Austin airport continues to see a record number of travelers, new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation reveals the severity of Southwest Airlines&#x27; winter meltdown.State of play: For most airlines, summer will test how well they&#x27;ve rebounded from the chaos of the holiday season.

Business

Austin air quality in the Austin metro area, as measured by fine particle pollution, has stayed about the same over the last decade.

Why it matters: Fine particles, generated from fossil fuel burning and other sources, can enter our bodies when we breathe, making their way to the lungs or bloodstream and causing myriad health problems.

They are linked to nearly 11,000 excess deaths across the United States annually, by one estimate.

Non-white and low-income Americans are at a higher risk of death from exposure to fine particle pollution compared to other groups, per a 2022 study published in Nature.

By the numbers: The three-year rolling annual average concentration of fine particle pollution throughout the Austin area was 9.4 micrograms per cubic meter as of 2021 (the latest year for which data is available), just a 2% increase from 2012.

Concentrations below 12 micrograms per cubic meter are considered healthy, the Environmental Protection Agency says — though it is seeking to tighten that standard.

Nationally, the concentration was 8.5 micrograms in 2021.

Data: EPA; Note: A concentration below 12 micrograms per cubic meter is considered healthy; Chart: Axios Visuals

Between the lines: While Austin isn't a major industrial city, it has long labored to stay just this side of federal air quality standards.

Auto owners in Travis and Williamson counties have to spend at least $11.50 annually for a vehicle emissions test, part of an effort to stave off federal smog-violation penalties.

Those penalties could mean lowering speed limits or forcing gas stations to sell reformulated gasoline — which leads to fewer emissions but gets 1% to 3% fewer miles and costs as much as 4 cents more per gallon.

The big picture: Air quality generally improved nationwide during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because fewer people were driving.

But as the pandemic ebbs and people's behaviors and activities return to normal, national air quality is worsening.

Austin air quality remains level

Austin has long labored to stay just this side of federal air quality standards.

Austin air quality in the Austin metro area, as measured by fine particle pollution, has stayed about the same over the last decade.Why it matters: Fine particles, generated from fossil fuel burning and other sources, can enter our bodies when we breathe, making their way to the lungs or bloodstream and causing <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="myriad health problems" data-vars-click-url="https://www.epa.gov/pmcourse/what-particle-pollution" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.epa.gov/pmcourse/what-particle-pollution" target="_blank">myriad health problems</a>.

Kavya Beheraj

Featured stories

How Austin's parks rank nationally

Austin air quality remains level

Austin airport rebounds from Southwest meltdown

New apartments in Austin are smaller than national average

How to play the Austin neighborhood game