Project Connect is a new transit plan for the city of Austin, Texas, introducing a Light Rail System and reinvigorating other transit services throughout. A significant stop along the route of the Light Rail is along Guadalupe St. on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, providing me and my peers with the opportunity to illustrate the mobility journeys of the members of the UT community. MVMT, the project borne out of the collaborative work with Project Connect, seeks to delve into the intricate narratives of UT community members, capturing the essence of their unique journeys and perspectives. MVMT aspires to foster a deeper understanding of our collective mobility patterns, igniting conversations and inspiring innovative solutions for the future of movement within our community and beyond.

We developed insights through collecting quantitative and qualitative data on student mobility experiences. Research included surveys (UT respondents only) , public transit ride-alongs, and mindmapping.

Contextual inquiries were instrumental to understanding the nuances of the complex, individual process of wayfinding.

We conducted in-depth sensemaking of our data by creating a digram to represent what we envisioned as the factors and process of mobility.

Experiencing and learning about the 5 mobility factors increases knowledge, which in turn begets autonomy. Autonomy is especially pertinent to our college-age demographic, who are young adults learning to be independent, often by gaining navigational mobility.

The proportion of each factor's importance varies with the individual's needs and the mode of transit. For example, a skateboarder may prioritize the feeling of identity and community with skaters over physical comfort.

Our contextual inquiries revealed that when it comes to transit literacy, participants rely heavily on their phones (Google/Apple Maps, Transit app) to get around. We found a distinction between active and passive navigation in how confident participants were in their navigational skills.

Lack of real-world landmarks and wayfinding signage results in an over-reliance on digital maps, which dulls navigational senses.