Email, Reyne Christopher Telles, manager, media relations, City of Austin, March 5, 2014
3:57 p.m.
In the Mayor’s State of the City speech, he stated “All of this together means a city that has basically doubled in size every 25 years or so since it was founded.”
The Mayor intended this claim to be in relation to population growth, not physical land growth.
On behalf of the Mayor, I would like to call your attention to the following sites that he used for reference when asserting this. (These reports are courtesy of our city demographer, Ryan Robinson).
For additional reference, here is the City of Austin Community Inventory Report regarding Demographic and Household Trends in Austin.
ftp://ftp.ci.austin.tx.us/GIS-Data/planning/compplan/community_inventory_Demographcs_v1.pdf
This section is especially relevant: “The starting point for considering Austin’s future population is its historic growth ( Figure 2-1). While the oft-said rule that Austin’s population doubles every twenty years is not quite accurate, it has been the case that Austin’s growth has been very close to that standard. Moreover, “doubling every twenty years” captures something else, beyond the plain fact of growth rates: that Austin’s growth has been remarkably consistent. Consider Figure 2-2. It shows the growth in Austin’s population since 1900 (thick line) compared to the growth of the State of Texas and other major Texas cities (thinner lines). It also shows what a population that doubles every twenty years would look like (thick dotted line). From this, both points become apparent: that Austin’s growth has been very close to doubling every twenty years and that Austin’s growth has been relatively consistent.”
Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Could you please do me a favor and confirm receipt of this email?
Reyne Christopher Telles
City of Austin
Manager, Media Relations