TMO Background
The Texas Metro Observatory (TMO) is a communication and data platform dedicated to sharing information and ideas about Texas’s communities, understanding common problems related to urbanization processes in these communities, and developing solutions across the state’s metropolitan areas. The Observatory serves as a repository for economic, environmental, health, demographic, and governmental information for the state’s metropolitan regions. Our platform allows researchers, community members, nonprofit organizations, public sector agencies, policy makers, and the business community to access the most complete metropolitan-scaled data for the state; it also includes useful data interpretation and analysis such as data visualizations, infographics, and tools that will help tell the story of the places where Texans live.
What we did in 2018 and why it matters:
In 2018, the TMO team made strong progress toward developing a metropolitan-focused communication and data platform by creating a functional prototype database, beginning six research projects, developing a set of initial dashboards and scenarios, and conducting a listening tour in six municipalities. This is important for a resilient Texas because almost 90% of Texans live in metropolitan areas, with most future population growth projected to occur in these communities. This drives future water, energy, ecosystem, and services/infrastructure planning that requires a more coordinated, data-driven effort among residents and across regions.
Texas Metro Observatory is a Planet Texas 2050 Project, which is part of the Bridging Barriers interdiscpilinary research program at University of Texas. The TMO team is led by Dr. Katherine Lieberknecht and includes faculty and student researchers from Schools of Architecture, Engineering, and Public Policy.