IMPROVING WALLER CREEK
Creating a better Waller Creek experience for UT students and faculty
Call me a Creek Geek.
Waller Creek runs for about six miles through North Austin until it meets Town Lake. The creek has stood the test of time. Its history is one of passion and tragedy, but today it flows through a city and campus that treats it as an afterthought, rather than the natural landmark that it is. The city of Austin has taken action to make vast improvements along the creek in the downtown area, and now it's the University of Texas' turn to follow suit.
Ongoing project at the University of Texas Center for Integrated Design
Team: Kate Hodges, Caroline Rock, Grace Kim, Madeline Goulet, Lindsey Thompson, Hannah Kwan, Annie Xue
Role: design research, synthesis, prototyping, and final concept proposal
Our project kicked off with the broad problem of "improve the experience of Waller Creek." We tackled this project by reading about the history of the creek, research on the creek itself, current frameworks and past plans for developing alongside it, and talking to experts at the Waller Creek Conservancy, Austin Center for Environmental Research, and the University of Texas to help familiarize ourselves with Waller Creek in its entirety.
This case study is about the journey of our team as we've delved into the creek to learn how we can help improve the experience of Waller Creek for people on the UT campus.
We started with:
How might we improve the experience of Waller Creek?
Then we wondered:
How might we improve the experience of Waller creek for students at UT?
Finally, we asked:
How do we address mental wellness with Waller Creek for students at UT?
The problem:
As a student design team, we were challenged by our professors at UT's Center for Integrated Design to improve the Waller Creek experience. Our mentors gave us total freedom to approach the problem however we wanted, with some guidance along the way. We could choose to design for the entirety of the creek or focus on part of it, split into teams to develop multiple designs, or stick together as a group and focus on one potential design solution.
We Started With
How might we improve the experience of Waller Creek?
Understanding the History and Background of Waller Creek
Improving the Waller Creek experience requires an understanding of what the past and present experiences are, so we set out to discover the history of the creek and current attitudes and efforts around it.
Methodology:
Exploratory - use of journals, books, expert interviews, the Waller Creek Conservancy plans, and UT framework plans and research
The Narrative of Waller Creek as Informed by Our Research
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1969 Battle of Waller Creek - The battle was a student protest against the removal of 39 century-old live oak trees to make room for a stadium expansion. Students from all over the university gathered in attempt to save the trees and halt the stadium expansion.
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Waller Creek Framework Plan - The Waller Creek Conservancy has begun work on their plan to create a chain of 5 parks along Waller Creek in the downtown area.
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Campus Tragedy - In the spring of 2016, a freshman Dance student was leaving the Drama Building in the Winship Circle after class at 9:30pm. On her way home along the Waller Creek to her dorm 0.3 miles away, she was assaulted and brutally killed in the creek. The memory of this tragedy haunts many students, especially the students who attended UT at the time. In the aftermath of this horrific event, for some the creek has become an infamous symbol of this tragedy and the University has treated it as something to be “dealt with.”
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Then We Wondered
How might we improve the experience of Waller Creek for students at UT?
As you can see, the creek has stood the test of time, but the current state of the creek leaves something to be desired, which is where our team comes in. This semester we have delved into the creek, not quite literally, to explore our problem statement of how might we improve the experience of Waller creek for students at UT.
Our journey with the creek so far has included research, synthesis, and exploration into potential design opportunities.
Moving into our primary research, one of the first tools we used was a stakeholder map to help us figure out who we wanted to interview about Waller Creek. We explored extreme users such as people who are advocates for the creek vs. people who have no awareness of it, people who get a lot of value out of the creek such as professors conduction research on it, people who use the creek a lot in various ways, and those with other connections to the creek such as the Waller Creek Conservancy.
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After figuring out who we wanted to talk to, we began reaching out to people. To provide perspective on the quantity of people we talked to and got opinions from, we initially sent out a survey to students and alumni about the creek from which we got 100 responses. We conducted 28 intercept interviews by asking people around campus to answer a few questions, we did 5 contextual interviews with participants with a creek walk-along, we received 507 responses from an interactive board we made to gauge student perception about UT, Austin, and nature. We also had 9 people complete a packet of activities and questions about their perceptions and daily routines.
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Interview activity packet - Participant plotted their average weekday schedule with their corresponding mood levels, and they plotted Austin outdoor spaces along a spectrum of safety, convenience, and relaxing ambiance.
Who We Talked To - Experts and Students
In order to better understand Waller Creek and all of the plans and current research involved with it, we talked to six experts ranging from the UT director of sustainability to the Directory of Planning and Design at Waller Creek Conservancy, which allowed us to inform our understanding and research about the creek.
Along with interviewing experts, we also interviewed UT students about their perspectives and interactions with the creek, their routines, and their experience with UT. This provided a different perspective from the more specific, deep knowledge that the experts provided us with.
In order to respect these individuals' privacy, I have not included the names or photos of our interviewees on this website.
Uncovering the Creek's Potential
From the first person we talked to, the creek was framed as an afterthought, but talking with experts demonstrated how the creek was worked into an educational setting, which partially refutes its status as an afterthought. For example, one UT professor has conducted research with his students and advocated for the creek's biodiversity.
On a similar note, another expert helped us consider what could be done with the creek as it currently stands. As an art instructor, she has integrated the creek into the class experience, demonstrating what art might have the ability to do given a certain environment like Waller Creek, or what ideas may surface from a source of inspiration like an urban water system.
As they shared their experiences, we discussed feasible suggestions on how to actively pursue the creek area and were able to uncover the creek’s potential. Both shared about achieving a further goal like relying on the creek as a university asset rather than viewing the creek as a mere backdrop.
Spectrum of Student Awareness
We saw the stark contrast between students we interviewed who talked about the creek as a place that brought a lot of joy and another student who, even at the very end of the interview shared she was surprised about having a lot to say about this creek that she hadn’t ever really interacted with.
There is a wide range of student attitudes towards the creek, and taking students to the creek allowed us to learn where they lie on this spectrum of student awareness.
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Hypothesis Confirmed
Our initial hypothesis regarding creek awareness was that some of the attitudes students may have about the creek are indifference, apathy, and lack of knowledge.
This was definitely the case when we conducted intercept interviews.
“I don’t know anything about it…” - UT student
“Isn’t it just this area? Oh really? Then I’ve seen it.” - UT student
Even these short, impromptu conversations about the creek affirmed that students knew about the creek but not as the Waller Creek, and they did not express much further interest. In other words, we were growing our awareness of their unawareness.
Creating Archetypes
Based on the intercept interviews, we started to plot students on this archetype map along the axes of “attitude” and “awareness” - from completely unaware to aware, and dislike to like.
We started to notice some clear trends appear. While there are students who are aware of the creek and do like it, most students fell into this neutral category. The completely unaware people we intercepted haven't had much of an opportunity to develop an opinion.
We see that some students dislike the creek, but we found these were mainly students who were at UT during the time of the tragedy in 2016. These students are graduating soon, and over a thousand new students come to the university each year who don't have knowledge about what happened. This is a window of opportunity for us to try to change people's perspective.
We want to focus on the middle column of this archetype map: those who are neutral about the creek. These are the acquainted, the unopinionated, and the unfamiliar. Regardless of their level of awareness, they just don’t have any strong feelings. We’re not trying to turn everyone into a creek geek, but we want to increase awareness and improve the attitude around the creek.
Whatever our solution is, we want to move people upwards and leftwards on the map, making them more aware so that they have the opportunity to have a positive attitude around the creek. While the people we intercepted were mostly neutral, we found an interesting trend when we started conducting interviews at the creek. People who had never been to the creek before felt very unopinionated initially, but once we took them to the creek and started talking to them there, they seemed excited about the area and its possibilities. We feel that if we can manage to get people to be aware of the creek, they’ll find that they like it more than they thought.
Introducing Our Personas
We have three personas who demonstrate all three awareness levels in the “neutral” category. First is Paul, the passerby. He’s unfamiliar, the lowest level of awareness. He is completely unaware of the creek, which is kind of funny, considering he walks over it every day on his way to and from class and his parking garage. Paul represents the people who said “what’s the creek?” when we intercepted them … on top of the creek.
Next is Amy the Art Student. She’s the unopinionated - sort of aware. Her classes are mainly in the art building, which is near the creek. She does see it every day, but she doesn’t really see it as something to be engaged with. Sometimes, she feels a little uneasy passing by there at night on her way to her dorm.
Lastly, we have Pam the Professor. She is the acquainted. She's been at UT for 10 years and is familiar with the creek, but she doesn't spend a lot of time around it. She works in her office most of the day and really just wants a place to eat lunch and escape outside.
Synthesis
Emerging Insights and Observations
From our research, we saw three themes emerge:
Unawareness and Apathy
Insight: The creek has become nearly invisible even to those who often pass by or over it.
"Is this Waller Creek?" - Student at Waller Creek
"I don't know enough about [the creek] to be concerned." - Liberal Arts student
Perceived Safety Concern
Insight: Students and faculty who spend the majority of their day in East campus perceive the creek as a major safety concern.
"After the incident, I feel less safe going to the creek alone... it could pose a risk for a women sitting alone." - Design student
"It's not safe and needs more light" - Liberal Arts student
Potential Value
Insight: The University needs a way to accomodate for student needs as the heart of campus moves eastward.
"The creek looks like an afterthought" - Director of Sustainability
“We don’t treat it as the central resource that it is. We treat it as something that needs to be dealt with.” - Associate Biology Professor
Digging Deeper
After looking at our interviews, we noticed a recurring theme of nature connecting back to mental health. We wanted to dig deeper into this concept, so we created an interactive perspective board that we set up for 6 hours on campus, and we gathered 507 responses from students.
We put six themes on the board:
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“Where do you go…”
- “What do you do…”
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“What do you think of…”
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“What do you expect from…”
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“What’s missing from…”
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“What do you look for…”
Each theme had six questions under it such as "Where do you go to take a break?" Students put one sticky note under each question with their answers. After collecting all of the answers, we sorted through them and a recurring theme emerged that we had seen in our interviews: Nature and mental wellness.
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What do you do when you feel overwhelmed?
Where do you go to take a break?
We conducted some secondary research on nature and its effects on mental health, and we found an overwhelming amount of studies and data on the topic.
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Our experts mentioned the importance of nature on mental health. One of our Waller Creek experts suggested that a return to nature led to the invention of summer camps, boy scouts, and girl scouts due to the positive influence of nature on disposition. Another expert suggested an outdoor classroom might be a solution to how to emphasize the importance of the creek. Numerous studies over the years have found a causal link between an increased rate of mental illness in urban areas and improved resilience and health after spending time in nature.
In evidence from over 140 studies involving more than 290 million people from more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Germany, Australia and Japan, researchers have found that green spaces including urban parks and street greenery, "reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, preterm birth, stress, and high blood pressure, among other benefits." An author of the study says, "people living near greenspace likely have more opportunities for physical activity and socializing. Meanwhile, exposure to a diverse variety of bacteria present in natural areas may also have benefits for the immune system and reduce inflammation.”
Studies have found that anything not man-made like a houseplant, a dandelion growing in a crack in a sidewalk, birds, or sun through a window improved general happiness and well-being. Workplace employees demonstrate a 15% increase in reported well-being when exposed to natural elements such as greenery and sunlight and nearly 10% of employee absences can be attributed to architecture with no connection to nature, such as no windows or views of trees and landscapes.
The research is clear that exposure to even minimal amounts of nature benefits our health and well-being, so how might we implement changes that students could benefit from experiencing Waller Creek?
“These findings are important because they are consistent with, but do not yet prove, a causal link between increasing urbanization and increased rates of mental illness,” said co-author James Gross, a professor of psychology at Stanford.
Experts on Mental Wellness - UT Staff
We were able to articulate a hunch that this project might relate to student mental wellness even from the first person we talked to:
“UT doesn’t have a lot of intentional spaces for students to get a mental break.” - Director of Sustainability
The framing of Waller Creek as an afterthought was challenged by how a former UT student has grown fond of the creek - it could provide real benefits and act as a ‘quiet escape’.
“[The appeal of the creek is that there is] privacy in the midst of this crazy campus . . . a moment of quiet escape.” - Coordinator for the Center of Environmental Research
The relevance of mental awareness to being outside was also an idea that surfaced when we talked to a Waller Creek Conservancy director.
“Mental health and physical health . . . everyday it becomes more compelling and undeniable” - Director of Planning and Design
Mental Wellness for College Students
“Students who reported poor mental health but did not qualify for a diagnosis were three times more likely to experience academic impairment than students who reported a flourishing mental health state.” - Counseling and Mental Health Center, University of Texas
According to the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors survey of counseling center directors, 95% of college counseling center directors surveyed said the number of students with significant psychological problems is a growing concern in their center or on campus. 70% of directors believe that the number of students with severe psychological problems on their campus has increased in the past year.
A 2013 study of college students found that 57% of women and 40% of men reported experiencing episodes of “overwhelming anxiety” in the past year, and 33% of women and 27% of men reported a period in the last year of feeling so depressed it was difficult to function. Studies suggest that between a quarter and a third of students meet criteria for an anxiety or depressive illness during their college experience.
Finally, We Asked
How do we address mental wellness with Waller Creek for students at UT?
After all of this research and realization that the core of our research revolved around connecting nature and mental wellness, we changed our problem statement from "how might we improve the experience of Waller Creek for students at UT?" to "how do we address mental wellness with Waller Creek for students at UT?"
Before we started interviewing people, we had not only been told from a university standpoint that Waller Creek is treated as an afterthought, but we were also able to confirm that this was the reality students are experiencing. They don’t know about they creek, and if they do, they don't know it as the Waller Creek. Also, our survey responses highlighted an impression of the creek as a place some would rather avoid due to safety concerns. Lastly, the geographic centrality of Waller Creek has been growing more apparent ever since the establishment of UT Austin, yet the creek is not a central attraction like the South Mall Lawn.
Hills
Following the synthesis of our research, we created three overarching statements to check ourselves against while creating concepts and testing ideas:
Students can take a mental break on their way to class because they feel Waller Creek is a safe space to sit for a few minutes.
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What redirected the university to focus on Waller Creek was the student death, so we wanted to make sure that we included that as a major objective
Students and faculty can retreat to a place for rejuvenation even with a 15-minute break on a busy day.
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Finding solace in nature was a recurring theme across the board for our users, and we wanted to address this due to statistics about the benefits nature can provide in improving mental wellness, and because students have an expectation for an offering of mental health resources and inviting campus spaces.
The University of Texas can be seen as an international leader for supporting student mental wellness by using its natural resources without substantial investment.
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Offering Waller Creek as a student resource for mental wellness more broadly fits in with the university’s mission that “what starts here changes the world”
Design Opportunities
What could be game changing is not solely looking at Waller Creek, but the area around the creek. Some options we are considering are providing resources for people who frequent East Campus, and not only creating a space with physical amenities but addressing student's needs to make them feel cared for.
In our exploration for potential opportunities, we looked at a map of UT and plotted all of the green spaces on campus. As shown in the map below, there are a lot of outdoor spaces spread evenly throughout campus, so we were confused as to why the creek and spaces around it weren't as high-trafficked as other areas. It wasn't until we began mapping out campus amenities, that a glaring discrepancy between East and West campus emerged.
In the map below, we mapped out all of the dining halls, food and cafes, places providing coffee and snacks, outdoor space and green space. From looking at the map, there's a heat spot on the West side of campus where most of the campus amenities are located. The further East campus travels, the less and less amenities are present, which factors in to students failing to spend time on the East side because they cannot access food, drinks, and seating areas.
Experts on Opportunity:
“UT is tearing down buildings near the creek, like the Services Building. Keeping the floodplain in mind, this provides a lot of opportunity.” - UT Associate Professor
“The coming expansions at the UT campus will be eastward. Waller Creek will become the center of campus.” - UT Director of Sustainability
Solution Directions
Potential directions we are thinking about for our design are:
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To provide rejuvenation and rest for the student population of UT by utilizing outdoor spaces
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Users feel safe when interacting in close proximity with the creek
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To respect and not disturb the current ecosystem in and around the creek (can be flooded, does not increase pollution)
Prototyping
We are in the first stages of this phase, and we are currently testing out several different design opportunities in spaces near the creek on the UT campus.
Resources
Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors: http://aucccd.org/support/aucccd_directors_survey_monograph_2012_public.pdf
CMHC: https://cmhc.utexas.edu/wellbeing/wholestudent.html
Anxiety & Depression in Students: 2013 survey