What works in Austin
All catalogues · United States of America profile
Quality scores are 0–100 rubric scores; “strong evidence” reflects study design; adoptions count documented replications elsewhere. Know more
Evidence snapshot for Austin
Austin's Development Services Department piloted an AI zoning pre-review tool (Archistar AI PreCheck) in 2024 that cut staff zoning review time by roughly 50% across about 190 residential submissions, with no negative customer feedback reported. Following the pilot's success, the city signed a five-year contract worth roughly $1.1 million annually to expand the service, though the rollout remains limited to eligible single-family residential projects. The evidence demonstrates measurable efficiency gains in one permit-review workflow; it does not quantify effects on approval timelines, cost to applicants, or outcomes for non-residential project types.
Drawn from: Archistar AI PreCheck — Austin's Zoning Pre-Review Tool Cuts Staff Review Time by Half · Texas TRAIGA Sandbox — a 36-Month, Licence-Waiver AI Testing Programme Run by the State's IT Agency · Texas STAAR Automated Essay Scoring — TEA Routes Every Written Answer Through an NLP Engine, With 25% Human Rescoring · Alpha School's '2 Hour Learning' Model — A Cautionary Case of AI-Led Schooling With Unpublished Outcomes
Generated from this place's cited practices only. Always check the linked sources.
Strengths & weaknesses vs peers
Strengths
Transparency, fairness & accountability +13 pts 67 here · 54 average
Weaknesses
Evidence of learning impact -10 pts 17 here · 26 average
Transferability / demonstrated replication -10 pts 50 here · 60 average
Scalability beyond pilot -12 pts 50 here · 62 average
Teacher capability & pedagogy -21 pts 17 here · 37 average
Evidence of impact / measured public value -24 pts 33 here · 57 average
Transparency, ethics & data protection -30 pts 17 here · 47 average
Equity & inclusion -50 pts 0 here · 50 average
Score profile vs peers
Coloured bar: Austin. Grey bar: peer average across the corpus. Both on a common 0–100 scale.
Points compare this place's average on each dimension with the average across all evaluated places, on a common 0–100 scale. Know more
Top good practices here
Archistar AI PreCheck — Austin's Zoning Pre-Review Tool Cuts Staff Review Time by Half · 67
Texas TRAIGA Sandbox — a 36-Month, Licence-Waiver AI Testing Programme Run by the State's IT Agency · 40
Each number is the practice's overall 0–100 quality score against its catalogue's rubric. Know more
Recommended to adopt or replicate
Transferable practices from elsewhere that address this place's gaps.
Ciudad Mujer — El Salvador's Integrated Women's Services Programme · fit 100/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Already adopted in 3 other places
SASA! Community Mobilisation Programme against Intimate Partner Violence — Uganda · fit 100/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Already adopted in 4 other places
Rwanda's Land Tenure Regularization Programme — Titling Land in Women's Names · fit 90/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Already adopted in 6 other places
Abolition of Chhaupadi — Ending Menstrual Exile Huts in Nepal's Far- and Mid-Western Districts · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Guyana's One-Third Gender Candidate Quota — Two Decades of Sustained Representation · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Serbia's 40% Electoral Gender Quota — From One-in-Three to Near-Parity Party Lists (2020-2025) · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Bogotá's Care Blocks (Manzanas del Cuidado) · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Fit estimates how well a practice matches this place, 0 (poor) to 100 (excellent); the list is ordered to favour practices that address this place's gaps. Know more