Route 29: A Sociopolitical Transect

so·ci·o·po·lit·i·cal /ˌsōsēōpəˈlitikəl/

Adjective

Combining social and political factors.

tran·sect /tranˈsekt/

Noun

A straight line or narrow section through an object or natural feature or across the earth's surface, along which observations are made or measurements taken.

Verb

Cut across or make a transverse section in.

February, 2009. Austin Texas.

A city, like any environment, can be studied by taking samples along a transect. The transect for this study is described by CapMetro Route 29, or in this case, the absence of the route.

Shortly after this photographic study, the route was decommissioned leaving this as the only extant record of its passage through Austin. The signage is gone and transit maps no longer reference the route. The bus stops are where I am standing, the camera view looking across the street. Over time these locations have changed making this archeological record of Route 29 increasingly difficult to resolve. At some point all physical evidence of the route as captured in its photographic doppelgänger will cease to be.