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Austin

Immigrants in Austin pay more taxes, have more spending power than in other large Texas cities

A new study shows immigrants have an outsized impact on Austin’s economy. Overall, 4.8 million immigrants in Texas paid $34.8 billion in taxes and had an economic footprint of $109.9 billion, according to an analysis of 2017 census data from…

As hotel tax growth slows, Tourism Commission targets short-term rentals

The growth of short-term rental activity in the city and a possible saturation of the local hotel market are seen as the biggest causes behind a flattening of Austin’s once fast-growing Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue. That was the conclusion at…

With new hiring, city adds focus to issues of growing senior population

The city’s recent hiring of a program coordinator for issues related to the local senior population, and a community session next week on possible future budget needs for senior services, have elevated the attention paid to one of Austin’s fastest-growing…

Discussing the opportunities and challenges of smart city accessibility

At a high-minded talk about the impacts of smart city technology speeding ahead without including input from disabled communities, a stark example from the city of Toronto hammered the point home during last week’s South by Southwest conference. The anecdote…

Austin taking over underpass cleanup from TxDOT

The Texas Department of Transportation, which has been cleaning under the city’s highway overpasses for many years and cleaning up homeless camps for about three years, has notified the city of Austin that it can no longer provide those services.…

Open data movement brings tough questions for city-led panel

With Austin chock-full of forward-thinking tech professionals and ideologues from a variety of industries attending South by Southwest, the city and several leaders behind the movement for open data gathered this week to examine where that cause is headed. The…

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Communication and expectations seen as key in move to smart cities

The term “smart cities” has a variety of roles in present-day civic planning discourse. It’s certainly a buzzword – “smart” as a descriptor appears 16 times in the titles of panels and sessions at this year’s South by Southwest conference –…

CTM’s Office of Design and Delivery: Corporate workshops should not be awful

As Austin grows and city officials begin to question how their jobs are evolving to meet the demands of the tens of thousands of new residents every year, it stands to reason that the city of Austin would ask for…

Real estate group hears tough talk from homeless advocates

As one of the city’s leading advocates for the homeless, Ann Howard knows not to waste an opportunity when she gets in front of a room full of people who can help her cause. So she didn’t mince words last…

Austin's homeless population still growing

Despite the expenditure of millions of city and federal dollars, and the fact that Austin’s efforts are frequently cited as best practices in other cities, homelessness is still on the rise here. Ann Howard, executive director of the Ending Community…

City audit says Austin doesn't effectively help people get out of homelessness – or measure progress

A new audit of the homelessness service providers in Austin says the city doesn’t always hold providers accountable. The report from the City Auditor found nine of the city’s largest contracts in 2017 met city benchmarks for service only about…

Mayor talks taxes, mobility at RECA lunch

Mayor Steve Adler faced a friendly crowd at Wednesday’s Real Estate Council of Austin meeting. He spoke about his hopes for the future, outlined challenges the city faces in the areas of mobility, affordability and property taxes and answered questions…

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