City Council voted Thursday to pump another $110 million into the Waller Creek chain of parks. The money committed by the city is part of a long-term $375 million project to turn 35 acres of land along the creek into a chain of parks and civic spaces. The other $275 million is supposed to come […]
Austin
Posted inAustin
Audit says city needs better data on homeless population
What does it mean to be homeless? It depends who you ask. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development applies the term to a variety of living situations, including people living in places “not meant for human habitation,” those in emergency shelters or transitional housing, those who are about to leave jail or a […]
Posted inAustin
Get smart: Tech leaders seeking solutions to Austin’s data, hardware challenges
Describing the patchwork of roughly a dozen information management systems her employees have to use to manage the city’s affordable and low-income housing network, Rosie Truelove said it’s time for Austin’s tech sector to help the city run smarter. With data siloed because of incompatible system architecture and other related technology problems, she said she’s […]
Posted inAustin
Downtown 2039: New vision anticipates growth, mobility changes, cultural preservation
Improved mobility, preservation of at-risk cultural assets and public space, and a dramatic expansion of residential and commercial activity are some of the biggest components of a new 21-year vision created for downtown Austin. The Downtown Austin Alliance has started to roll out the results of a two-year process to create its first-ever visioning strategy […]
Posted inAustin
Austin sings the cemetery fund blues
The Parks and Recreation Department, which is in charge of operations and management of the city’s five historic cemeteries, has suspended collection of money for the cemeteries’ perpetual care fund until the department can resolve some of the issues related to taking care of the cemeteries. The purpose of the perpetual care fund is to […]
Posted inAustin
Shelter cat live outcome rate dips below 90 percent
As a no-kill shelter, Austin Animal Center has a goal of sending out as many animals into happy homes as possible. Unfortunately, this month, the shelter was able to do that less often for its cats than it has in the past. Jason Garza, the deputy chief animal services officer with Austin Animal Center, informed the […]
Posted inAustin
Incentive proposals target middle class, creatives in push to address affordability
After more than a year of community input and research, the city is taking the next steps to dramatically overhaul its policies for economic incentives to grow businesses in Austin. The proposed changes, which will be presented at today’s City Council work session, would see the Economic Development Department move away from a focus of […]
Posted inAustin
Austin can now access a database dedicated to the effects of development on trees
The City Arborist Program has just released a new, interactive tool where everyone has access to all active tree permits at any given time online. Not all trees are being tracked on this dashboard. The city arborist only reviews and protects trees that have heritage or protected status, which is only 5 percent of the total […]
Posted inAustin
Chamber conference tackles pains (and gains) of Austin businesses
Business owners and leaders gathered Thursday for the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s State of Talent conference sounded a common refrain: Life in a bustling and fast-growing population center doesn’t guarantee easy days of cash registers that ring by themselves. Rather, compounding issues of growing labor costs, competition for workers, and transportation and affordability issues making […]
Posted inAustin
How can city government help Austin parents with child care?
The high cost of day care, which can easily run $1,000 per month, is one of a number of expenses that are making the city increasingly inhospitable to working- and middle-class families. City Council is exploring ways to make child care more accessible and affordable. The city’s own employees are struggling to pay the high child […]
Posted inAustin
People’s Plan to combat gentrification headed to Council
Ahead of its planned fall release of recommendations to combat gentrification in Austin, the city’s Anti-Displacement Task Force has endorsed a broad plan created by community organizers. At its meeting last week the task force voted 12-1 to recommend City Council consider and take action on the People’s Plan, which is intended to specifically keep […]
Posted inAustin
Innovation team sets sights on bedbugs, overcrowding at homeless shelter
The Innovation Office earlier this month issued a set of recommendations to mitigate serious problems plaguing the 14-year-old Austin Resource Center for the Homeless at East Seventh and Neches streets. Last week, the office’s so-called i-team briefed the Downtown Commission on the suggestions it put forth in a March 1 memo after months of research. […]