City Council members have expressed interest in the idea of extending the life of a tax increment reinvestment zone that was set up to fund the Waller Creek chain of parks, an ongoing project that city government is betting will become a cultural and recreational gem that will spur further economic activity downtown. It is […]
Austin
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Human Rights Commission offers measured support to the People’s Plan
It’s no revelation that the Austin housing market is exploding and new developments are popping up almost as quickly as people are moving in. And out. To help address the displacement and gentrification Austin is experiencing, at its Feb. 26 meeting, the Human Rights Commission reviewed the six resolutions/draft ordinances that make up the People’s Plan. Although […]
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Council wants action on city-owned vacant lots
City Council is looking to more than a dozen city-owned properties as opportunities to provide affordable housing, arts spaces, parkland and economic development, in some cases looking to emulate past developments on public land, such as Mueller and Seaholm. City staff has identified five sites as top candidates for major redevelopment that could have a […]
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Council considers gentrification and ‘right to return’ policy
On Tuesday, City Council members got their first glimpse at a study they voted to authorize that examines gentrification in Austin. The first phase of the study, conducted by three University of Texas professors, analyzed the demographic profile of nearly every census tract in the city. The analysis sought to highlight areas that have experienced […]
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Accelerator targets gap between businesses, middle-skill workers
Middle-skill job growth, specifically Austin’s problem of matching longtime residents with jobs in growing industries, is the next target for the Impact Hub social improvement accelerator. The hub, which operates from sites in North and South Austin, is taking applications through mid-March for its Workforce Development Accelerator, which looks to spin up startup-like groups that […]
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In 2018 State of the City, Adler calls for political unity at local level
Has a foreign government infiltrated the CodeNEXT process? Well, no one’s saying that. But in his annual State of the City address on Tuesday, Mayor Steve Adler said the “alleged Russian infiltration” on our nation’s politics has inflamed divisions across the country – and highlighted rifts at the local level, as well. CodeNEXT, the city’s […]
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Homelessness action report calls for doubling spending
If Austin wants to get serious about ending homelessness, it needs to spend about twice as much on the variety of programs that currently serve the more than 2,000 people living on the streets. That’s according to an action plan endorsed by the Membership Council of the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, which is chaired by […]
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Is it really legal to walk down the street with a beer in Austin neighborhoods?
Colter Sonneville had a hunch that it might be legal to walk down the street with an open beer in most of Austin’s residential neighborhoods. It started when he noticed some big signs around Chicon and East Cesar Chavez streets. “The sign says, ‘No alcohol consumption on public streets/sidewalks and pedestrian way designated area,’” he […]
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Board, public debate may slow approval of MACC master plan
City and community leaders hope to move forward with a spring approval of a new master plan for the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center despite a frequently contentious meeting of the center’s advisory board last week marked by debate over the public input process used to develop the plan. Wednesday’s meeting saw members […]
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The Austin people have spoken through six resolutions on displacement and gentrification
In Austin, it appears that the people have a plan. This past Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Susana Almanza of People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources (PODER) and Fred McGhee of Preserve Rosewood revealed the People’s Plan: a group of six resolutions/draft ordinances that are aimed at creating solutions for displacement and […]
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Austin is full of anti-gentrification ideas, but most wouldn’t have a direct impact
Since 2000, the city of Austin has had a lot of ideas about how to slow down gentrification. A task force recommended in 2002, for example, that the city educate residents about available property tax exemptions. In 2008, City Council members asked the city manager to find city-owned land suitable for affordable housing. And there […]
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Stadium opposition moves east to Guerrero Park
East Austin residents and other community groups are pushing for City Council to take a vote on a resolution that would remove city parkland from the sites under consideration for a proposed stadium for a Major League Soccer club. Groups such as People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources (PODER) and the East […]