As Austin changes and boundaries shift, how do our new 10-1 districts redraw the lines of neighborhoods and identities? With collaborative efforts from the City's Cultural Arts Division, planning departments, and organizations such as GO Collaborative and Public City, 'Drawing Lines' is a project meant to creatively explore the identities of these emerging political communities.
Community Impact: Austin job market matures as city grows
CityLab: Affordable housing Is a moral choice (and the numbers prove it)
Do affordable housing requirements for new developments really run the risk of making developments unprofitable or unfeasible? The Inclusionary Calculator is an effort to settle this question—and to prove that one major assumption about affordable housing is a myth. Developed by the Cornerstone Partnership, the tool allows users to simulate the balance sheets for market-rate developments and to see for themselves how affordable housing can be added into the equation.
Austin Monitor: Millennials talk future of Austin real estate
KUT: A minimum wage job in Austin gets you a two-bedroom apt. – and a 111-hour work week
According to a new study from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, housing affordability for Austin renters continues to suffer. The study notes that with the highest average rent in Texas and stagnant wages, Austin minimum-wage earners renters would need to work 3 full-time jobs to afford current rents.
MyStatesman: It’s not too late for Austin to create 'missing middle' housing
This past weekend's "Walk the Talk" Panel on missing middle housing saw some exciting conversations about what types of housing could bring more affordability to Austin's rapidly changing neighborhoods. Questions like how to better incentivize affordable development and how to create context-sensitive density are just a few of the issues raised in these ongoing important discussions.
CityLab: How to keep [your city] weird
"Today, when the conversation turns to Keeping Austin Weird, it tends to mean keeping people out. Developers, Californians, festival-goers, franchise owners: The list of factors threatening to emblanden Austin grows longer and longer. To the extent that Austinites are trying to erect barriers to entry for people who might like to live there, the city risks losing something worse than cool: its sense of hospitality."
KEYE TV: Mobility report recommends Guadalupe-Lamar light rail proposal
MobilityATX's new report shows some encouraging news about the future of rail in Austin. Despite being voted down last fall, Austinites still name urban light rail as one of the top 10 possible traffic solutions. KEYETV talks to AURA's Susan Somers about what it would take to bring an urban light rail system to Austin and what shape it might take.
KUT: Austin's Eastern Frontier
Washington Post: There is no such thing as a city that has run out of room
There are so many great takeaways in this article, but allow us to highlight just one: ". . .limiting housing supply is actually going to exacerbate the problem, not make it better. But also, it's really a deep misunderstanding of the nature of cities. Cities always have been changing, throughout centuries. American cities have changed enormously in different and unexpected ways, and trying to build barriers around them is anti-urban in a deep sense." - Enrico Moretti, Berkeley Economist
Austin Monitor: New report outlines popular mobility proposals
City Observatory: My illegal neighborhood
StreetsBlog: Salt Lake City cuts car parking, adds bike lanes, sees retail boost
As we gear up for Better Streets Week here in Austin, here's an encouraging story from Salt Lake City. According to an in-house study on new protected bike lanes, retailers may be happy to find out that removing parking spots may in fact increase business. A growing body of evidence suggests that if bike lanes and parking removal contribute to a street with calmer traffic and a better pedestrian environment, everybody can win.
Next City: Moveable micro-house design headed for Austin
How can Austin accommodate more people, provide more affordable housing options, and take advantage of infill opportunities to create efficient, connected communities? It's exciting to see what creative solutions these difficult questions can raise, like these movable micro-units designed by UT professor Jeff Wilson.
Austin Monitor: Committee zeros in on affordable housing
Lack of affordable housing, an issue that continued to plague Austin during the boom times of the last decade, was the main focus at the last Housing and Community Development Committee meeting. The city of Austin’s Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department said the city needs a minimum of 48,000 affordable housing units and that the existing goal of building 3,500 units a year may be wholly inadequate.
MyStatesman: Why Austin hasn’t adopted a policy to help displaced tenants
Austin's rapid growth presents another distinct issue - how to handle tenant relocations when large apartment complexes are torn down for redevelopment. Marty Toohey explores the issue noting that Austin City Council hasn't taken action on the issue years after requesting a set of adoption-ready proposals.
Downtown Austin Blog: News Round-up
ABJ: Saxon Pub owner dishes on St. Elmo move, future plans for South Lamar location
Even developers recognize the important draw some of Austin's more established cultural institutions have. As plans for the new St. Elmo mixed-use development are underway on South Congress and Ben White, Saxon Pub owners talk about what it means to be a part of something new while still maintaining their roots on South Lamar.
StreetsBlog: Without transit, American cities would take up 37 percent more space
An interesting new report from the Transportation Research Board highlighting the ripple effects of increased transit options. As the report describes, when areas are allowed to be built more compactly, the “land use effect” of transit reduces driving much more than the substitution of car trips with transit trips.
Austin Chronicle: Car2Go closes ranks, concentrates on higher-demand areas
When the distinctive blue-and-white livery of vehicle-sharing service Car2Go arrived in Austin in 2010, they were a novelty. Now they're a regular sight on local roads. But on their fifth anniversary, the firm is revamping its provision, adding more cars while redesigning its service map with extra focus on Downtown commuters.