How Austin’s Rapid Population Growth Affects the Environment
Elliott Leathers
Over the past decade, Austin’s population growth has become the nation’s 5th largest population increase. With the population of Austin growing and the city itself becoming a hotspot for young adults to move to, the environment is at risk and preserving it has become a prevalent issue. The problem at hand is how the rapid urban development in Austin negatively affects the environment.
Austin’s population growth is affecting the environment and is at risk for more damage in the future. The main and most obvious cause is Austin has been experiencing one of the largest increases in population in the country and has been “deemed as the fastest-growing large city” in the US (Leighton). From 2018 to 2019 the city of Austin had an increase of 2.8% which was “bigger than any other metro” in the country (Anderson). Furthermore, Austin has been “the fastest growing metro in the country for nine straight years” (Anderson). Austin is and has been experiencing unmatched population growth for the past decade. The current infrastructure of Austin is not prepared to house and sustain that new amount of people that now live in Austin and also future residents. The rapid growth along with the lack of proper infrastructure and preparation has affected Austin’s environment. With more urban development, it decreases Austin’s natural environment and untouched land. Austin is known for its outdoor amenities and parks, therefore it is a problem that they are in potential danger. Additionally, the “natural habitats for plants and wildlife in Austin have been lost” in recent years as the city has grown (Austintexas.gov). The new development and growing metro also inevitably leads to pollution. The new development in Austin has resulted in “worsening problems with traffic congestion, air pollution and water quality” (Eshel). This urban development affects water resources and energy resources as well. As well as effects concerning the health of the environment, Austin’s growth can affect the environment in what it looks like and the lifestyle of Austin. For example, with more people Austin will need to revert to more compacted development and construct buildings for living, particularly in the downtown area. This will affect the environment because the city will always seem to be under construction; it even seems this way right now in downtown. In addition, new buildings and housing increases the price of living and this can displace many citizens of Austin. Austin could go from its outdoors and quirky persona to an overpriced industrial town. The difficult thing about this is that the city can’t force people from moving to Austin and even if they could, with more people there are benefits. The city of Austin would need to strategically change in a way that positively affected the most parties and dealt with the environmental damages efficiently, which is a hard task. With that being said, this is also an opportunity for Austin “[reinvent]” the city “in order to sustain urban life” (Parker). There are some plans in place, such as Planet Texas 2050, which is a project meant to research the effects of population growth in Texas and try to find solutions to it (Howard). This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed soon for the sake of Austin and all the stakeholders involved.
This issue involves stakeholders such as Austin citizens, researchers, local government officials, the University of Texas and anyone else who is concerned with the environmental state of Austin. Stakeholders are anyone or any organization that are involved or have interest in the issue, therefore the citizens of Austin are evident stakeholders. Also, research projects or organizations, like the researchers working on Plant Texas 2050, are stakeholders and probably the more involved and knowledgeable about the issue as it is their work and life. There are plenty of “non-profit organizations, sustainability groups” that have put in “continuous efforts to protect Austin’s environment” (Braff). For them, it is also more than just how it will affect their own lives, but how it affects the future of Austin, therefore there is much more at stake. The local government and officials are also stakeholders because it is them who put regulations and procedures in place to handle the issue. I also believe that the University of Texas is a stakeholder because in a way the university is responsible for thousands of students and as a prominent part of downtown Austin, UT must have a special interest in the issue.
My ethos relates to the stakeholders because I am one and I have personal connections to the issue. As a student and resident of Austin, I can relate to UT and the Austin community because I am a part of it. I plan on making my position and how it affects me clear in my writing in order to relate to the audience and come across like a friend rather than someone spitting out information and proposing something. I think that if the stakeholders know I am in the same position as them that can automatically make them want to listen and believe what I’m saying.
Austin’s rapid population growth has caused a multitude of environmental problems and it involves many stakeholders. This is an issue that needs to be addressed and fixed, and I hope to reach out to the Austin community and explain the situation as well as search for valid solutions in my writing.
Here is a video of a news source that discusses Austin’s growth:
Works Cited:
Anderson, Will. Bizjournals.com, 26 Mar. 2020, www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2020/03/26/austin-remains-fastest-growing-big-city-in-country.html
Eshel, Katherine, et al. “Growing Greener.” Growing Greener | Environment Texas, Environment Texas Research and Policy Center, 22 Oct. 2017, environmenttexas.org/reports/txe/growing-greener.
“Environment: Challenges/Solutions.” Natural Resilient | AustinTexas.gov, 2017, www.austintexas.gov/department/environment-challengessolutions.
Howard, Bevyn. “More People, More Problems: UT Attempts to Address Texas’ Growing Population.” The Daily Texan, 1 Mar. 2018, thedailytexan.com/2018/03/01/more-people-more-problems-ut-attempts-to-address-texas-growing-population
Leighton, Heather. “Austin Named America’s Fastest-Growing Large City in 2019, Report Says.” The Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 22 Oct. 2019, kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/2019/10/22/wallethub-austin-dallas-houston-fastest-growing-cities-2019#:~:text=For%20the%20past%20eight%20years,from%20the%20U.S.%20Census%20Bureau.
Braff, Dan. “Austin, Texas: Sustainable City.” Green City Times, 11 Dec. 2020, www.greencitytimes.com/austin-texas-a-sustainable-city/.
Parker, Laura. “How One City Turned Industrial Zones Into Green Enclaves.” National Geographic, 9 Dec. 2016, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/urban-expeditions/austin/austin-green-buildings-fight-urban-sprawl/.
