Surveying the Terrain: Complete Communities Initiative Update
The Best H̶o̶m̶e̶s̶ Movements Start with a Strong Foundation
Building the house of equity is going to take reconstructing our foundation and Austin Justice Coalition is up for the task. Following our huge successes in criminal justice reform, Austin Justice Coalition is now setting our sights on housing equity through our Houston-inspired initiative: Complete Communities. Through Complete Communities, Austin Justice Coalition will create tools that will help residents better understand local housing challenges and current land development code along with the proposed changes to the code.
Wins
Following mere weeks after the launch of our Complete Communities initiative Austin Justice Coalition already has wins to report:
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition Membership
The Austin Justice Coalition is now a member of The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). The NCRC and its grassroots member organizations create opportunities for people to build wealth. The NCRC works with community leaders, policymakers and financial institutions to champion fairness in banking, housing and business. Last year alone the NCRC:
- Facilitated three community agreements with banks that committed $7.6 billion for lending, investing and philanthropy in their communities;
- Provided live and online training to 3,700 people on fair housing laws, fair lending and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA);
- Purchased and renovated 112 affordable homes; and
- Produced ground-breaking and widely cited research that showed how neighborhoods that were “redlined” as far back as the 1930s are still economically challenged.
Support from the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability
Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (BCNUEJ) develops novel research on environmental justice and sustainability that builds on urban planning, policy, and studies in social inequality and development. The BCNUEJ’s research examines processes and dynamics that lead to more just, resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities, bringing together theory and methods from urban planning, public policy, urban and environmental sociology, urban geography and public health. The BCNUEJ’s studies analyze the extent to which urban plans and policy decisions contribute to more just, resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities, and how community groups in distressed neighborhoods contest the existence, creation, or exacerbation of environmental inequities as a result of urban (re)development processes and policies.
Local Partnership with the Community Housing Hub
Where we live matters. Our access to a quality education, employment, quality food and a healthy environment are often predetermined by our zip codes. Yet in one of the most innovative cities in America, Black people and other communities of color face consistent inequitable access and provision in the housing market. It is imperative that individuals not only have access to affordable and equitable housing, but are provided the resources to maintain their homesteads in the communities they’ve helped build and cultivate. Austin has the opportunity to reconcile its long-standing history of segregation, (that what institutionalized after the development of the 1928 City Plan) displacement and the development of inequitable communities east of I-35. The University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) Center for Community Engagement’s Community Housing Hub will serve to disrupt these political and social practices by working alongside vulnerable communities through education and engaged participation. The program will focus in three areas, Research, Preservation and Advocacy. This includes synthesizing research and data and making it accessible to the community and community organizations; pursuing preservation as an economic and political tool for sustainable community culture and ownership; and offering legal support through our partnership with the UT Law School Clinic.
Acceptance in the Austin Impact Accelerator
The Austin Impact Accelerator is a free acceleration program based in Austin, TX that develops and brings to market a cohort of solutions focused primarily and purposefully on affordability and workforce development.
Impact Hub Austin is interested in supporting innovative solutions to our communities toughest issues. We understand that the public, non-profit and private sector play by different rules, have different funding strategies, unique market variables and more. This Accelerator is uniquely developed with these unique components in mind as we look to support solutions that can have the biggest impact regardless of the sector.
Next Steps
With this powerhouse of initial partners, Austin Justice Coalition is ready to start at the ground-level and begin its journey into housing policy. While we are anxious to begin the reconstruction of housing equity in Austin, we know that sustainability starts with a good foundation. For the next 3 to 4 months, Austin Justice Coalition will be surveying the terrain, leaving no stone unturned as we collect the knowledge and expertise that we’ll build upon and expand to a brighter, more equitable Austin.
Call to Action
Are there any organizations or individuals you think should be part of helping Austin Justice Coalition? Send them our way!
Want to be part of the movement? Donate here!
