Austin’s Progressive Lie
The Austin community often prides itself on being the “bluest part of Texas”, a miniscule splash of blue drowning in a sea of red. I, too, felt my chest swell with pride when telling people that I had gotten accepted into UT, and therefore had the opportunity to live in one of the most progressive cities in the country. However, it took me nearly four years of living here for me to realize that Austin’s progressive environment only catered to a very specific demographic of people. Austin is one of the most segregated places in the country. But that doesn’t make sense, the very notion of a segregated city seems counterintuitive to everything Austin seems to stand for, right?
Wrong. As it stands, Austin is the tenth most income-segregated city in the nation (Florida, 2014). I-35, an iconic traffic-riddled source of frustration for any Austinite, serves as a physical barrier separating the affluent west from the impoverished east. I recently took a walk into East Austin and the difference was like night and day. Almost immediately I could tell that the property value fell to the ground. There were old, decaying buildings that could never hope to pass any inspection sprinkled throughout the area, an area primarily populated by black and brown people of color. All of this just a stone throw away from the University of Texas at Austin, from the Texas State Capitol, from me.
Austin was built on the back of systematic racism and legal segregation, a separate but equal city under the influence of Jim Crow. The east side served as a home to the separate but equal institutions that were built solely for African American use (Busch, 2011). Although the east and west side mirrored one another in the types of establishments built (public parks, schools, libraries, etc) the resulting buildings could not be more different. The quality of the schools and parks on the east side paled in comparison to their western counterparts; poor infrastructure and lack of smart design caused dysfunction within the shared public good in these communities. Despite these laws being long dead, the segregation in the city couldn’t be more alive. A study conducted by professors at the University of Texas at Austin found evidence supporting the claim that ESL(English as a Second Language) students attending Texas schools are not only being separated by socioeconomic status and race, but by language barriers as well, resulting in what is called “triple segregation” (Heilig, Holme, 2013). Research shows that in triple segregated schools, majority African American and Latinx schools are 48 percent less likely to be deemed “exemplary”. These incidents are not random, they’re not by chance and they did not arise naturally. Over half a century later and Jim Crow era segregation persists in a city that claims to be one of the most progressive places in the nation. Austin is too concerned with being a shining beacon of blue that condemns the glaringly obvious racism that exists in the rest of Texas that it fails to address the silent, color-blind racism that exists within its city limits; a complicit segregation that leaves black and brown people to suffer just as they would in any other racist town.
This trend can be seen within the 40 acres of the internationally acclaimed University of Texas. Just sixty years ago the first black student stepped onto the campus of UT Austin. Today in a staggering student body of 51,000 people, less than 2,400 identify as black, comprising less than 5 percent of the total student population (Stone, 2018). Let that sink in, less than 5 percent of the students that go to UT are black. UT has made efforts in recent years to increase the admission of students of color, which has resulted in the largest enrollment of African American students in the University’s history (a whopping 5 percent). It’s a process; multiple sections of the university must collaborate to increase diversity on campus, no one section can do it alone. The lack of diversity at UT stems from a multitude of problems that require a multitude of solutions. The university brings in more affluent people into the city, causing larger disparities in wealth which contribute greatly to the problem of segregation in Austin. Top schools are so concerned with putting forth a particular image of prestige and worth so that it only represents a certain kind of student, a rich student. That image doesn’t reflect many of the people that go to the university, leaving entire communities of people left out of that experience.
The city of Austin is the only major growing city in the United States that is losing African Americans (Tang, Falola, 2016). As the city grows, more and more people are being pushed out of the city’s center and into the neighboring hill country. As this process goes on, more and more affordable housing becomes unavailable to low-income individuals, especially individuals of color, forcing them to move to other areas of the city that are disenfranchised politically, economically, and socially, thus leaving them vulnerable and isolated. These areas often go unnoticed by policy makers and wealthy city dwellers; not enough people in power pay attention to the issues that persist in these poor communities, allowing the problem to get worse and worse. This negligence often forces many people to move out of the city entirely, causing the negative African American population growth we see today.
Austin might as well be the poster child for gentrification. Just this year west campus has seen dozens of high rise apartments develop in the blink of an eye. Old building after old building falling away to make way for yet another twenty story apartment that no doubt costs at least 1,000 dollars a month to live in. Not only do these luxury spaces look nice, but they’re only a hop, skip, and a boat ride away from campus. Many of the students that have the privilege to live in the area also have the luxury of living a short walk away from the university. These west campus apartments aren’t cheap by any definition of the word, so why is it that the rich have the privilege of living in close proximity to campus while most people in north campus, say Riverside, often have to commute via bus or car to get to campus? Wouldn’t it be logical to say that the very same students that have the ability to pay $1,000+ dollars in rent also have the ability to afford a car to commute to school? Why are the poorer students who are less likely able to afford reliable transportation the same students that must endure a long commute? It’s easy to buy into the lie, gentrification tastes great and you can wash it all down with a cup of locally sourced, gluten-free green juice and a vegan taco because dietary remorse is the only real guilt that we can feel anymore. The great Austin promise of diversity and progression hides a dark history that the city has yet to let go of. Locals proudly proclaim their desire to “keep Austin weird” when in reality there’s nothing weird about Austin at all. This city is just like any other one, one burdened by the crushing weight of its own segregation, hypocrisy, and racism.
Austin isn’t unique in any of this regard. Madison, Minneapolis, Portland, San Francisco; every progressive city in the country faces its own problems regarding gentrification and segregation. Despite these odds, some cities are taking steps to equalize communities that have been plagued by inequity and segregation. Seattle has launched Seattle for Everyone, a coalition of affordable housing that strives to create an inclusive city that ensures the benefits of growth and economic boom are shared by all current and future residents. Seattle for Everyone was built on the foundation of Seattle’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA), a multilateral strategy for addressing Seattle’s severe housing affordability problem (Seattle Government, 2014). HALA is primarily comprised of four factors: mandatory housing affordability, optimal resources for affordable housing, preservation, equity, and anti-displacement, and the promotion of efficient and innovative development. The creation of the Seattle Housing Levy, Mandatory Housing Affordability policy implementation, and surplus property revenue have contributed to the hundreds of affordable homes built for the elderly, poor, and disabled. Through HALA Seattle hopes to provide 20,000 affordable homes within the next decade to the people of the city. The segregation that exists within Austin has persisted for generations, it’s been here since its founding in 1839 and will likely be here until 2050 if we don’t do anything about it. By adopting policies similar to HALA or Seattle’s Housing Levy Austin can begin to lift some of the burden that lies on the shoulders of marginalized communities. It’ll be a process, no doubt, resolving Austin’s ridiculously expensive housing issue isn’t going to solve every segregation problem that exists within the city limits; there are layers to this seemingly insurmountable issue, it’s like a really big, ugly, racist cake that we’ve desperately tried to cover up with thick layers of artificially flavored icing. This alone won’t completely solve Austin’s problems with segregation and inequity, but it’s a start.
Recently the City of Austin has been taking steps in attempt to desegregate public schools in AISD. In 2016 district trustees approved a plan to better integrate schools that have patterns of socioeconomic and racial disparities. AISD houses many schools that are primarily comprised of black and Hispanic students (many of whom are low-income) while simultaneously having schools that have mostly white students in attendance (who are primarily from middle/high-income families) (Taboda, 2016). The integration plan hopes to unite these two entities to create an even distribution of socioeconomic status across the school district, equalizing the opportunity each student has.
New policies and regulations will begin to arise as Austin progresses in its journey in becoming an inclusive city that provides resources and benefits for all its residents, no matter one’s race or socioeconomic status. It’s time that Austin lives up to its reputation of being one of the greatest, most progressive places in the country. We need to not only uphold our pride in good tacos, SXSW, live music, or an empty shade of blue that promises a prosperous life that only some of us could ever dream to see, but a blue that we can stand firmly behind, a blue that can be seen by all.
References
- Busch, A. (2011). Entrepreneurial city: race, the environment, and growth in Austin, Texas, 1945–2001. https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/22131/busch_dissertation_20119b.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- Dahmer, D. (2015). The Harsh Truth About Progressive Cities. https://madison365.com/what-no-one-wants-to-talk-about-race-and-progressive-cities/
- Holme, J, Vasquez, J (2013). Study Shows Jim Crow-Era segregation persists in Texas Schools. https://news.utexas.edu/2013/08/13/study-shows-jim-crow-era-segregation-persists-in-texas-schools
- Florida, R. (2014). The US Cities with Highest Levels of Income Segregation. https://www.citylab.com/life/2014/03/us-cities-highest-levels-income-segregation/8632/
- Seattle Government, (2014). Housing Affordability and Livability. https://www.seattle.gov/hala/abou
- Stone, B (2018). The 5 percent: UT lacks black representation. http://dailytexanonline.com/2018/02/20/the-5-percent-ut-lacks-black-representation
- Taboada, M. (2016). Austin school board approves pilot plan to desegregate schools. https://www.statesman.com/NEWS/20161025/Austin-school-board-approves-pilot-plan-to-desegregate-schools
- Tang, E, Faola, B (2016). Those Who Stayed, the impact of gentrification on longstanding residents of East Austin. https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/iupra/_files/Those-Who-Stayed.pdfbuilt to be
- Tang, E., Faola, B (2016). Those Who Left, Austin’s declining African American Population. https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/iupra/_files/pdf/those-who-left-austin.pd
- Winkie, L. (2014). Austin was Built to Be Segregated. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nnqdk7/austin-was-built-to-be-segregated
