Gentrification & Displacement Initiative
Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 12:25 pm
I am posting this on behalf of Council Member Leslie Pool:
Hello Colleagues:
In August, I will bring an initiative to the Council that I have been working on for the past several months with other council offices to deeply examine the gentrification and growing displacement we face as a city. This effort is long overdue, but I am encouraged by the variety of citizen groups and commissions that have most recently, and rightly, called for action from the Council to address this important issue.
Our initiative calls for a UT-based gentrification and displacement study and a mapping of our city based on a spectrum of vulnerability. The goal is to dig deeply into what we already know is occurring to get objective data analysis on who is affected, where it’s happening and the causes. Ultimately, this thorough research will provide a foundation for good policy decisions to help stabilize our vulnerable communities.
Regarding Mayor Adler’s message board posting on a new displacement task force: the task force will provide an essential community conversation, and the academic data analysis and mapping that I am proposing provides the research to support good policymaking. I see these two initiatives as complimentary and necessary components for examining and addressing this social and economic trend in Austin. This initiative is, and should be, a separate undertaking from the task force initiative. The task force finds its strength in elevating the voices of the displaced, and the strength of the study stands on its independence and academic rigour.
Gentrification and displacement are occurring in many communities of our city, including in large portions of my district, and across ethnic, racial, age, and social groups. We are all invested in examining gentrification and in preventing and combating displacement if we want a diverse and sustainable city.
We are grateful to Dr. Elizabeth Mueller, Associate Professor of Community and Regional Planning and Social Work at the University of Texas, and to her colleagues who are preparing a proposal for the gentrification and displacement study as well as the mapping element.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to facilitate this greater depth of knowledge as a path towards solutions.
Leslie Pool, Council Member District 7
Hello Colleagues:
In August, I will bring an initiative to the Council that I have been working on for the past several months with other council offices to deeply examine the gentrification and growing displacement we face as a city. This effort is long overdue, but I am encouraged by the variety of citizen groups and commissions that have most recently, and rightly, called for action from the Council to address this important issue.
Our initiative calls for a UT-based gentrification and displacement study and a mapping of our city based on a spectrum of vulnerability. The goal is to dig deeply into what we already know is occurring to get objective data analysis on who is affected, where it’s happening and the causes. Ultimately, this thorough research will provide a foundation for good policy decisions to help stabilize our vulnerable communities.
Regarding Mayor Adler’s message board posting on a new displacement task force: the task force will provide an essential community conversation, and the academic data analysis and mapping that I am proposing provides the research to support good policymaking. I see these two initiatives as complimentary and necessary components for examining and addressing this social and economic trend in Austin. This initiative is, and should be, a separate undertaking from the task force initiative. The task force finds its strength in elevating the voices of the displaced, and the strength of the study stands on its independence and academic rigour.
Gentrification and displacement are occurring in many communities of our city, including in large portions of my district, and across ethnic, racial, age, and social groups. We are all invested in examining gentrification and in preventing and combating displacement if we want a diverse and sustainable city.
We are grateful to Dr. Elizabeth Mueller, Associate Professor of Community and Regional Planning and Social Work at the University of Texas, and to her colleagues who are preparing a proposal for the gentrification and displacement study as well as the mapping element.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to facilitate this greater depth of knowledge as a path towards solutions.
Leslie Pool, Council Member District 7