Rising incomes, a burgeoning population and the presence of the thousands of University students have made living in Austin less affordable for its working-class residents, said citizens groups and city officials at a summit Thursday.
The affordable housing summit, hosted at the offices of the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department in East Austin, provided an opportunity for citizens to give input on a proposed housing market study that would examine affordable housing in Austin and guide future city policy efforts.
Austin City Council Member Jennifer Kim, who hosted the event, said affordable housing is an integral part of any community.
"I think it's time we start talking about housing as infrastructure, recognizing that housing is a vital infrastructure that we need to plan for, 20 years out," she said.
According to a study commissioned by the department, the cost of housing has risen due to factors including rapid population growth, decline in federal assistance and the presence of the University. Department Deputy Director Margaret Shaw said the lack of housing at UT has a major effect on the Austin housing market as the majority of students must reside off-campus.
"The impact on the community is that typically, the students are living in apartments that are older, in small properties, which tend to be the cheaper units," she said. "Twenty years ago, that was fine. We had plenty of housing stock; we were one of the most affordable cities in the country. Now, Austin's population outside the University has grown. The market has changed."
According to fall 2007 UT Division of Housing and Food Service demographics, 8,146 students live in residence halls or University-owned apartments out of 50,170 students overall. Shaw said she encourages the University to develop more student residences and free up affordable housing for working-class families
"We have to engage the University. Just like we do with our major employers, we have to look at how they are impacting these social issues," she said.
Laurie Mackey, associate director of UT housing and food services, said that the "landlocked" position of campus makes new construction difficult and expensive and said that the private sector is still the best way to house students.
"To build anything new on campus, we have to follow the master plan, and that's very expensive," she said, referring to a document adopted in 1999 that laid out the goals and future direction of the University.
Mackey said there are currently no plans to construct more University-owned student housing, but construction of private, affordable apartments continues west of campus.
The summit was attended by a variety of citizen groups with a stake in keeping Austin livable for its low-income and disabled residents. Stephanie Thomas, organizer for the disability rights group ADAPT, supports the development of housing for the disabled.
Thomas said a large amount of housing considered "affordable" by the city is still too expensive for a person supported by Social Security or disability benefits, and she wants to see more projects using "universal design," housing that is accessible to the disabled but still appealing to others.
"We want more accessible, very affordable, integrated housing," she said.
Carmen Llanes, a member of the environmental justice group People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources, said as the quality of life and environmental issues in East Austin improved, it became much less affordable for working-class families as land values rose and wealthier residents moved in.
"It's not just about cleaning it up, it's about cleaning it up and allowing those residents to stay there," she said. "Families who have been there for generations own their homes, but can't afford their property taxes."
Llanes said she welcomes new East Austin residents, but wants to secure a place for the people who already live there.
"East Austin made lemonade with the lemons it was presented with, and now that it's cleaned up, everyone wants that lemonade."
The final housing market study report is expected in early 2009.
Be the first to comment on this article!