New Housing Plan Looks to Aid Austin’s Latinos

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Austin, Texas (34.83% Latino population) is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. It is a rich and diverse city, complete with a thriving economy that has attracted a large number of new residents. According to data from the Internal Revenue Service, the total household income these new residents bring is $2,359,803,000. With this new growth comes changes; for many long-time residents of the city, these changes have them concerned.

A local community group is now looking to bring light to the challenges faced by the city’s established Latino community. Gilbert Rivera is a longtime East Austin resident and president of the Rosewood Neighborhood Contact Team, a group of residents and property owners in the Rosewood neighborhood of Austin invested in the development and future of the area. As he sees the region change around him through development and gentrification, it has left him and fellow long-time residents concerned.

“The diversity is disappearing rapidly, because with every ‘McMansion,’ every condo, every one of those things that you see … people of color are moving out,” he said. “We bought our house in 1983 for $39,000 … [today], my house is worth close to a half a million dollars. So, is that affordability?”

In 2001, the group helped develop a neighborhood plan for the historically low-income area. Their goals included making Rosewood a more attractive and safer environment as well as promoting affordability. Many residents, according to Rivera, are dealing with financial difficulties as high-end development projects begin in the neighborhood.

Rivera and his group are now supporting an effort by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which recently released a report on “The State of Latinos in Austin” that addressed the economic and racial disparities Latinos currently face. The report proposes policies, such as fast-tracking affordable housing developments.

“Our demographer gives reports about how our poverty rate is declining, and you would think that’s a good thing, but it’s not. It’s because they’re moving away,” Austin City Councilmember Delia Garza said. “They can’t afford to live here anymore. So, our poverty families are just moving to Pflugerville and Kyle and Buda. It’s not that we’re doing better to help these families, it’s that we haven’t done enough.”

Garza believes these issues can be addressed by Austin’s new Equity Office, which will begin operating this summer.

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