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This is not based on the article though. I included the link because it is tossed around on this site. The numbers are the most important part of this. The growth rates of all are very white heavy and all have a low proportion of black growth specifically with the possible exception of Nashville. What is it that the communities as a whole don’t see in them?
Low black growth does not denote no black culture though. Nashville is not a white city by a long shot. The other notable problem with the facts you contributed is the false equivalency made between white and black growth. Often, blacks do not have the luxury of picking up and moving into a city due to a number of socioeconomic reasons.
Is Austin even majority white? I'm pretty sure it is less than 50% white. (It was definitely less than 50% in the 2010 census.)
Of the cities on this list Austin's Hispanic growth is far and away #1, and the Asian growth is #1 also. Black growth is basically middle of the pack. How is Austin on this list beyond your personal bias? (I hope Houston is working out for you)
Being from Atlanta, I have a pretty skewed experience as an African American. Most places simply don’t have the same numbers we have so I’m not gonna comment. I do want to comment about nightlife though. There was a thread where a large amount of people were saying Seattle nightlife is better than DC nightlife. How?
The article is dated and one dimensional. I am black and liberal and like most of the cities mentioned except Portland. It was not very welcoming and felt like an exploitation/caricature of liberal ideals.
The article is extremely outdated (2009). It said Austin was the "bastion of right thinking urbanism in Texas" compared to those other sprawlvilles (Dallas & Houston). I couldn't stop laughing when I read that. Austin is definitely a sprawlville and certainly is no leader or example of urban planning, even in Texas. It had the opportunity to do the opposite, but ultimately chose to be a "sprawlville." Most notably, it's more car-dependent and less transit-oriented than Dallas and Houston. Clearly its appeal to white liberals has little to do with urbanity.
For black voters, I think age may partially play a role here. In the Democratic Primaries, older black voters overwhelmingly preferred Biden while younger black voters preferred the complete opposite -- Bernie. There were similar trends in other groups as well, so it's too limiting and one-dimensional to try to describe a prototypical white or black liberal.
I don’t get it. Any city with a booming tech economy has seen a huge influx of Asian/Indian and highly educated immigrants from around the world. Anywhere with big white inflows is a labor cost arbitrage place with middle class flight from the high cost of living areas where those people were priced out. Those places might look liberal by Bible Belt standards but you’d never confuse them with Berkeley or Cambridge.
The article is extremely outdated (2009). It said Austin was the "bastion of right thinking urbanism in Texas" compared to those other sprawlvilles (Dallas & Houston). I couldn't stop laughing when I read that. Austin is definitely a sprawlville and certainly is no leader or example of urban planning, even in Texas. It had the opportunity to do the opposite, but ultimately chose to be a "sprawlville." Most notably, it's more car-dependent and less transit-oriented than Dallas and Houston. Clearly its appeal to white liberals has little to do with urbanity.
For black voters, I think age may partially play a role here. In the Democratic Primaries, older black voters overwhelmingly preferred Biden while younger black voters preferred the complete opposite -- Bernie. There were similar trends in other groups as well, so it's too limiting and one-dimensional to try to describe a prototypical white or black liberal.
Austin is less than 50% non-Hispanic white. It will be up over 10% Asian/Indian soon just like any other city with a lot of tech.
Austin is less than 50% non-Hispanic white. It will be up over 10% Asian/Indian soon just like any other city with a lot of tech.
Yes, exactly. The article was written back in 2009 and even then, the main premise was too one-dimensional.
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