Is Suburbia Turning Into Slumburbia? (San Antonio, New Braunfels: section 8, real estate, apartment complexes)

[smitty12]

Is Suburbia Turning Into Slumburbia?

If we can get public transport, I think SA stands a good chance to do well if this starts happening here. There is a lot of Light Industrial Urban Areas (River North for one) that can be redeveloped into urban housing...

[Primo]

Are you kidding...it has already happend, thanks to our former Mayor Henry Ciseneros. When he decided to distribute section 8 housing through out the city and start giving out section 8 vouchers.....all of the nice northern suburbs have slowly turned into slums.

The area around churchill high school has really gone down hill....I heard all the apartments around there have turned almost completely into section 8. The Med center is another area that is horrible now, thanks to all the section 8 criminals moving in.

Stone Oak and La Cantera will be the next nice area to be infested.

[CelesteDF]

Originally Posted by smitty12

Is Suburbia Turning Into Slumburbia?

If we can get public transport, I think SA stands a good chance to do well if this starts happening here. There is a lot of Light Industrial Urban Areas (River North for one) that can be redeveloped into urban housing...

You seem to be taking the position that light rail or good public transportation will cause the decline of San Antonio's suburbs into poor slums. However, as the op-ed Is Suburbia Turning Into Slumburbia? describes the situation in other urban areas, San Antonio is in a completely different situation.

This op-ed specifically refers to major metropolitan areas with far-flung suburbs that are solely bedroom communities more than an hour's commute from the central business district, like Stockton is to San Francisco, or Prince William County, VA is to Washington DC. San Antonio has grown in what I believe to be an unwise sprawl, but it is nowhere near the case that other major metros have experienced.

We do not have entire suburban bedroom communities popping up 60-90 minute commutes away from the core areas of business activity. As another thread in this forum notes, San Antonio has several major corporate/business activity centers, including the downtown CBD, the 410 corridor between I-35 & Culebra, the I-10 corridor, and now with the addition of Valero HQ, etc., the 281/1604 area. This puts all of San Antonio's current suburbs, including Boerne, New Braunfels, etc., within a 30-45 minute commute of the major business activity centers in the region.

The addition of public transportation that effectively links our current suburbs to our major business centers will only help to strengthen the long-term viability of our existing suburbs, while minimizing the need for further sprawl due to the increased attractiveness & convenience of urban living areas. For the moment, San Antonio is nowhere near the risk level of so many of the coastal cities/suburbs that overbuilt during real estate bubble. To suggest that adding good infrastructure such as effective public transportation could put us at risk is not only ludicrous, but irresponsible.

[googie2525]

Hmmm, didn't I post my opinion on this about a year ago regarding the Stone Oak (the 281/1604 and IH-10/1604 area in general) area? It's such a predictable trend, I'm really suprised we're just hearing this now.

[rd2007]

Originally Posted by Primo

Are you kidding...it has already happend, thanks to our former Mayor Henry Ciseneros. When he decided to distribute section 8 housing through out the city and start giving out section 8 vouchers.....all of the nice northern suburbs have slowly turned into slums.

The area around churchill high school has really gone down hill....I heard all the apartments around there have turned almost completely into section 8. The Med center is another area that is horrible now, thanks to all the section 8 criminals moving in.

Stone Oak and La Cantera will be the next nice area to be infested.

great post! we have some nice townhouses in front of Westcreek, but they unfortunately have a certain number set aside for section 8. As is pretty much always the case, the crime went up and they are already run-down looking. The awful part is they charge people that actually work for a living a fortune to live there.

[scuba steve]

Originally Posted by CelesteDF

You seem to be taking the position that light rail or good public transportation will cause the decline of San Antonio's suburbs into poor slums. However, as the op-ed Is Suburbia Turning Into Slumburbia? describes the situation in other urban areas, San Antonio is in a completely different situation.

I've thought about this some... if gas prices go up another buck or two in the near (year and a half) term I think that may finally put enough pressure on people to get a larger number moving inside of the outer loop. The higher-end development I saw I don't think will decline like in the article, but I do have to wonder about some of the mid-range stuff. Good public transit that's suited for the areas it serves (for example, rail going to areas where the type of people that would never take a bus live) would help to prevent the decline.

[thebigmammoo]

I love it...suburbanites living in fear of their area becoming less affluent while their children cruise around listening to Rap music.

EDIT: 2 cool points for the term "Slumburbia". How edgy and creative!!!

[banker]

Originally Posted by Primo

Are you kidding...it has already happend, thanks to our former Mayor Henry Ciseneros. When he decided to distribute section 8 housing through out the city and start giving out section 8 vouchers.....all of the nice northern suburbs have slowly turned into slums.

The area around churchill high school has really gone down hill....I heard all the apartments around there have turned almost completely into section 8. The Med center is another area that is horrible now, thanks to all the section 8 criminals moving in.

Stone Oak and La Cantera will be the next nice area to be infested.

Great post. I used to live in Churchill Forest just north of Wurzbach Parkway and for years shopped at the HEB at West Ave/Blanco. Now...I wouldn't go there at night! The area around that intersection has really deteriorated due to the section 8 vouchers. Katrina just accelerated the down turn. It is sad to see the government force this issue by requiring so many apartment complexes to have section 8 housing components. Now...many of the nice neighborhoods up Blanco Road will slowly begin to feel the impact of the slums moving in.

[lonegun]

And to think i was gonna move out of the westside where its actually nice and quiet now! LOL!

[CreekKnoll]

Originally Posted by Primo

Are you kidding...it has already happend, thanks to our former Mayor Henry Ciseneros. When he decided to distribute section 8 housing through out the city and start giving out section 8 vouchers.....all of the nice northern suburbs have slowly turned into slums.

The area around churchill high school has really gone down hill....I heard all the apartments around there have turned almost completely into section 8. The Med center is another area that is horrible now, thanks to all the section 8 criminals moving in.

Stone Oak and La Cantera will be the next nice area to be infested.

What can we do about this? I feel that more apartments and renters turn to Section 8 and housing becuase it's for sure money. Why let your property sit on the market tomorrow when you can get government money today.