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Houston and Austin ... They are altogether different cities with altogether different histories, industries, and influences. Houston is an international city. It is more logistically sound in terms of serving as an international port than Austin is as Houston is supported by Land, Sea and Air where as Austin does not play a role anything close to significance in terms of logistics and the energy industry (an industry that by far and large is a huge driver of Houston's diversity)
Like Austin, most major southern cities were initially very segregated. Also like Austin, most movements to liberate blacks and provide equality as well as property rights (as many major cities did not include these for blacks until the 1950's thru 1970's), were met with harsh retaliation ranging from political movements for whites to keep their enclaves (of which Austin was successful in by pushing minorities out of the core) to white flight (which happened in several sunbelt cities) - or basically whites moving out of core areas into suburban enclaves of their own, and damning anything that may change that such as stomping down on transit improvements into suburban areas.
Even in metros where there are an abundant of blacks you will be hard pressed to find one where there is not a income disparity, or where a majority of blacks are home owners.
The problem is much bigger than these white enclaves.
No matter if Black people migrated to Houston in droves because of its manufacturing base it still produces a more culturally inclusive environment than Austin. That in itself produces a more “progressive” environment for Black and Brown people to prosper and contribute for the betterment of their communities in ways a city like Austin can not.
And while every city in America has a racist political history and PRESENT Austin’s 1928 master plan was a bit unique unlike any other city in America. Again that plan has impacted the city to this very day. I’ll give you an excerpt from an article written by a Hispanic journalist experience living in Austin.
Now with all that said, I do like Austin. I do think Austin does a lot of things better than other Texas cities like innovative ideas, entrepreneurship, local government, projects, environment, green spaces. Me and my Wife are in the entertainment industry part time so at one point we definitely considered moving to Austin. I also think Austin has that street level cohesive vibrancy that I find missing in a Houston or Dallas.
That’s why I totally get why a White Liberal would choose Austin over Houston. I don’t call myself a liberal or progressive(don’t believe in political titles,figures or parties) but a lot of what Austin offers fits me to a tee. That’s why I’m always in Austin almost every month plus business. But because I am Black and not into assimilating, Houston as far as Texas goes is the better fit for me and my family. Cultural wellness is very very important to me and many other Black people and POC. Austin is not providing you with that unless you don’t mind assimilating or can’t identify with your ethnicity.
And while RIGHT NOW I live in a very conservative Houston suburb( The Woodlands) there’s still some similarities I see with Austin that effects a poc experience. That similarity is White Privilege. No matter your political affiliation it still exist.
And Super Predator Hillary Clinton isn’t really that progressive or different from Trump either imo.
Hillary Clinton would never act anything like Trump. It's ridiculous to think after a full 4 years of Trump that they are anything alike.
Austin has always been a very white-collar city; the core industries throughout the city's history are government, higher education, and technology. It's definitely not a coincidence that the city had modest growth during the periods where growth was driven by manufacturing but has been a rocket ship ever since growth started being driven by the information economy.
IMO this has impacted the city's demographic history much more than any political aspects.
This does appear to be the case. From what I read, manufacturing began ramping up in the 70's or so and even that was tech-related (IBM I think?). The city used that as a springboard to transition to a more research-oriented tech economy.
Houston and Austin ... They are altogether different cities with altogether different histories, industries, and influences. Houston is an international city. It is more logistically sound in terms of serving as an international port than Austin is as Houston is supported by Land, Sea and Air where as Austin does not play a role anything close to significance in terms of logistics and the energy industry (an industry that by far and large is a huge driver of Houston's diversity)
Like Austin, most major southern cities were initially very segregated. Also like Austin, most movements to liberate blacks and provide equality as well as property rights (as many major cities did not include these for blacks until the 1950's thru 1970's), were met with harsh retaliation ranging from political movements for whites to keep their enclaves (of which Austin was successful in by pushing minorities out of the core) to white flight (which happened in several sunbelt cities) - or basically whites moving out of core areas into suburban enclaves of their own, and damning anything that may change that such as stomping down on transit improvements into suburban areas.
Even in metros where there are an abundant of blacks you will be hard pressed to find one where there is not a income disparity, or where a majority of blacks are home owners.
The problem is much bigger than these white enclaves.
Absolutely. I'm certainly not going to deny there is a massive list of ways that Austin has established institutional racism over the years. What I do disagree with is the idea that Austin was particularly bad about this relative to other American and Southern cities, and that Austin's below average black population is a consequence of that. I just don't think that is true at all. Other factors (economic, location, timing, etc) were far more important.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77
This does appear to be the case. From what I read, manufacturing began ramping up in the 70's or so and even that was tech-related (IBM I think?). The city used that as a springboard to transition to a more research-oriented tech economy.
True, Austin has a fairly robust high tech manufacturing sector. Samsung, Apple, AMD, NXP (formerly Freescale and Motorola) have large manufacturing operations. Maybe Tesla is joining the fray? It is part of a multi-decade history of Austin being a lower-cost alternative to Silicon Valley. I bet you will find these places have very diverse workforces, too.
IMO Austin has Houston to thank for its tech sector. Money made in Oil is what made UT an elite engineering school, and UT's engineering programs are what made Austin a tech hub.
IMO Austin has Houston to thank for its tech sector. Money made in Oil is what made UT an elite engineering school, and UT's engineering programs are what made Austin a tech hub.
Yep. In the same way, it's that old tobacco money that made NC's universities the powerhouses they are which in turn led to the establishment of RTP, with Raleigh being the primary beneficiary.
Hillary Clinton would never act anything like Trump. It's ridiculous to think after a full 4 years of Trump that they are anything alike.
The point is that the Democratic and Republican parties are both beholden to the same doners and are both in the interest of maintaining the status quo. I believe economic justice is just as important as social justice but Democrats are just neo-liberal SJWs with no sense of class consciousness. Yes, they're better but it's negligible in the grand scheme of things when African Americans are doing worse in terms of class mobility.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whereiend
What I fundamentally disagree with is the idea that Houston's racial makeup is a result of it being more progressive politically than Austin.
But I never said that at all! I said that the word "liberal" or "progressive" means different things to different people and that one definition of those words fits Austin and the other definition fits Houston better. What I did NOT say:
1) Austin was racially regressive in its current form (I do think Austin's history set it back some if were talking about attracting African Americans)
2) Houston is more liberal than Austin
3) Austin was unfriendly towards immigrants
I dont think any of the above statements are true.
Do I think Houston is more racially progressive than Austin? Yeah, I do. Do I think Austin is more progressive than Houston overall? Of course I do. It just depends on the person and how they view that term.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foamposite
You think Hispanics are doing better in Houston than Austin?
Austin is 35% Hispanic vs Houston's 43%.
And for what it's worth, my Salvadoran-American friend here in New York went to both cities and much preferred Austin, he said that Houston was ghetto and reminded him of the bad parts of Long Island.
Lets take Austin out of the equation for a minute. Other than East Coast cities (NYC, Florida, DC, and Boston), Houston has the most diverse Latin American community in the US. Hispanics are choosing Houston more than any other metro area in the US. Below is data from 2013-2018 and broken down by country:
Total Hispanic Growth:
Houston: 352,964
Miami/Fort Lauderdale: 351,185
Los Angeles/Riverside: 347,691
Dallas/Fort Worth: 280,334
New York: 234,553
Phoenix: 199,489
Mexican:
Los Angeles/Riverside: 204,432
Houston: 172,088
Dallas/Fort Worth: 168,878
Phoenix: 126,165
San Antonio: 119,894
Guatemala:
Los Angeles/Riverside: 29,977
Atlanta: 17,882
Houston: 13,847
Washington DC: 12,109
Miami/Fort Lauderdale: 9,760
Honduras:
Houston: 37,905
Washington DC: 25,078
Miami/Fort Lauderdale: 18,069
Dallas/Fort Worth: 15,944
New Orleans: 7,742
El Salvador:
Houston: 46,089
Los Angeles/Riverside: 45,610
Washington DC: 35,669
New York: 23,985
Dallas/Fort Worth: 21,802
Its hard to say Hispanics are better off in Houston vs. Austin. Thats subjective and depends on the person. What is obvious is that really only Miami and LA/Riverside pull in the type of numbers Houston does from Latin America. So the communities are simply going to be much larger than anyplace not LA, Miami, or NYC.
Demographically, I think Mexicans would be just as fine in Austin as they would in Houston. If its another type of Hispanic, I cant think the same argument could be made.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foamposite
Hillary Clinton would never act anything like Trump. It's ridiculous to think after a full 4 years of Trump that they are anything alike.
IMO Austin has Houston to thank for its tech sector. Money made in Oil is what made UT an elite engineering school, and UT's engineering programs are what made Austin a tech hub.
That's incredible. Austin thanking another TX city for contributing to its success. Unheard of from an Austin CD poster or real life one before. This reminds me of when Pat Robertson criticized Trump's Bible photo-op. Strange times we're living in.
It looks like Austin has a council-manager city government much like Kansas City's, where the mayor is first among equals on the city council and casts tie-breaking votes.
The problem of representation on the city council could be fixed if the city adopted the method Kansas City uses to elect its council members.
The city is divided into six Council districts. Each district sends two members to City Hall. One is elected by voters in the district, the other by voters in the city at large.
This way you have two people in each district who knows\ the issues affecting that district. One can focus on them exclusively, while the other balances them against the needs of the city as a whole.
Divide Austin into five districts and you could implement this system with a council of the current size.
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