Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But this doesn't address why Austin has a much more visible problem than cities 3-4x its size (Houston and DFW). NYC and Boston don't have that much vacant housing yet they're able to house their homeless much better. Austin's not having enough vacant housing isn't the main issue. It's actually a small point. The biggest is definitely policy.
It's not that APD is allowing it, but Austin city hall is approving of it. It took businesses taking it into their own hands for it to change.
What I think might be happening - under the table - is the homeless economic department in Austin is developing from SF/LA/Seattle expats who have moved into Austin. There's a lot of money in the homeless industrial complex, and Austin is like a blank pallet for those people as they claim their stake on the growing market.
In the past I would have disagreed but today I can definitely see a cause for it. I can’t truly confirm what is happening though, but I definitely do feel that it is more than what meets the eye.
I remember something along those lines when Adler decreased the limitations where they could camp and Abbott stepped in and clarified / reversed some things.
I don't think Abbot has authority to change anything in this area. My understanding is that camping in parks and on sidewalks is currently prohibited, and I believe that camping in parks was *always* prohibited. That said, it doesn't seem like this is strictly enforced by APD, and I'm not sure what the politics behind that are. I feel like APD has shown a general IDGAF attitude ever since the protests earlier in the year, so I wonder if it's related to that.
But this doesn't address why Austin has a much more visible problem than cities 3-4x its size (Houston and DFW). NYC and Boston don't have that much vacant housing yet they're able to house their homeless much better. Austin's not having enough vacant housing isn't the main issue. It's actually a small point. The biggest is definitely policy.
Overall the idea that Austin is doing much worse than these other places looks like fake news to me. It does need to substantially expand shelter capacity (which I said).
Last edited by whereiend; 12-28-2020 at 06:05 PM..
Overall the idea that Austin is doing much worse than these other places looks like fake news to me. It does need to substantially expand shelter capacity (which I said).
Really if you think about it, this is just another example of Austin's infrastructure lagging behind the population growth. If Austin shelters another 1k (on par with Houston and Dallas) then the unsheltered population would get cut by 66%
(From 1500 to 500). Eg more "fastest growing city in the US for 30+ years" problems.
If I'm running the city I aim to build 3-5 of these every year, make a few designated camping spots like the state did, and then strictly enforce no camping elsewhere, particularly in parks and sidewalks.
I can kind of see cases for both, if hypothetically the council is allowing the problem to grow to gain public attention in essence hoping that the public will be ready to chip in for a tax to fix the problem. If that is the case atleast, it would seem they recognize the problem and want the public to recognize it too. Similarly as to how they strived to evade road improvements in the past in efforts to push transit.. in a sense a deliberate attempt to steer the public.
You can be liberal and woke. But Austin is notorious liberal-fake woke. They seem to lose some of their most "would be called woke" city council members to other cities. Not sure why.
You can be liberal and woke. But Austin is notorious liberal-fake woke. They seem to lose some of their most "would be called woke" city council members to other cities. Not sure why.
I think San Diego is similar in this regard. The most woke liberal places in the County are also the places strongly against any measures that could possibly introduce less desirable people (middle class...how revolting...)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
