First Texas had colonias along the border with Mexico. Now “non-border colonias” are an emerging issue. A colonia, in Texas terms,…
Category: Local issues
Austin housers voice concerns over proposed city housing cuts
Leaders in Austin’s affordable housing community met July 1 the City of Austin’s new Chief of Staff, Anthony Snipes to…
Katrina evacuee’s Habitat success story greeted by cheers and jeers
Reading the story in the Houston Chronicle on July 4 about Andrea Lee who moved to Houston after Hurricane Katrina…
The voice of consumers is missing in judging subsidized housing
Low income tenants are seldom consulted about the quality of housing that the government builds for them. I have long…
Unraveling the mystery of 500 unused Dallas Section 8 vouchers
The Dallas Morning News ran a story by Kim Horner on June 23 about 500 Section 8 vouchers that have…
El Cenizo community leader Lupe De Leon fought for property rights, housing, better living conditions
On Saturday, June 28, 2008, Lupe De Leon died at his home in El Cenizo TX. Mr. De Leon was…
Part 2: Housing segregation in Austin – a community blind to the problem
Watch my video blog or read the text below. Austin is a city of intense racial and economic segregation. Despite…
Part 1: Housing segregation in Austin – a product of government policy
Watch the slide show of racial and economic housing segregation and the current housing policy decisions of the City of…
Home builders object and Austin backs away from housing visitability requirements
June 18 was not an auspicious day in Austin housing rights history. Shortly before voting to adopt the anemic affordable…
City of Austin’s affordable housing initiative fizzles out
An Austin City Council affordable housing initiative fizzled out early June 19 as the Council voted to adopt a PUD…
City of Austin staff proposes housing cuts of over $6 million
My colleague, Karen Paup stays up to date on all the Austin housing issues and she has pointed out an…
House flippers and scam artists prey on Houston poor
House flippers and scam artists prey upon low income Texans as they desperately struggle to find a home or try…
Disgraceful indifference to substandard conditions in Houston
In an outstanding piece of investigative journalism Houston Chronicle staff writers Matt Stiles, Mike Snyder and Julio Cortez have exposed…
Inclusionary zoning: background
After yesterday’s posting in which I discussed the use of inclusionary zoning several people asked me what inclusionary zoning is…
Recommendations for state action to prevent displacement of low income people from gentrifying neighborhoods
A group of us have been kicking around ideas to address the problem of the involuntary displacement of low income…
Do Texas cities care about gentrification?
The problem of the displacement of low-income families from long-established inner city neighborhoods has become a major issue in the…