Gentrification Here and Aboard

When looking at all three of these communities Holly Street Neighborhood, Marlo Heights, and Mueller Development in terms of the long-term effects on the original (mostly low to moderate income) residents, they are all affected by gentrification in East Austin but in different ways and a lot of the outcomes overlap. In comparison all of the neighborhoods are in the process of under going gentrification but in different waves. In the long run all of the low to moderate income residents in two of these areas will soon be pushed out of their original neighborhood and forced to live else where. In all areas effected new homes are being built which leads to higher property taxes for residents already there.

The Holly Street community is being affected the most by gentrification. In this area there is major home development because of the distance from Downtown Austin and the demolishment of the power plant that will open up a beautiful view of the Colorado River. New homes are being built which next to and cross from older homes. In the end the new home construction causes will cause older residents to sell out because they cant afford to keep their homes and the original community will completely evolve into a new community.

Marlo Heights at the present moment is the least affected right now. The changes that are happening in that community are slower but the new homebuilders are taking into consideration the older residents and trying to prevent higher taxes for existing residents. As time goes on if this trend continues the older residents want be forced out by newer homes being built but maybe by the modern new apartment complex that will built right on the edge of their community.

The Mueller Development is a completely different story within itself. The community isn’t like the others. Mueller is a new community that is being built with very nice homes and their own amenities. The issue here is that if they are allowed to have their own amenities such as their own elementary and middle school along with their own shops and even recreation area. In the end Mueller may become sort of a gated community, which will limit the surrounding communities from those resources.

After reading the articles about gentrification in Johannesburg I found something’s to be similar to the U.S. and others to be different. Facts that were similar to the U.S. were the side effects that come along with gentrification such as residents being forced out of their homes because of the change in the community. Another similarity was that the changes where happening in areas where it was considered bad and low income and it was being transformed into a modern new area with less crime and attractive homes and shopping stores.

The interesting things that were different was that residents were actually being forced out of their homes immediately, where here in the states there is process that goes along with long term residents being forced to move such as being bought out, selling out or moving because of high property taxes. Another interesting fact that was different was how the developers where actually trying to blend areas together that are separate. Here in the United States in most communities that are undergoing this type of change, the community that is being redeveloped isn’t usually being blended into the existing community.

Some possible projects ideas that UT can accomplish through student efforts and the Longhorn Center for Civic Engagement will be to establish a SAVE OUR HOMES committee. This committee’s goal will be to prevent current residents from having to move away from their homes because of gentrification. The long-term goal would be for the committee to not so much prevent the gentrification but to allow it to be more natural like it is in the Marlo Heights community. While making the process more natural the amount of property taxes could be lowered to reflect current residence status. The committee will be having members of the community and the city at large. The committee will gather once a week to discuss new properties, old properties, and future developments