[PDF] Housing Low Income Austinites eBook

Author : Joshua Cuddy
Publisher :
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 41,20 MB
Release : 2018
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Affordable housing availability and cost-burden rates for low-income and middle-income households in Austin, Texas are worse than both the national and state averages. As population growth has outpaced housing development, the subsequent rise in property value has created higher housing costs that impede the ability for households to accrue social safety net savings and meet basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical care. This report aimed to examine the history of public and private policy that impacted non-white residents’ ability to accrue wealth and achieve homeownership. In addition, this report examined current affordable housing within the city and its geospatial location in relation to coexisting social service need data within Austin zip codes. The findings of this report show that affordable housing development has primarily occurred in historically African American neighborhoods East of Highway I35. Furthermore, analysis of United Way 2-1-1 caller data of unmet social serviced need indicates high levels of unmet service need existing within these areas. In light of these findings, recommendations to improve affordable housing include: expansion of Pay-for–Success financing for creating Permanent Supportive Housing; push for legislation to create redevelopment zones as well as tax abatements for low-income home owners; funding towards the affordable housing strike fund; and expansion of wraparound services amongst affordable housing providers.

Author : Samantha Eve Moskol
Publisher :
Page : 194 pages
File Size : 16,81 MB
Release : 2017
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As Austin’s population grows, it is increasingly difficult for low and middle-income families with children to find suitable, affordable housing in Austin’s central neighborhoods. This is partly because Austin’s current zoning is highly restrictive in which lot size minimums and unit maximums keep housing supply low. Families add to Austin’s vibrancy, and it is an Imagine Austin goal to enact policies to retain them. I propose one such policy that should be incorporated into CodeNEXT, the rewrite of Austin’s land development code: a density bonus in areas tentatively zoned “T3,” through which developers could create more units than allowed by right, provided that some are affordable. This bonus would allow for the production of “Missing Middle” housing more dense than a detached single-family home, but less dense than an apartment in a mid or high-rise. This would create a larger supply of both market-rate, middle-income housing and low-income housing that is designated as such. I justify the need for this through two analyses. 1) I found that two of Austin’s most widely used density incentives, the Vertical Mixed Use and Transit Oriented Development bonuses, have produced an overproportion of affordable studio units, and minimal affordable two-bedroom units, which would be appropriate for families. 2) I analyzed residential demolition and building permits in Brentwood and Crestview to understand the change in the built environment under the current, “SF-3” zoning. This showed that demolitions of old homes rose in the mid 2010’s, despite the restrictive zoning. New-builds on nearly half the lots were single-family homes, and the average square feet was 2.2 times larger than the home they replaced. There is, however, great market demand for smaller units that split land cost between one another- allowing them would serve affordable housing needs. Currently, consultants have proposed a similar density bonus for “T4” and “T5” zoned areas. The bonus should be expanded to “T3” areas, which would include Brentwood, Crestview, North Loop, Zilker, and parts of Bouldin Creek. Allowing such a bonus would be a political compromise: in exchange for more units, developers would be required to provide much-needed family-sized, affordable housing.

Author : Lyndy Rae Morris
Publisher :
Page : 164 pages
File Size : 47,82 MB
Release : 2017
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This professional report addresses the issue of housing affordability in Austin, Texas, and explores adaptive reuse of historic school buildings as one solution. The report looks at the relationship between affordable housing and historic preservation as well as the relationship between neighborhood schools and the community. I explore case studies of adaptive reuse projects around the United States that have converted historic school buildings into affordable housing using a combination of Historic Tax Credits and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits as a financing strategy. I then explore the possibility of adapting the Baker Center in Austin into affordable housing as an example for future projects. Finally, I look at the applicability of adaptive reuse strategies to Austin’s inventory of historic post-war neighborhood schools.