AUSTIN | Misc. Discussions - No Politics

[StoOgE]

I actually attended a number of panels on homelessness/housing during the Tribune fest.

Austin has a massive homeless issue because we didn't get a handle on displacement as gentrification began to happen. As housing prices and rental rates have risen the number of people experiencing homelessness or instability in their living condition is accelerating rapidly.

Lack of services for mental health, job placement, drug addiction and physical health exacerbate these problems. Most people talk about homelessness they mean the tiny fraction of visible homeless living in encampments. The rise in those numbers are threefold

1) Opioid epedemic is very real.
2) Increase cost of living has created a trickle down problem..
3) Rejuvenation of urban parks and breaking up encampments that are less accessible to police have made the homeless population more visible. As developers invest money in areas that used to be less than nice undeveloped private property is no longer useable for homeless populations.

In Houston for instance the homeless population is down 60% but visibility is up because Houston fixed up urban parks and bayous and displaced encampments to more visible areas.

Julian Castro also pointed out an interesting issue he encountered in HUD which is suburban cities often take zero action on homelessness or affordable housing and assume the large city they orbit will do so.

He also mentioned something that shouldn't be surprising. Even the most liberal voters turn into NIMBYs when it comes to centers to help the homeless.

It's a mullti-faceted issue and caused by lots of causes with complex multi-headed solutions but punitive removal and incarceration increases homelessness. Austin is following the formula that we can show empirical evidence for working.

Also, the idea that NYC doesn't have homeless encampments is silly. Maybe not in Time Square but they absolutely exist.

[resansom]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

I actually attended a number of panels on homelessness/housing during the Tribune fest.

Austin has a massive homeless issue because we didn't get a handle on displacement as gentrification began to happen. As housing prices and rental rates have risen the number of people experiencing homelessness or instability in their living condition is accelerating rapidly.

Lack of services for mental health, job placement, drug addiction and physical health exacerbate these problems. Most people talk about homelessness they mean the tiny fraction of visible homeless living in encampments. The rise in those numbers are threefold

1) Opioid epedemic is very real.
2) Increase cost of living has created a trickle down problem..
3) Rejuvenation of urban parks and breaking up encampments that are less accessible to police have made the homeless population more visible. As developers invest money in areas that used to be less than nice undeveloped private property is no longer useable for homeless populations.

In Houston for instance the homeless population is down 60% but visibility is up because Houston fixed up urban parks and bayous and displaced encampments to more visible areas.

Julian Castro also pointed out an interesting issue he encountered in HUD which is suburban cities often take zero action on homelessness or affordable housing and assume the large city they orbit will do so.

He also mentioned something that shouldn't be surprising. Even the most liberal voters turn into NIMBYs when it comes to centers to help the homeless.

It's a mullti-faceted issue and caused by lots of causes with complex multi-headed solutions but punitive removal and incarceration increases homelessness. Austin is following the formula that we can show empirical evidence for working.

Also, the idea that NYC doesn't have homeless encampments is silly. Maybe not in Time Square but they absolutely exist.

Very well written - thanks for posting that thoughtful, informative response on this issue.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by resansom

Very well written - thanks for posting that thoughtful, informative response on this issue.

Another thought I forgot to hit on, the mayor of San Antonio said that Seattle has created an algorithm that is extremely accurate. For every 2,000 dollar increase in the price of housing in a zip code they can measure the almost exact increase in the homeless population in the city at large.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

Another thought I forgot to hit on, the mayor of San Antonio said that Seattle has created an algorithm that is extremely accurate. For every 2,000 dollar increase in the price of housing in a zip code they can measure the almost exact increase in the homeless population in the city at large.

Wow. You don’t say

More housing = Housing more?

Who would have thought?

Anti-free market NIMBYS should be ashamed of themselves.

I’ve said this several times here. My rent was lowered, lowered people. Twice in the early 90’s. Why was that? Because lead time and the fact that developers have a long history of over-building, because they can’t call a downturn with certainty.....cause too many units to be built for too few renters. We were incentivized not to move by lowering our rent by $15/month.

[KevinFromTexas]

I saw a coyote near my neighborhood last night. I went out for a late night bike ride before bed. I was going to go for a jog, but my leg had been cramping earlier, so I went for a ride instead. Anyway, I saw a coyote running across Stassney Lane just up the hill from Crockett near the train tracks. That's the first coyote I've ever seen around our neighborhood, though, I know there were more of them here when the neighborhood was first built. I did see a deer running across someone's yard about 5 years ago, and that had been the first deer I saw. The drought is making the coyotes desperate I guess. My guess is it came up through Williamson Creek.

[urbancore]

we've seen fox and coyotes in Zilker. As long as people leave pets outside...it makes sense for them to come up from the greenbelts.

[We vs us]

My house backs out onto Rattan Creek (up by Robinson Ranch, Parmer and McNeil-ish) and we've had at least one coyote come through on the reg throughout the summer. Full daylight, wandering around within a hundred feet or so of a well traveled walking path.

We're very popular, and also have a herd of about 5-10 deer in the spring when the grass is growing.

[masonh2479]

When I used to live in South West Austin (close to Salt Lick) my family had a few acres behind our house and a stream. We got deer pretty much daily, also had some huge turtles. Never got coyotes or foxes, but did get scorpions. In Wisconsin the main animals I see are turkeys and eagles, deer are pretty hard to find here unless you actually seek them out.

[Echostatic]

House backs up on undeveloped land in Circle C, but I haven't seen any animals of that size. Seen a few armadillos, however.

[The ATX]

From the banner on Amazon's home page...

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/...5_HD-forDP.mp4

[We vs us]

Coolio. I’m actually a little surprised there aren’t more commercials filmed here ... or at least commercials with recognizable AUSTIN landmarks and/or culture.

[austlar1]

Live in SW Austin. There are plenty of coyotes in the greenbelts running up into Dick Nichol's Park. I have encountered a pack with pups while walking my dogs in the greenbelt below my house. One of my dogs, a large pit mix, started sniffing in some dense brush and came upon their den. There was a tense faceoff between my three dogs and an equal number of adult coyotes who were obviously going to stand their ground in front of the den. Fortunately I was able to get my dogs under control before they charged. Normally coyotes would not mess with large dogs, but with pups to protect, I would not want to bank on that. I hear coyotes howl regularly at night around here, and my neighborhood is well within the city proper. I also recently saw a fox prowling around the park behind the library on Convict Hill Road. Plenty of wildlife here in town. No need to travel to the fringes to find all kinds of critters.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Coolio. I’m actually a little surprised there aren’t more commercials filmed here ... or at least commercials with recognizable AUSTIN landmarks and/or culture.

There are tons of them, actually.

[KevinFromTexas]

I'm not real worried about the coyote. I'm a night owl, even going for jogs and bike rides sometimes late at night, and I've never seen one here. We also have a lot of other critters around, which since we do I wouldn't worry too much. In the last couple of weeks, we've had an opossum on the fence, and a family of 4 raccoons that have been in the neighborhood for about the last 4 years. Last week I saw all four of them up in trees just behind our house. They were just on the other side of the fence, and I was able to snap a few photos of them while shining my bike light on them. A couple of years ago one was on the roof. I was trying to get a photo of him, but he kept going back to the other side of the house as soon as I got too close. We also have red tailed hawks and great horned owls here. Last week there was an owl in the trees back there. Our neighborhood backs up to some woods. For the longest time, the property was a private school for kids with behavioral problems. That property was sold, and all the buildings were demolished. The new owner is a psych hospital. The property is pretty much the same. Down the hill from there toward the train tracks along Stassney is a new housing development that was buit a few years ago. That's where the coyote ran into. On the other side of the tracks is Crockett High School, and then Garrison Park next to it on Manchaca. Because of those wide open spaces and the culvert along the train tracks, plus Williamson Creek on the other side of Stassney, we do have some places for some wildlife.

[H2O]

I live in Mueller. We have regular coyote sightings and reports of them running off with cats and small dogs. They have even been known to jump fences to snag their prey. My tiny postage stamp of a yard is regularly visited by O'possum and we have hosted red hawks and owls hunting our resident morning doves.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by H2O

I live in Mueller. We have regular coyote sightings and reports of them running off with cats and small dogs. They have even been known to jump fences to snag their prey. My tiny postage stamp of a yard is regularly visited by O'possum and we have hosted red hawks and owls hunting our resident morning doves.

I also have a neighbor who adamantly claims that he spotted a mountain lion (cougar) on the Southern Walnut Creek Trail near Govalle Park.

[lzppjb]

This week is gonna drag! Can't wait to get up to the State Fair on Saturday for the TX/OU game.

Fletcher's corny dog for breakfast, ftw! Tons of other foods I hope to find.

[Riverranchdrone]

I know behind my parents old house in round rock on the Dell campus there was coyotes on the walking trails. Here in North East austin by parmer lane we have coyotes and alittle further south near walnut creek and pioneer farms there are pigs and cougars if the reports are correct.

[OU812]

Originally Posted by Riverranchdrone

I know behind my parents old house in round rock on the Dell campus there was coyotes on the walking trails. Here in North East austin by parmer lane we have coyotes and alittle further south near walnut creek and pioneer farms there are pigs and cougars if the reports are correct.

One of the many good reasons to obtain an LTC and carry as much as possible. Minimize your chances of ever being a victim~

[smith_atx]

One of the scrolling banners on Amazon.com

Edit: The video for the product looks like it was filmed all in Austin. I believe a few seconds of filming are on the MetroRail and downtown Library (maybe).