{"id":320,"date":"2017-12-11T19:59:47","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T01:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fredmcghee.com\/?p=320"},"modified":"2017-12-12T11:04:01","modified_gmt":"2017-12-12T17:04:01","slug":"how-austin-gentrification-operates-in-my-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fredmcghee.com\/?p=320","title":{"rendered":"How Austin Gentrification Operates in My Neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conventional wisdom holds that gentrification is something that a lot of people “feel” but rarely take the time to actually document.\u00a0 Studies about gentrification are often too wonky to influence policymakers, who want a nice, clean definition of the term “gentrification” served to them on a silver platter.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, allow me to take you through a brief tour of gentrification in my neighborhood — Montopolis.\u00a0 If you are a regular reader of this blog or have read my book<\/a> about the neighborhood, you are already aware of much of what is at stake.\u00a0 Montopolis is a historic community that is nearly bisected by the East Riverside Corridor — the plan for which was enacted by the city council in 2010 without formal consultation, much less negotiation, with the Montopolis Neighborhood Planning Contact Team.\u00a0 Our previously sleepy community was largely left alone by the previous East Austin wave of gentrification between 2000 and 2015, but gentrification has been accelerating steadily since.<\/p>\n

Large Lots and the Role of Code Enforcement<\/h3>\n

According to the 2015 American Community Survey Montopolis, a.k.a. “Poverty Island” has a median household income of $27,273 with a poverty rate of 39.1%\u00a0 However the community does have an owner-occupancy rate of 44%, most of whom live in single family homes, which is a higher percentage than other neighborhoods along the East Riverside Corridor, and a higher percentage than the East Austin portion of City Council District 3 overall.<\/p>\n

In addition to owning their homes, quite a few Montopolis homesteaders also enjoy larger lot sizes than in more centrally located Austin neighborhoods.\u00a0 This is because Montopolis was not part of the City of Austin until 1952, with portions still not fully annexed and serviced by public institutions until the 1980’s.\u00a0 For many years the neighborhood functioned as Austin’s poor stepchild — residents would have to periodically bring their longstanding concerns before elected officials at formally convened sessions dedicated to addressing longstanding community needs.\u00a0 The community’s identity has been shaped by its rural and semi-rural character; many of the streets in Montopolis were little more than dirt roads well into the 1980’s.<\/p>\n

Our community’s large and oddly shaped lots have now become very desirable.\u00a0 Still, Montopolis residents are not selling at the brisk pace that residents of East Austin did 10-17 years ago (largely because there were more renters).\u00a0 What’s a gentrifier to do?<\/p>\n

Answer:\u00a0 start submitting complaints to Austin’s Code Compliance department.<\/p>\n

Here is a representative sample of some properties that were reported to code enforcement.\u00a0 All of these properties were compelled to sell.<\/p>\n

202 Montopolis Drive<\/h4>\n

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2404 Thrasher Lane<\/h4>\n

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208 Kemp Street<\/h4>\n

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Go After the Churches<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most egregious example of this phenomenon has taken place at 6605 Riverside Drive, the location of the former New Jerusalem Baptist Church.\u00a0 A photo of the church is featured on page 87 of my book about the Montopolis community.<\/p>\n

In late 2015 Austin code enforcement personnel began citing the church with safety and code violations.\u00a0 Here are a couple of examples:<\/p>\n


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This church had not been considered a safety hazard\u00a0for decades<\/em>.\u00a0 What changed?\u00a0 It now sat on very desirable real estate.\u00a0 I took note of this in a brief video I shot at the end of 2015 (apologies for the sideways perspective).<\/p>\n