Hispanic Families Left Behind in the Central Texas Boom

Syeda Hasan reports: "Hispanic families in Central Texas don’t have the same opportunities to access health care, employment and early childhood education, according to a new report [pdf] from the Austin Community Foundation."

The report examined data on Latino residents from Travis, Williamson, Bastrop, Burnett, Caldwell and Hays counties. "They found the average per capita income in Central Texas is around $32,000, but for Latino residents, it’s about half that amount – just more than $17,000 a year," explains Hasan.

In addition to listing more of the report's findings, the article also surveys regional political leaders and advocates for insights about quality of life among Latino populations in Central Texas.

Notably, Hasan also describes the report as timed to coincide with the ongoing CodeNEXT process in Austin, which will rewrite the city's land development code. Austin City Councilmember Delia Garza is quoted in the article expressing her hope that discussions will move away from "protecting" neighborhoods. In Councilmember Garza's own words: "I think we should be protecting neighborhoods from fires and bears, maybe….But frankly, protecting neighborhoods has become a little bit offensive to me because what are we protecting them from? Families? Houses?"