'Spirit of East Austin' Gives Voice to Residents' Aspirations

By Mayor Steve Adler’s own admission, local history hasn’t always been kind to families in East Austin.

Their mistreatment dates to the early part of the 20th century with passage of the municipality’s 1928 Master Plan that located “undesirable industry” east of present-day interstate 35, placing more than 90 percent of industrial zoning in East Austin.

Even in more recent times, the community has sought to literally clean up that past, securing closure of the Tank Farm and Browning Ferris industries recycling plants and the more recent shuttering of the Holly Power Plant.

Today, many on the East Side continue to struggle against a wave of gentrification fueled by high-end commercial development. Bolstered development in the midst of East Side neighborhoods has brought with it higher property values, forcing many families to leave homes with elevated property taxes they’re no longer able to afford.

Enter the “Spirit of Austin initiative. Kicked off in September, the effort centers on residents’ insights and ideas into ways of improving the sector. Some of those ideas are conveyed with art, as Time Warner Cable News illustrated in a recent broadcast.

Other projects among the more than 200 already submitted are geared more toward the utilitarian. By the end of next year, a community solar project will allow families to buy into solar power without the expense of installing and maintaining a grid over its life span.

The initiative has resonated powerfully with residents. Adler had hoped at least 100 people would show up for the first meeting. Instead, more than 600 attended, armed with their own ideas illustrating their vision of what the Spirit of East Austin represents.

Within the next five years, most of the projects originating from the initiative will reach their conclusion.

“This is a conversation about actually doing something,” Adler told Time Warner. “We have a legacy and a history in this city that we need to counter and correct.”