Community-Wealth City: Austin, Texas

Known as "The Live Music Capital of the World," Austin has more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city. Besides being a cultural center, it’s also the state capital, a center for education, and the economic hub for a metropolitan area of over 1.7 million people. With a population of 790,390 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, Austin was the nation’s third-fastest-growing large city from 2000 to 2006, and is the fourth largest city in Texas. The city’s racial composition is 48.7 percent white, 35.1 percent Hispanic or Latino, 7.7 percent African American, 6.2 percent Asian, and 3.4 percent of two or more races.

In 1928, East Austin was created as a segregated area for non-whites and, despite hotly contested gentrification struggles, the trend of residential segregation is still visible on the East side. During the dot.com boom of the 1990’s, East Austin’s proximity to downtown, low-cost real estate, and retreating social stigma attracted an affluent majority, which forced many of the indigent minority households to leave. The decline of affordable housing in East Austin and other segments of the city prompted the formation of CDCs, and in 2007, the Homestead Preservation District was established to create a reinvestment zone, a community land trust, and land bank in East Austin.

Today, many of the city’s CDCs ground their work in environmental justice principles. One example is the Saldana Subdivision, an infill project of four tracts on 7.2 acres by Guadalupe CDC. Built with the goal of achieving net-zero energy for all units, the development will be affordable to moderate- and low-income homeowners and renters, with a large portion affordable for extremely low-income households. Austin has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for its work in green development and due to an active green movement, stringent new energy codes have become standard practice for all new construction in the city.

Austin’s size and the dynamic role of community groups and approaches have catalyzed community wealth building efforts in recent decades. Groups such as the Independent Business Alliance Austin and the Co-op Think Tank encourage a strong network of independent, locally owned firms and worker-owned businesses. In the 17 years since its inception, PeopleFund, a local community development financial institution, has grown from the idea of one graduate student to possibly the most influential voice for community development in Central Texas, with $10 million in assets and many more millions in loans. Worker-owned cooperatives — such as Black Star Co-op, the nation’s first worker co-op brewery — have also proven to be an innovative approach to economic empowerment.

An overview of community wealth building efforts follows:

Anchor Institutions

Austin Community Foundation
www.austincommunityfoundation.org
Established in 1977, the Austin Community Foundation has nearly $100 million dollars in assets and provides college scholarships and grants to nonprofits locally, nationally and internationally. They have more than 900 charitable funds and also offer field of interest funds, designated funds, agency endowment funds, and unrestricted funds among others.

Impact Austin
www.impact-austin.org
Impact Austin is a philanthropy formed in 2003 as a women’s collective giving organization. Its membership is made up of women who donate at least $1,000 each year. Multiple grants of $100,000 are given each year to groups such as Capital IDEA’s Career Paths for Rural Families project, the worker-owned cooperative recycling center Ecology Action, and Goodwill’s Reboot Program, which provides computer industry job training for at-risk youth.

Innovation, Creativity & Capital (IC2) Institute, University of Texas
www.ic2.utexas.edu
The IC2 Institute is a research unit at the University of Texas that brings together the business world, academia and government to advance the theory and practice of wealth creation. The Austin Technology Incubator, the Bureau of Business Research, and the Global Commercialization Group are some of the programs of IC2. The Technology Incubator has served over 150 companies and created 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in Central Texas.

Community Development Corporations

Austin Community Design and Development Center
www.acddc.org
Founded in 2006, the ACDDC’s goal is to improve the quality of life of low- and moderate-income people by identifying and solving social, economic, and environmental problems as they relate to housing. ACDDC’s staff is LEED accredited and integrates green design principles into site feasibility, construction project management and policy work. They were also involved in the Alley Flat Initiative (see below), which are small, detached residential units located in underused alleys.

Blackland Community Development Corporation
www.main.org/blacklandcdc
Founded in 1983, Blackland CDC owns about half of the single-family homes and duplexes in the Blackland neighborhood and hosts the only neighborhood-created program for homeless families in Texas. Focusing on rehabilitating older houses with energy-saving methods, the group to date has recycled approximately 310,000 pounds of building material. The Blackland neighborhood, a historically African-American community, was the site of one of the first big gentrification fights in East Austin. Its board is composed of people who live in the Blackland neighborhood and it has successfully fought off the University of Texas’ attempt to expand its campus into the neighborhood.

Foundation Communities
www.foundcom.org
Foundation Communities was created in 1990 with a focus on empowering low-income families and individuals, and has become a national leader in the asset-building movement. They own 14 affordable housing communities valued at over $67 million that provide apartments and duplexes to over 2,000 low-income families. They employ a "service-enriched" housing model, which means that they focus on ending the cycle of poverty through housing and on-site service centers, providing programs such as financial literacy and education. In 2009, Foundation Communities received an award from Living Cities for their low-income tax preparation program, which filed over $20 million in tax refunds for 17,000 low-income taxpayers in 2009.

Frameworks CDC
www.frameworkscdc.org
Formed in 2004, Frameworks provides homeownership education to families looking for affordable housing and foreclosure prevention counseling. Working closely with at-risk families, they intervene with banks to help families avoid foreclosure. Since 2005, they’ve counseled 1,590 people, which resulted in 1,113 maintaining their status as homeowners, 1,058 of whom were first-time homeowners. Their efforts generated over $3.3 million in local tax revenue as a result of these homeowners retaining their property.

Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation (GNDC)
www.guadalupendc.org
Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation was created in 1981. Since its inception, it has rehabilitated over 50 homes, enabled over 40 families to purchase homes, and developed over 50 single-family rental units. In addition, GNDC completed a 22-unit multi-family development in 2008. The GNDC also participated in the Alley Flat Initiative, and through their project, Solution Oriented Living, they’ve built a 40-house sustainable community with homes capable of achieving Net Zero energy.

Harlingen CDC
www.harlingencdc.org
Established in 1990, the HCDC has constructed over 200 single-family homes and 100 units of affordable rental housing. They’ve generated over $6.7 million in private investment; Harlinger favors public/private partnerships that benefit low-income communities. They often provide technical assistance and training to fledgling affordable housing corporations, community groups, and faith-based organizations.

Community Development Financial Institutions

BigAustin
www.bigaustin.org
Founded in 1992, BigAustin has been providing entrepreneurial education, business counseling, and loans to small businesses and micro-enterprises with a focus on economically disadvantaged communities. They work with approximately 325 people per year and have assisted 1,351 small business entrepreneurs since 1995. They have loaned over $1.5 million to over 100 individuals and estimate that in the last five years they have sustained 246 existing jobs and helped create 465 new ones.

PeopleFund
www.peoplefund.org
Since PeopleFunds’ inception in 1994, they’ve dispersed $24,383,280, have given 385 loans of up to $250,000, and have assisted in purchasing 142 homes. Women and minority-owned small businesses and non-profits make up 75% of their clients. PeopleTrust, an offshoot of PeopleFund, provides shared-equity programs that assist working families build wealth, secure affordable housing, and preserves affordable housing housing stock. Through PeopleInvest, a social investment strategy, low-interest loans from $10,000 to $1,000,000 are provided to local small businesses.

Community Land Trusts

PeopleTrust
www.peopletrusthome.org
An offshoot of PeopleFund (see above), PeopleTrust is a member of the National Community Land Trust Network. Through their shared-equity program they sell homes to families at or below 80 percent of Median Family Income and as of 2011 they have sold 142 affordable homes.

Cooperatives

Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery
www.blackstar.coop
The Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery is the first co-operatively owned and self-managed brewpub in the United States. Their first general membership meeting was in 2006 and, in 2010, they opened their doors. A board of directors governs Blackstar and their Workers’ Assembly manages daily business operations.

College Houses Cooperatives
www.collegehouses.org
Originally formed in 1964 as a residential college program, College Houses Co-op now provides affordable, dormitory-style housing and meals to over 400 students at seven different co-ops near UT and Austin Community College. In 2008, three of the co-ops, comprising about 170 students, moved into a single newly constructed, high-rise building, known by members as "The Super Co-op."

Inter-cooperative Council
www.iccaustin.coop
The ICC was founded in 1932 and ICC Austin was established in 1970. They have nine co-op houses serving a total of XXX students, member-owners that provided affordable housing near the UT campus. All students are eligible to live in an ICC co-op and they currently house students from UT, Austin Community College, Texas State University, and other campuses.

Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery
www.redrabbitbakery.com
Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery was established in 2011 and makes vegan products that are distributed at six local businesses. The co-op is comprised of five members and has received technical assistance from the Third Coast Workers for Cooperation.

Third Coast Workers for Cooperation (TCWC)
www.thirdcoastworkers.coop
Created in 2010, Third Coast Workers for Cooperation provides business development, education, and training to build and launch green worker-owned cooperatives. Their yearlong Cooperative Business Institute offers popular education about the worker cooperative model, the green economy, and the legal, organizational and business information specific to worker co-ops. After training, TCWC technical assistance providers help participants to develop their own cooperative businesses.

Wheatsville Food Co-op
www.wheatsville.coop
Wheatsville is a member-owned grocery store that was created in 1976. It currently has about 8,000 members with annual revenues of $7 million. Wheatsville sells a full line of groceries, including organic produce and a large selection of locally produced food products.

Whitehall Cooperative
www.whitehallcoop.com
Located two blocks from UT, Whitehall co-op was established in 1971 and houses 14 members. The oldest housing co-op in Austin, they are a vegetarian, consensus-run, and multi-generational.

Employee Ownership (ESOP)

QuantumDigital
www.quantumdigital.com
Founded in 1986, QuantamDigital provides printing, direct mail and marketing services. It was named one of 50 fastest growing tech companies in Texas by Deloitte & Touche LLP in 2008 and has estimated average annual sales over $1 million.

Green Collar Jobs

Ecology Action
www.ecology-action.org
Ecology Action is a worker-owned recycling center founded in 1970 and located in downtown Austin. They process 250 tons of material each month and have three satellite drop-off stations. EA serves over 60 businesses, and has recently expanded its operation to include a composting venture.

SunPower
us.sunpowercorp.com
Incorporated in 1985, SunPower produces high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels, and advanced solar energy systems. Austin is the company’s third largest U.S. location, with a 450-person office. Based on its 2009 revenues of $1.52 billion, SunPower is one of the largest solar producers in the world.

Individual Wealth Preservation

Capital IDEA
www.capitalidea.org
Providing programs that address poverty through long-term job training into high skill positions, Capital IDEA provides childcare, literacy, and short-term financial assistance. In 2010, they served 806 participants and graduated 67 people into various professional fields with an average starting salary of $18.82 an hour. Their program for low-income adults created a net individual annual earnings increase of $26,000. Their total revenue in 2010 was over $3.9 million. In 2009, they were awarded the Ethics in Business Award by the Samaritan Center for Counseling and Pastoral Care and in 2006 they received the Livable City Vision Award.

Municipal Enterprise

Austin Energy
www.austinenergy.com
Austin Energy provides electricity to over 400,000 customers in the City of Austin, Travis County, and part of Williamson County. They are the country’s 9th largest publicly owned electric utility, which means they return profits to the city, estimated at $1.5 billion since 1976. In 2010, the dividend transfer was $101 million. Austin Energy owns the nation’s first and largest green building program and has one of the top performing renewable energy programs.

New State and Local Policy

Austin Independent Business Alliance
www.ibuyaustin.com
AIBA works to promote locally owned independent businesses through popular education, public relations campaigns, and local policies that meet the needs of its hundreds of member businesses. AIBA was founded in 2002 and has created seven IBIZ (Independent Business Investment Zone) Districts to help neighborhood business districts become destination locations. They also host a luncheon series for local business owners and publish IndieAustin, a directory of AIBA members.

Livable Cities
www.liveablecity.org
Livable Cities was founded in 2002 by public policy experts and community activists to address a variety of concerns which include the environment, education, culture, housing, health care, transportation, neighborhoods, and the economy. They provide a speakers series, annual Vision Awards, policy research and analysis, and facilitate broad community collaboration. In 2003, they won the "Best of Austin" award from the Austin Chronicle for commissioning a study that convinced the city not to provide incentives to national chains, which competed with local businesses.

Social Enterprise

English At Work
www.englishatwork.org
ENGLISH @ WORK estimates that there are 8,000 individuals with limited English proficiency whose jobs require them to know a specific type of English in Austin. Established in 2005, this non-profit social enterprise partners with employers to offer language instruction at employee’s places of work, addressing many of the challenges that limit retention at traditional language providers. Since 2005 E@W has worked with over 600 local workers in 39 classes at 28 businesses. They have 14 teachers, 33 volunteers, and four staff.

Southwest Key Programs Social Enterprise Complex
www.swkey.org/enterprise/complex.html
Southwest Key, one of the largest non-profits in Central Texas, is using a $2.1 Economic Development Administration grant to build a $3.6 million 14,000 square foot Social Enterprise complex at its East Austin campus. Southwest Key Enterprises currently umbrellas seven social enterprises - Southwest Key Cafe del Sol, Southwest Key Maintenance, Southwest Key Properties, Southwest Key Workforce Development, Southwest Key Green Energy and Construction, Youth Transportation Services, and Southwest Key Youth and Family Support Services. The complex is expected to create 100 permanent jobs by 2012 and $11.5 million invested in the community.

Transit-Oriented Development

Capital MetroRail Red Line
www.capmetro.org/MetroRail
Capital MetroRail opened a new passenger rail system between the Convention Center in downtown Austin and the City of Leander in 2010. The Red Line is 32 miles long and provides services during peak morning and afternoon commuter hours. Each of the nine stations on the Red line integrates compact, walkable communities with a mix of residences, retailers and offices centered around transit. The system cost $105 million to construct and has averaged 1,600 riders per weekday.

University Partnerships

Alley Flat Initiative
www.thealleyflatinitiative.org
A collaboration of three groups — the Austin Community Design and Development Center (ACDDC), Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation, and the University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development—there are currently 12 flats in the Alley Flat Initiative. Accessed from Austin’s extensive network of underutilized alleys, "Alley Flats" are small, detached residential units that seek to create affordable housing through efficient designs, sustainable technologies and innovative home ownership financing. The Alley Flat Initiative won the Envision Central Texas Community Stewardship Award for Redevelopment in both 2009 and 2011.

Center for Sustainable Development, University of Texas
www.utexas.edu
The Center for Sustainable Development was started in 2001 to advance the University of Texas’ interest in promoting sustainable development and project based understanding of the connections between environment, economic prosperity and social justice. Through their public interest design courses, they seek to address individual and community-scale issues such as how built environment’s effect on social and economic well-being. Promoting equity as a necessary component of sustainability, the program seeks to contribute to the larger national discussion about how public interest design might be interwoven into architecture curricula to impact positively larger social problems.

Institute for Community, University and School Partnerships (ICUSP)
www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/icusp
The ICUSP was established to promote academic achievement and child well-being in central Texas by bringing together resources from the local community, the University of Texas, and local schools. COBRA (Community of Brothers in Revolutionary Alliance) is a mentoring program for high school boys while VOICES (Verbally Outspoken Individuals Creating Empowered Sisters) is an academic leadership program for high school girls.

Urban Agriculture

Resolution Gardens
www.resolutiongardens.org
A project of Austin Green Art, Resolution Gardens began in 2011 with the goal of creating an Austin food supply from backyard vegetable gardens. A part of Resolution Gardens, Five Mile Farms is a homeowner-based farm that delivers local produce to Daily Juice, Casa de Luz, Greenling, Wheatsville Food Co-op, Tacodeli, and Rio’s Brazilian Cafe.

Sustainable Food Center
www.sustainablefoodcenter.org
Founded in 1975 as a project of the YWCA, the Sustainable Food Center has received multiple local and national awards for their work in nutritional education and fostering healthy local food systems. In 2010, they received the Edible Communities Local Hero Award for Best Nonprofit Organization. Their Grow Local program offers education and resources for organic gardening; their Farm Direct program organizes the SFC Farmers’ Market; the Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre is their cooking and nutrition education program; and Sprouting Healthy Kids is their farm-to-school food system education project.

Urban Patchwork
www.urbanpatchwork.org
Urban Patchwork was Austin’s first non-profit neighborhood farm network and Community Supported Agriculture. It helps neighbors turn unused yard space into farmland to produce vegetables, fruit, nuts and eggs. In exchange for hosting farm plots, residents and businesses receive fresh vegetables. Founded in 2009, UP offers farm start-up programs; nutritional workshops for residents; home food production, canning, and fermentation courses; and job training and creation.