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> the gentrification is out of control I'm a native Texan[0] and I have to say, I wonder where all of the angst about gentrifying Texas has come from over the

> the gentrification is out of control I'm a native Texan[0] and I have to say, I wonder where all of the angst about gentrifying Texas has come from over the last twenty years. Everyone has been gentrifying Texas for as long as I've been alive[1]. I watched my hometown go from a sleepy Dallas bedroom suburb 30 minutes from anything to six-figures of population and now a proper business headquarters in its own right. It even has its own live music venue and three (THREE!) actual rail public transportation stations. I never thought I'd see the day. Nobody seemed to much care when it was Californians[2] selling off their million-dollar beach houses and buying four-acre ranchettes in the Dallas, Houston, and Austin suburbs. But now that Californians[2] are selling off their two-million-dollar inland houses and buying townhouses in the city, people cry foul. What do people expect to happen when a lot of folks show up and want to live in an area? Folks have always gone where the jobs are and now some of those jobs pay a shitload of money and are actually located inside the urban area. I mean, I guess we could keep doing the other thing we've been doing in abundance, which is making one solid Metroplex from the Red River to Hillsboro, but that seems a little wasteful these days, especially since the reservoirs don't look like they can keep up... 0 - I write this only as "where I come from," not as any particular authority on anything besides my own vision. 1 - A lot longer than the average tech worker these days, for sure. 2 - Not a dog on Californians, just they're the most common folks to pack up and move east, particularly since moving west gets a little damp.

orliesaurus 9y ago
I should have said "Gentrification + Poor choice of how you're tearing down neighborhoods to create super-cool multiplex buildings" It's not much the fact that gentrification happens, but how it is been happening. Usually - find an old building that's been abandoned or a depot. or some poor folk's homes - buy it for little, nuke it down and rebuild something that doesn't blend in and is usually so tall that hides the sun, but that you can slot up and resell for a big margin.
- techsupporter 9y ago
  But that's the thing and was kind of my point, too. People have been building where other people didn't like it for a really long time but now it's in the city so all of the city slickers[0] are more vocal about it. Those four-acre ranchettes I mentioned? Those were built on native prairie that had been farmed or ranched by the same family since Texas was its own Republic. Then some developer comes in, clear cuts all of the trees, and plops down a bunch of "garish monstrosities" (to quote the Dallas Morning Snooze[1]) and, poof, the town of Prosper is now a city. Another story: anybody remember what used to be under what is now Jerryworld out in Arlington next to the Ballpark[2]? I do, a bunch of houses that people had owned since the the 40s, all bulldozed so somebody could build a new stadium and eminent domained out of existence by the city. Think that stops anybody, new arrival or long-time resident, from going there for a football game or a concert? Nope. I dunno what my overall point is except that things change, people do things that other people don't like, and life moves on. That's the way it has been since before I was on this planet and will be that way after I'm gone unless the heat wave of doom kills us all. Just, now, it's happening more in those areas that used to be "crime-ridden inner cities," which is probably more good than bad given we're covering the rest of the state with pavement at our own peril. 0 - Great movie. 1 - Not to be outdone by the Fort Worth Startlegram's breathless editorials about how development in Far North Fort Worth is going to ruin everything. 2 - Lest my Rangers get off the hook, they've also begged for taxpayer money to build their shiny new stadium and Arlington used eminent domain to boot one landowner (versus 150 for Jerryworld) off before the stadium could be built.
  - orliesaurus 9y ago
    I don't disagree but there needs to be a balance at some point - if there hasn't been one before where the four-acre ranches used to sit why can't there be one now? Surely someone should be able to notice that adding more condominiums downtown and near-downtown isn't going to help the city's traffic and congestion go away? Things do change, but they must change for the better - not for the worse...and not only for locals - people who are moving in will notice it and that will de-value Austin's USPs ( incl. the cool city vibe)

orliesaurus 9y ago

I should have said "Gentrification + Poor choice of how you're tearing down neighborhoods to create super-cool multiplex buildings" It's not much the fact that gentrification happens, but how it is been happening. Usually - find an old building that's been abandoned or a depot. or some poor folk's homes - buy it for little, nuke it down and rebuild something that doesn't blend in and is usually so tall that hides the sun, but that you can slot up and resell for a big margin.

techsupporter 9y ago
But that's the thing and was kind of my point, too. People have been building where other people didn't like it for a really long time but now it's in the city so all of the city slickers[0] are more vocal about it. Those four-acre ranchettes I mentioned? Those were built on native prairie that had been farmed or ranched by the same family since Texas was its own Republic. Then some developer comes in, clear cuts all of the trees, and plops down a bunch of "garish monstrosities" (to quote the Dallas Morning Snooze[1]) and, poof, the town of Prosper is now a city. Another story: anybody remember what used to be under what is now Jerryworld out in Arlington next to the Ballpark[2]? I do, a bunch of houses that people had owned since the the 40s, all bulldozed so somebody could build a new stadium and eminent domained out of existence by the city. Think that stops anybody, new arrival or long-time resident, from going there for a football game or a concert? Nope. I dunno what my overall point is except that things change, people do things that other people don't like, and life moves on. That's the way it has been since before I was on this planet and will be that way after I'm gone unless the heat wave of doom kills us all. Just, now, it's happening more in those areas that used to be "crime-ridden inner cities," which is probably more good than bad given we're covering the rest of the state with pavement at our own peril. 0 - Great movie. 1 - Not to be outdone by the Fort Worth Startlegram's breathless editorials about how development in Far North Fort Worth is going to ruin everything. 2 - Lest my Rangers get off the hook, they've also begged for taxpayer money to build their shiny new stadium and Arlington used eminent domain to boot one landowner (versus 150 for Jerryworld) off before the stadium could be built.
- orliesaurus 9y ago
  I don't disagree but there needs to be a balance at some point - if there hasn't been one before where the four-acre ranches used to sit why can't there be one now? Surely someone should be able to notice that adding more condominiums downtown and near-downtown isn't going to help the city's traffic and congestion go away? Things do change, but they must change for the better - not for the worse...and not only for locals - people who are moving in will notice it and that will de-value Austin's USPs ( incl. the cool city vibe)