“sustainable housing is more than just the design, development, and construction of a sustainable building. It is a sustainable home to be managed, maintained, adapted, and inhabited in balance with the environment.” -Kathleen Parrott & Joann M. Emmel
This web-case project is dedicated to focusing on sustainable housing for Austin Texas, because Austin is rated one of Texas’ most known cities for having a lack of affordable sustainable housing. Over spring vacation 2021, I got to spend time with my girlfriend in the city of Austin. While I was there, I got to see how much of an effect homelessness had on the city. Every turn you took was another tent set up to provide shelter for a family in need. I would define this area of focus as necessary because after what we have seen in the past few weeks (February-March 2021) with all the unexpected snowstorms, a light was shined on this problem as a issue that needs to be addressed.
The term homelessness is often referred to old people with shaggy clothes living on the street. However, some cases of homelessness are caused by a lack of housing in the city, or low income families not being able to afford the cost of providing for their family & owning a place to call home. This issues has a lasting effects on other policies such as health policies, food policies, etc. When talking about the 4 conditions of just sustainability, the first one that is mentioned is this idea of improving quality of life and well being, followed by meeting the needs of not just the present, but the future generations that will proceed us. By focusing on this policy’s equality aspect, we can combat all areas of just sustainability.
As of 2020, there are about 2500+ people living on the streets of Austin Texas. As of the possibilities for shelter in the city, it is very scarce. This is because Austin is known in Texas for having a lack of shelter space and affordable housing, so the only option is to take to the streets, sidewalks, under bridges and tunnels. This gets in the way of construction and local businesses trying to thrive in the city.
However Austin is taking some action. The link below is a shortcut to Austin’s strategic housing blueprint that focuses on creating 60,000 housing units for those making less than 80% of the median family income. It talks about how the blueprint addresses displacement, affordable housing, and homelessness!