“Activist Urges Austin To Look At Land Development Code Through Lens Of Equity”
The grassroots Austin Justice Coalition focuses primarily on criminal justice and related issues, but the impact of development and displacement on communities of color compelled the organization to get involved in the city’s rewrite of its land development code.
The code dictates what can be built in Austin and where. City council members are scheduled to take a first vote on it sometime this week.
João Paulo Connolly, a youth mentor and community organizer with the Austin Justice Coalition, says the city’s current code is displacing people of color and that city leaders need to recognize different neighborhoods have different histories.
“The lens of equity asks us not to treat Austin neighborhoods the same, but to have a special sort of caution when dealing with certain neighborhoods,” he says.
Listen to Connolly’s discussion with KUT about looking at the code through a “lens of equity.”
Full report: https://www.kut.org/post/activist-urges-austin-look-land-development-code-through-lens-equity