Every neighborhood is different and those differences contribute to Austin's character and diversity of living options. When I was a planner at the city in the early 2000s, the city practiced neighborhood planning, which engaged neighborhoods in honoring their past, addressing the present, and planning for the future. The city has moved away from that to city wide code changes and development cases that neighborhoods react to rather than plan for. We need the return of neighborhood planning, which builds community, informed decisions, and predictability, and to honor the zoning in alignment with those plans. Scenario planning that explores population projections and housing needs, especially in school attendance zones, will help guide neighborhood planning efforts.

​

Austin neighborhoods need their schools back. I chose to raise my kids in central Austin because I wanted them to experience being able to walk and bike to school, parks, stores, and summer camps and to have access to transit. That experience was part of the magic of living in Austin. The heartbreaking closure of neighborhood schools warrants stronger collaboration with Austin ISD to identify temporary uses of the schools and what needs to happen for the schools to reopen.