Audrey Buckley

Austin has always housed a unique urban identity. The gritty charm within its traditional spots and local landmarks sets the city apart. These include the businesses on The Drag, which are student favorites, and Dirty Sixth, which hosts a mixture of bars and live music venues that embody Austin’s culture and contribute to the unique UT experience. 

However, the city’s rapid growth creates challenges to maintaining this culture. Until last year, it was the fastest-growing city in the country for 12 years straight. With the onslaught of people comes the need for extensive urban development, which the city has struggled to keep up with. However, this development, which includes major plans such as Project Connect and the revitalization of 6th Street, threatens the cultural fabric of the city and the places that are essential to student’s time in Austin.

For UT students, preserving Austin’s local businesses will help maintain the very essence of the city, which sets their university experience apart from others. These places give students a connection to the urban community and provide them with an authentic cultural experience. Students can help protect these spots by participating in local government and helping elect representatives who will prioritize cultural preservation.

“Austin is such a big city, and that’s what attracts people to (the) University,” said psychology sophomore Berkeley Keller. “(6th Street) is a big part of that.”

Despite benefitting the city financially, rapid growth has also contributed to the closures of many culturally significant businesses. Project Connect, an initiative aimed at producing efficient, high-speed methods of public transport, could exacerbate this issue by eliminating auto traffic along areas of The Drag, therefore decreasing business in the area. This is detrimental to students, as these are community spaces that are part of our daily lives. 

Elizabeth Mueller, a community and regional planning professor and author of Austin’s Uprooted Project, which raises awareness of the issues of gentrification in the city, elaborates on this issue.

“We have all the problems of growth here, they’re just in an exaggerated form because we’ve had this really strong growth for so long,” Mueller said. “A lot of longtime residents feel like they’re losing things that made the place meaningful to them.” 

Advocates for urban development argue that it isn’t always negative. Project Connect will improve infrastructure and provide another desperately needed method of public transportation. The project also allocated $300 million for anti-displacement funding, which could help Austinites continue to afford to live in the city. 

“We’re getting ready for construction … by thinking about what kinds of business assistance programs are going to make sense … (and) resources to get them ready to thrive during and after construction of the light rail,” said Jennifer Pyne, executive vice president of Planning and Community & Federal Programs for Austin Transit Partnership, the organization behind Project Connect.

Additionally, the development of 6th Street could revitalize the area, making the city safer and bringing new opportunities and customers. Depending on a business’s customer base and ability to change, it could have both positive and negative impacts. Jake Wegmann, architecture professor and fellow Uprooted Project author, highlights the complexity of these projects.

“If you own a small business that catered to the population that was there before and those customers aren’t there anymore … your business might not be viable anymore,” Wegmann said. “If you’re in a position to rejigger your business to cater to those more affluent customers, then maybe your business could thrive.”

While preventing development hinders growth, the preservation of Austin’s iconic landmarks is also important, especially to UT students. Many students choose UT not just for its academics, but also for its unique city environment and culture. For decades, students have frequented and cherished businesses on The Drag and Dirty Sixth, which helped them create a sense of belonging and connection to the city. Losing these spaces would impact the well-being of current students and prevent future students from having these experiences.

Saunders is a journalism and government sophomore from Wheaton, Illinois.