Getting an Understanding

Hello,

                My name is Erik Behr and I am a third year student studying Social work. I have attended 3 different colleges throughout my undergraduate education and during some of these transitions I discovered the hidden interest I have with global social problems and development in local communities. My first year of college was spent at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, fl. I was playing lacrosse there and about mid-way through the season I was taken out with a back injury. From here, I knew life would be changing and I had the option to choose a new direction to head for. Before finding another college that I felt was a good fit for me, I decided to take a semester off and head to Uganda to do some volunteer work. While there I was challenged in countless ways and manners while learning about how happy one can become by simply attempting to make others happy. Uganda exposed a hidden passion I have with global and local development. Since then, I have transferred into the School of Social Work and have been presented with a remarkable opportunity to take a class such as this one.

                Today, I found out the interesting perceptions people have of East Austin. I decided to interview my two roommates. One of whom -Collin- has lived in Austin for 3 years and seems to have a pretty good sense of the city, at least, when I ask him where the post office is or how to get to target he can give me step by step directions. The other roommate –Greg- has only lived In Austin for 2 months but works in northeast Austin and is around a different community of people than the small city we have going here at UT. Even though both of their experiences with Austin have been quite different, the things they have heard or know about East Austin are pretty similar. Collin said he has heard East Austin is pretty “ghetto” and run down. He said in his experiences of driving through this neighborhood in the city he saw many abandoned building, trash fill streets, and overgrowth overtaking the development in place. The first thing Greg said was “I have been told to never go there,” I asked him to elaborate and he explained that a few of his coworkers live in East Austin and told him “if possible, never find yourself on that side of the highway.”

                After conducting some brief internet research, there are a high number of people who say similar things. It seems that most people have been complaining about the condition of the neighborhoods and have been trying to get attention in order for some intervention to occur. The help that has been given seems to be opposite of what the people wanted. “Gentrification,” defined as: the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents, has been pushing people out of their homes from raising property values, and has made people lose identity with their neighborhood. The other thing that was frequently talked about was how great of a place East Austin is to live if you are a hipster. Downtown Austin entertains all the hipsters with the great coffee shops, indy music, and the community unity makes the place feel as home. It’s interesting to see all of the different perspectives of East Austin, but I can’t wait to get a sense for myself.