Gentrification and Austin Housing Prices

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Originally Posted by zrx299

If someone doesn't own, then they have no say in what their landlord does. If that is important to them, then save up and buy-in. Actually invest in the community instead of just paying rent and complaining about things when other people show up who are willing to pay more for something; whether that's land, rent, or a building.

this is a pretty cruel view IMO. much of the working poor has very little realistic opportunity to buy property, particularly in the rapidly changing parts of town such as this one.

this attitude diminishes the importance of people who don't own property as though their presence never contributes meaningfully to a neighborhood. it's this same kind of feeling that pervades most central austin neighborhood associations as they discriminate against renters and enforce ownership requirements for membership/voting rights.

i don't like defend our hoodz though I am sympathetic to plight of economically disadvantaged people who are getting pushed towards the edges of our region. people who have very little legal claim to the land on which they live are left to try to exercise what political power they can muster. hoodz is just going about it in really stupid and self-defeating ways.