Annotations for Gentrification: Housing

We need to be brutally honest about what’s happening. Gentrification isn’t just about new coffee shops and cool apartments, it’s about displacement. Families, small businesses, and communities that gave Austin its soul, its entire character, are being pushed out by rising rent and unchecked development. And if we don’t act fast, we’ll lose the very thing that made Austin so special in the first place. - In this part, I use direct, urgent language and strong emotional appeals to emphasize the seriousness of gentrification, challenging listeners to recognize its real consequences and take action before it’s too late.

This is where my journalist guest from The Daily Texan can weigh in, maybe sharing insight from the UT report or recent coverage on Austin’s affordability crisis. “Joining me now is Diego Hernandez, longtime South Austin resident and journalist from The Daily Texan who has some very useful insights on this topic. Diego, what do you think about the harsh gentrification of East and South Austin, and do you have any opinions on it?” - In this part, I introduce a credible guest speaker to add depth and outside perspective, using their journalistic authority and personal ties to the community to strengthen the conversation’s legitimacy and broaden its appeal.

The statistic discussing the median household price in Austin increasing allows the reader to understand that this is an on going issue. Displacement number 1 reason of happening is due to high housing prices.

"SMART stands for Safe, Mixed-Income, Accessible, Reasonably-Priced, and Transit-Oriented housing. It’s housing built for those who are lower income as a way to provide lower housing prices, decrease homelessness, and promote diversity and population growth.". This portion of text explains what SMART housing is, and what it stands for, as well as introducing the main stakeholders and audience for this podcast.

They want high-end luxury, and they think it will be cheaper than where they came from. Bad news for them. It was cheaper here, but as we all know, it's not cheap anymore. --- This passage continues the pathos of negativity towards the newcomers. There is also an element of logos with comparisons of housing costs.

There's not enough new housing in upscale areas, and that has caused prices to go sky high. They can't afford the best, and there isn't enough of it anyway. This is too bad for them, but unfortunately, their solution is to move into our traditional neighborhoods, many of them low-income, and try to bring them up to their standards. ---- Logos is demonstrated in this passage, setting the causation for the problem presented.

This is a phenomenon identified by Lori Goodman in her research for the Urban Institute. This, my friends, is called gentrification. This process replaces low-income housing with remodeled, expensive luxury. ---- Ethos is utilized here by reference to scholarly articles. There is some logos as well with the definition of gentrification.

The corner barbershop becomes a little lemon, and the community institutions weather under a flood of half-caffeinated lattes. And worst, the existing residents get squeezed out of their own neighborhood. If we want to keep Austin Austin, we've got to find a way to stop this gentrification. --- Pathos is at work here trying to create the emotion of indignation at the unfairness of gentrification.

Let's welcome our newcomers, but put them where they are happiest, among their peers. Don't get me wrong, if someone new wants to live in a traditional neighborhood and loves it for how it is now, that's great, but let's keep out those who just want to destroy and rebuild. Here at Keepin' Austin Austin, we think we have one solution to this problem. --- This passage introduces the logos of the podcast, generally mentioning the podcast's solution. At the same time, it continues to use pathos to disparage the newcomers. The reference to the authority of the podcast inspires ethos.

First, we will change zoning to relax restrictions on development in wealthier areas. We will aim for allowing more luxury, high-rise buildings, speeding the approval process for new construction, and rezoning nearby land to allow for an expansion of the rich areas. Then, we will also use zoning to restrict certain types of development in traditional low-income neighborhoods. --- Logos is used here in adding detail to the proposal.

Specifically, we'd forbid developers from making affordable housing into luxury. Let's talk about what zoning is and how the City can use it to implement these policies. According to Kenton, writing in Investopedia, zoning refers to municipal or local laws and regulations that govern how real property can and cannot be used in certain geographic areas. Ethos is used by referring to the published expert's definition. Logos is used in the further advancement of the proposal.

Kenton goes on to explain that municipalities create a master plan and petition the City into neighborhoods and districts. Different rules will apply to different petitions in order to achieve goals such as creating certain types of living space for residents or promoting economic development. A crude example would be that you can't build an oil refinery in a residential neighborhood, but a more subtle example would be that certain neighborhoods are only for single-family homes with yards, not apartment buildings. --- This passage entirely uses logos to give details of how zoning works to provide a foundation for the proposal.

Turning to the City of Austin specifically, the City is divided into what are called base districts. There are 16 of these, which fall into basic categories such as single-family only or medium-density apartments. However, there are huge complexities within this through the use of what are called overlays --- Logos continues to be used in this passage as the general description of zoning is applied to the City of Austin.

These can get quite specific. For example, there is a Capitol View overlay district, which preserves views of the Capitol Dome by limiting the height of buildings along certain corridors. There are also specific overlays to preserve the character of historic districts, such as Aldrich Place, which is north of the University in the City of Austin. Logos continues to be used as the details of how zoning works in Austin are described.

But in practice, the rules are created and defined by the Planning Commission, a pointed group of volunteers, and the Planning Department, a division of the municipal government. We propose that Austin use overlays to selectively relax housing restrictions in some trendy, wealthy districts. This could include allowing more high-rise buildings, speeding the approval process for new constructions, and rezoning nearby land to make it part of the wealthy areas. --- Logos is further used to give details to the plan. This section also uses Ethos, because the legitimacy of the idea is demonstrated by the speaker's deep knowledge of zoning.

But so that these areas stay desirable, the City can, in effect, require that only new upscale housing be allowed. This can be achieved by, for example, requiring a certain size floor plan for new apartments. Even specific materials for construction and faucets could create more of the type of housing that would attract the wealthy newcomers. -- This section is entirely focused on logos as more details of the proposal are presented.

With more of this housing available, prices would be less likely to spiral out of control. The other part of my proposal is to make novel use of overlays to protect the low-income nature of certain existing traditional neighborhoods. This is turning traditional zoning on its head by using protections normally deployed in the service of the privileged to benefit the underprivileged. --- This section uses further logos to further describe the proposal. In addition, there is an element of ethos involved because the assertion of novelty implies that the speaker has expertise in the subject.

In this part of my proposal, zoning would be deployed to significantly limit the expansion of housing stock in traditional neighborhoods. By restricting growth, there wouldn't be enough places for the wealthy newcomers to live, even if they wanted to. --- This passage continues to use the logos to describe the proposal and then use logos in another way to make a logical argument to support the proposal.

However, there is a potential pitfall here. Fewer apartments that are harder to find could create scarcity that makes traditional low-income housing more so often, and even more expensive once they are remodeled into luxury. We propose to attack this problem by limiting the ability of developers and new residents to make existing rental units more upscale and desirable. Nothing can be built in Austin without a building permit that describes the work and the cost of the work. The City could set a limit on how much you could spend upgrading apartments and avoid these pitfalls. --- Logos is deployed here to highlight a possible problem and then demonstrate the proposal has a solution. This also invokes this because the speaker is shown to have carefully thought through the implications of the proposal and therefore the speaker has more credibility.

But hey, we know these proposals may not work for a lot of reasons, but let's try to use zoning overlays and building permits to fix this. We here at Keep an Austin Austin are always optimistic that we can keep the vibe, no matter how many people move here. --- This section uses logos in a different way, using logic to describe some reasons why the proposal may not work. Showing that the proposal may not work is using ethos to bolster the credibility of the speaker because she has thought through various scenarios and has a real-world practical approach. It also has pathos in that it tries to affect the emotions of the listener and have them feel upbeat.

Detailing Implementation Strategies

Local businesses having to face rising rent costs: Explains how the rising cost of living in South Congress is displacing both small businesses and long-time residents, showing how the economy and cultural loss are connected. This helps listeners see the broader impact of gentrification on the entire community, emphasizing the urgency of the issue. This encourages both residents and policymakers to consider what’s really at stake when rents start to rise.

NLIHC Chart (Chart 01 and Chart 02)

Homes are getting more expensive and long-term residents are being kicked out.

Housing is about the people of Austin not just money purposes.

Describing the housing crisis in specific cities brings upon the sense of urgency to audience.

By providing a logical approach to gentrification, it evokes logos and highlights the need for policy.

Hey everyone. Thanks for being here. Today, I want to discuss something that I find extremely important. We talk about it, it is an issue that has been overlooked, so I am here to change that. Today I will be talking about South Congress Avenue. If you live in Austin or have spent any time around here, you know the area, and you already know it's not just another street. It has always had its own culture. Live music, local artists, taco trucks, vintage stores, families walking around, small businesses that have been there forever.

It's always been one of those places that make a city feel unique, in this case Austin. But lately, it's started to change significantly. You walk down South Congress now and you still see some of the old spots, but they're surrounded by luxury apartments, high-end chain stores, and places clearly designed for tourists. I use a personal and honest tone to connect with people who know Austin, building trust while showing how South Congress has shifted from a unique, local space to something more commercial.