I-35: A City Divided

Though I have lived in Austin since I was four years old, I was virtually unaware of I-35's effects on the city when I was younger. Growing up in West Austin, I was ignorant about socioeconomic and racial inequities in the city. I first discovered the demographic division caused by I-35 when I was eleven. I had purchased Small Steps by Louis Sachar, and the context he gave for the novel struck me. I was surprised and a little ashamed that I, an Austinite, was unaware of the social dynamic in my own backyard.

"Interstate 35 goes from the Mexican border all the way up to Lake Superior, and some of the heaviest traffic is along the two-hundred-fifty mile stretch between San Antonio and Dallas. The steady flow of cars and trucks divides the city of Austin in half, not just geographically, but also economically, and to some extent, racially."

-Small Steps by Louis Sachar

Small Steps is Austinite Louis Sachar's first young adult novel dealing with the themes of racial and economic oppression on a local, observable level. Small Steps is the contrasting companion of Sachar's book Holes, which depicts a wrongfully sentenced white boy from the "wrong side of the tracks," who eventually makes it out of his desperate situation. Theodore, the black main character of Small Steps, finds that he cannot escape the assumptions people make about him based on his East Austin address, forcing the readers of Holes and Small Steps to acknowledge the racial discrepancy. Sachar admits in an interview that Theodore and Stanley endure equal suffering in Holes, but Theodore creates a more complex character because he does not return home to wealth and a fresh start. Small Steps creates the opportunity to explore life on the other side of Austin's racial barrier, I-35.

Interstate 35, according to the Texas Freeway history website, was originally a two lane highway that was not intended to be incorporated into the interstate system. In the early 1950s, I-35 was known as US-81, and there was no difference between West side and East side. As you can see from the photo, both sides of US-81 featured businesses and houses of similar appearance. 

Soon after the interstate underwent construction in 1959, the city became divided by East and West, and East and West began to imply certain racial heritage and socio-economic status. Today, I-35 physically separates the less affluent East Austin from the booming, bustling scene of West Austin and downtown. The infrastructure, though "building" the city, was destroying it and cutting off its circulation, causing its growth to stunt in East Austin.

I-35 detaching the East side from the lights of downtown.
Source: www.nytimes.com

The inequity between the East and West sides and the division caused by I-35 is an issue in the forefront of most socially-aware Austinites' minds. The Austin blog, Questions of Quantity, has multiple posts discussing quantifiable evidence of the divide and debate over a solution.  When the blogger searched Google Maps for SAT tutors and orthodontists in Austin, she found that all those businesses are located west of I-35, while businesses for trailer home rental are located on the east side. The people of Austin are not only divided by I-35, but they are limited by it. In Austin's case, the roads of the city physically separate its natives from certain places and opportunities. Even the picture above illustrates interesting contrast between the east and west: the West side is the focus of the photo, and it's full of light and life, while the East side is dark and barely in the picture.

 Though the pictures can accurately portray the discrepancy between the east and the west, there is a plethora of quantitative proof as well. According to the US census data the Questions of Quantity blogger found, the average median income for an East Austin household in 2000 was $15,678, while the average was $48,950 for Austin overall, which is almost three and a half times more. 34.1% of households in East Austin are single parent households, which is shocking compared to Austin's overall percentage of single parent households: 8%. Yet another divider, according to the 2000 census, is the gap in education. In East Austin, 54.4% of adults never finished high school, while in Austin overall, only 15.2% of adults lack a high school diploma. 

My personal experience with this astounding education gap began when I began to volunteer with Breakthrough Austin in my sophomore year. Breakthrough helps kids who will be the first in their families to attend college achiever their academic goals. Through the mentoring program St. Stephen's does with Breakthrough, I became more acutely aware of the discrepancies between my Austin experience and the experience of most of the students.

One of the projects I did with my students was a Google Maps project in which we chose locations historically important to East Austin and those locations on the east side that are important to the Breakthrough students. Over the course of three months, we researched, refined our map, and prepared a walking tour. On the day of the tour, I got to see the places my students had researched for so long and watch them present what they had learned with the confidence and certainty of someone much older. That Saturday, I was truly inspired by their hard work and dedication to their academics. I also enjoyed being in a part of Austin I rarely spent any time in. This project not only expanded my world, but it gave me hope that one day, the people of Austin will overcome the physical, racial and economic divisions the city has placed on them.

Traffic: A Tragic Overpopulation Story

We've all seen it and experienced it first hand; traffic has become a part of people's daily lives. Some accounts say that people may spend 14% or more of their waking hours in cars. Frustrated and tired, sometimes I've had to endure up to 45 minutes in traffic to travel only a usually 10 minute trip home from school. In just the year and a half I have been driving, I have witnessed 360 (Capital of Texas Highway) becoming more crowded during a longer lasting rush hour. I am not the only Austinite frustrated with this rise in traffic. There have been multiple projects on Austin's main arteries like The Mopac Improvement Project and the proposed Austin 360 project. An Austin-American Stateman article states the traffic issues most clearly, "you name it - cars, bicycles, pedicabs, skateboards and people [are] competing for the road. I have to be alert at all times and looking in the rear view mirror." 

These new projects started because of the growing Austin area and growing metropolitan areas nation wide. The population of the United States has more than doubled since 1940 and is growing by about 2.5 million people each year. The population of Austin has grown 20.4% in the last decade and an average of 1% in urban areas nationwide. It is important to note that there was a slow in population growth over the past decade due to the tumultuous economy, but overall this is insignificant.

Now, why is the United States growing so fast? Well the US census in 2000 shows that there is a baby born every 11 seconds. Forty percent of these babies are unintentional. Most of these unintentional births are from the 20 and above age-group, but teen pregnancy is the most publicized. This is a video of a famous "youtuber" who gained his fame from his entertaining rants on popular subjects. He talks about how teen pregnancy has been glorified and is disappointed in the invasive nature of the MTV show 16 and Pregnant. Please excuse the language. Skip to 0:24.

Other reasons the population has sky rocketed is due to the fact that food is easier to find and buy. With modern convinces like fast-food restaurants and all-in-one grocers like Wal-Mart and Target, nowadays it costs less for each person to eat. Also, medical and healthcare advances have helped raise the average life expectancy through vaccines, medications, and procedures.

If the United States metropolitan areas continue to grow at this current rate, there could be large consequences. We have witnessed the short-term effects of this population boom in the record high in college applications, traffic, and the never-ending construction on new apartments. However, in the long-term overpopulation becomes even more detrimental to the United States. A main worry is that by the currently projected population, by 2030 the United States may no longer be able to export food because of the needs of the American citizens. Also, the current American energy use greatly exceeds its proper share, which adds to the energy crisis globally. Lastly, as the cities of America grow, more and more grasslands are being run over and morphed concrete jungles. In the mean time, Austin and its surrounding ares have been named one of the top-ten "Boomtowns"at just under 3.5% growth last year.

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For more information on growing cities and on the countryside:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/national/18FRISCO.html?pagewanted=all

For more information on Austin area growth:

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/austin-area-population-increases-by-nearly-half-million-1263947.html

The Empire State of Houstatlantavegas: An Analysis of the City's Effect on Young Women

After analyzing the text of Jay-Z and Alicia Key’s “Empire State of Mind,” I got to thinking that there are similar songs that address the dark issues that big cities and bright lights pose to young women. The messages in Drake’s “Houstatlantavegas” also touch on these issues, but instead of a singular verse the entire song is referencing young women who have been reduced to “exotic dancing” or prostitution as a means of survival.

Drake’s song, “Houstatlantavegas” first offers insight to the listener through the title. One should understand that the title is a combination of Houston, Atlanta, and Las Vegas. These three cities have very provocative, fast-paced lifestyles associated with them and a high abundance of gentlemen’s clubs and prostitution similarly to New York.

The lyrics from verse three of “Empire State of Mind” and those throughout “Houstatlantavegas” touch on identical points.

Drake’s Lyrics Read: 

                                                      

“HEY THERE...PRETTY GIRL. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU GOT AND I DONT... 

BLAME YOU AT ALL,YOU CANT RESIST IT. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE LIGHTS SO 

BRIGHT, AND THE MONEY SO RIGHT, AND ITS COMING IN EVERY SINGLE NIGHT...”

Jay-Z's Lyrics Read:    

"Lights is blinding,

girls need blinders…

don’t bite the apple Eve”

In both lyrics, there are mentions of light. In Drake’s mention his representation of light is one of captivation. When people are lost, we are encouraged to follow the light but bright light can blind people—from their goals and better judgment—as interpreted in Jay-Z’s lyric. He mentions the blinding effect of light and how the need to no longer be lost makes this light attractive to women who have come looking for themselves in a city like New York. Drake’s mention of “resist” also brings up the idea of temptation. He is saying that women are unable to resist the temptation because of the bright light (which also represents attention) and the extensive amounts of money. Jay-Z’s line about temptation takes us back to biblical times of the first women and her encounter with temptation and how well that did not turn out for her.

Another line of Drake’s that speaks to the problem of young women in the big cities reads: “… she’s scared of ending up alone…” This line is significant because it connects to Maggie of Stephen Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, who feared being alone and resorted to prostitution. Maggie, who also feared being alone ended up meeting her demise and that is the conclusion we are too draw from connecting these two texts.

The looming issue of young women is the city is obviously one that demands national attention as it appears not only in late 19thcentury literature, but two 21^st century rap songs by different artists about different cities. In class discussions, we have seen discussed the importance nature versus nurture and how environmental determinism plays a role in society but with these findings I think it is safe to say that surroundings can affect the outcome of one’s life. Even places like Austin, although not as big as most metro cities, prostitution poses some major community issues.