Neighborhood Stability
WHY
In the context of our equity work, neighborhood stability refers to the consistent and sustained presence of people, resources, opportunities, and support systems that allow the communities we organize with to thrive.
This includes a strong anti-displacement lens when it comes to addressing the need for affordable housing, quality education, healthcare, employment opportunities, transportation, and safe environments.
Neighborhood stability ensures that long-term residents can stay and benefit from local developments and improvements. Stability promotes social cohesion, economic growth, and overall well-being, contributing to equitable outcomes for all community members.
HOW
We organize for anti-displacement, community investment, and strong, relational networks that support neighborhood stability, upward mobility, and climate justice (as these stressors and/or the improvements they prompt often lead to displacement).
We work with neighbors to develop action plans for their neighborhood and connect to the technical experts, resources, or organizing networks to advance their agenda for a healthy, safe, and supportive community.
GAVA builds coalitions with other groups impacted by displacement and work towards community-driven solutions to promote neighborhood stability. We also foster partnerships and initiatives that support residents’ economic mobility and opportunities to increase their incomes.
WHAT IS NEW?
GAVA has been in constant conversation with North, South, and East Austin neighbors, inside and out of formal associations, to advocate around and closely follow Austin’s Land Development Code rewrite, Project Connect, zoning cases, and economic investments in our neighborhoods. We work actively with three neighborhood associations and two contact teams, and focus on neighborhood preservation, affordable housing, transportation and economic & workforce development.
Eastern Crescent neighbors in GAVA’s network have formed several policy statements and spoken publicly. We continue to collaborate in coalition on a variety of land use and zoning cases and policy initiatives in neighborhoods, the city, the state, and even at the federal level, in order to negotiate better land use outcomes and community investments.
We seek to ensure that neighbors can stay in their homes and create opportunities for residents who have been displaced from their homes to have the right to return to their neighborhoods. We also work with renters who have been displaced, and low-income homeowners seeking to hold onto their homes, to explore proactive strategies to create their own housing opportunities through land trusts and more.
GAVA supports residents working to stay in their neighborhoods and create new affordable opportunities for their communities. One group we support is called Community Coalition for Neighborhood Stability (CCNS). Founded and incorporated as a nonprofit by leaders from various refugee communities, this group serves the diverse needs of refugee households in Austin. CCNS is now pursuing status as a community development corporation to start a community land trust (CLT). They are participating in the city’s two-year CLT Accelerator program, developing skills to implement their vision of acquiring land and creating multigenerational affordable housing.
How to get involved
- Residents can get involved by contacting [email protected]. From there we can plug you into our work and/or share resources for getting involved in coalition work.
- Institutional stakeholders can get involved by lending legal or other content expertise related to planning, land use, environmental protection, green infrastructure, and more