Friday, February 1, 2008

Hear, Hear!

New commentary in the Statesman today by Frank Fernandez, executive directory of the Community Partnership for the Homeless.
Frank writes:

"As a symbol of who we are, downtown should be an inclusive neighborhood with housing for all Austinites, including those who work there — from the woman who takes your parking ticket at a garage, to those who clean downtown offices, to the baristas who help us get going in the morning, to the musicians who make Austin the live music capital of the world."

"Some have suggested that the best use of downtown land does not include affordable housing. But as a city, we must broaden our definition of best use beyond financial terms. Housing is part of our basic infrastructure — like libraries, roads and public safety. Housing serves as a hub for socio-economic opportunity. It can shape what types of jobs we have access to, how safe we are, which schools our kids go to and what kind of health care we receive — all foundational features of our quality of life. To continue to think about land use from a strictly economic perspective denies many Austinites access to the opportunity born of the city's revitalization."

We couldn't agree more!  Way to go, Frank!

P.S. You can read the entire article here.

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