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Crafting Austin’s Regenerative Future
Back in 2002, we envisioned a different future for Austin, one that deepened the roots of the cultural resources brought to life by the many and varied creatives that had been drawn here for decades, all of whom had invested in Austin in ways far beyond money.
The big vision came forward in the form of the Texas Legacy Arts Incubator (TLAI) concept in which cultural legacy/building arts would be used to teach math & science and root sustainable economy. Inspired by Richard Florida’s book Rise of the Creative Class combined with a summer spent working in San Francisco where it became apparent that creativity was vital fuel for a sustainable economy.
At the time, East Austin was on the real estate developers’ radar, but widespread gentrification was still years away. As a whole, Austin didn’t have a pressing need to solve an economic problem since technology, with the support of institutional money, was recharging and, by its nature, could drive the economy much faster than any investment in low-to-the-ground generational solution.
Today, 16 years later, the city’s choice to take the high-dollar investment path has directly contributed to Austin’s affordability…
