The 2010 U.S. Census documents that Central Texas’ social, cultural and economic fabric is more diverse, varied and nuanced than ever before. Forefront Austin’s perspectives this month tell the stories behind the numbers—the opportunities, the challenges and the potential.
Unexamined, diversity could lead too easily to division. Here Forefront Austin partners offer a glimpse into how Central Texans are weaving these distinct populations into unified and forward momentum for our region.
Community Perspectives
Peek inside the census data: how Central Texas is growing
Generations are messy things to pin down — and much easier to understand in the rear-view mirror. The pendulum effect — corrections to the previous generation's excesses — intersects with external forces such as birth rate, economies, diversity and globalization to create the personality of a generation.
Boomers (1946 -1964) reflected post-war optimism with a huge population surge and increased consumerism. Generation X (1968 - 1982) redefined family and work as a reaction to those overworking, divorcing Baby Boomers. Generation Y (1982 - 1995) are team players who follow the rules in response to Gen X's self-directed, rule-breaking outsider ways.
So what is Generation Z (1995 through today) going to bring us other than fierce iPhone skills?
From just about any vantage-land, air or water-Central Texas is getting hotter, drier and dirtier. Our rapidly increasing population is taxing those dry and dirty resources even more.
There are plenty of discussions about just how hot, dirty and crowded we are and suggestions to conserve water, live cleaner or reduce our carbon footprints. But talk is easy. The bigger challenge is figuring out how to integrate environmental responses into our community institutions, infrastructure and social fabric. What shifts can we afford to adopt? What adaptations can we afford NOT to adopt?
Gadgets, apps, and tweets…oh my.
How many new gadgets have you added to your life in the past decade? Take a quick count—you may need to use your iPhone calculator to add them up. There’s no denying that technology is mushrooming all around us and, thanks to the microprocessor, getting smaller, faster, and smarter every day.
And while these advances have an immediate impact on our days—there’s an app for just about anything you’d need at any moment—it’s the ubiquity of these advancements that is changing our communities and will ultimately pose the biggest challenge as we make collective choices about our future.
The technology part is easy. Ever since man found a better way to light a fire, society has been on an increasingly faster invention curve. The real challenge is going to be deciding how we want to—or need to, or could, or should—use these advancements to shape our communities and institutions.
It’s a fun, crazy ride out there with new technology. Thanks for coming along with us.
Features
We live in a world where advertisers promise that just one pill will work. Politicians declare that health care reform is either nirvana or Armageddon. At the start of a new year, many of us think, “If I just keep this one resolution to…(eat less, workout more, breathe), I will become a fountain of youth and vitality.” But the truth is that there is no one, singular health care crisis—and no one, perfect solution. Individual and community health are incredibly interconnected, interdependent, and downright complicated to understand and improve.
And while it's tempting to stick our heads in the sand — or our hands back in the cookie jar — we simply can no longer avoid the facts: our population is getting sicker, and healthcare is costing more — for our individual wallets as well as government coffers.
Features
Think about what expenses you face in a single day. Between the rent, the groceries, the doctor, the babysitter, and the car payment, it’s a challenge. But for many Texans, we can cover it all, with a little left for fun. We work hard, have some dinner with our family or friends, watch a little television, chat on the phone, then head to bed and get ready to do it all again the next day. It might have been a hard day and we’re really tired, but most of us know that our routine will continue the next day.
But for someone living in poverty, surviving that day is like keeping up a house of cards. No matter how carefully they place those cards, they just come falling down again at the slightest breeze.
Of course it’s sad to imagine someone else’s life as such a struggle. But even more important: the fragile house of cards, maybe even next door, can affect the whole community.
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