We are looking west down Cesar Chavez Street. This road is closest to the park on the north side of the downtown river. The Buford Tower, a 6 story structure, was first used to train firefighters. Subsequently, it’s been renovated, and this now historic structure was turned into a bell tower. But, this building is not the subject of this photo. It’s the tents to the left.

With the pandemic and subsequent economic fallout, the homeless situation in Austin has worsened. Though certainly not to the level of Southern California and other states. Before 2020, I’ve never seen any tents on Cesar Chavez or in the adjoining park.

The issue is not just downtown, unfortunately. In the suburbs, I’ve seen an increasing number of tents under the highway overpasses. There is an economic boom in Austin with lots of construction. I’ve documented them extensively on this blog. However, the financial uplift is not distributed evenly. The displaced are also part of Austin’s legacy and need to be documented.

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