Texas fair housing group highlights needs of North and East Lubbock

North and East Lubbock has, to be frank, been hit with obstacles — from the placement of the interstate described as a wall between it and the rest of the city, zoning catered towards industrial use, incomplete roads, railroad tracks and, as a result, abandoned homes and buildings.

Activists and residents in the area for decades have pleaded for change with little to no results. Texas Housers, a nonprofit group based in Austin that focuses on civil rights and housing issues, has taken notice.

The group is working on a project called Lubbock Voices and Visions to bring attention and create change in an area many say is segregated and ignored.

On Saturday the organization released a story map, an interactive map highlighting many of the neighborhood's issues. Adam Pirtle, the Northwest Texas co-director of Texas Housers, said this  platform makes data easy to read, but also puts faces and stories to those issues. Apart from statistics on issues like health, education, development and housing opportunities, it features mini documentaries showing residents describing those issues.

"This is about telling stories that aren't always heard," said Pirtle. "People in cities - often times you only hear the powerful people and the people that have control of the media - you only hear those stories. We're trying to do something different here."

Under the health tab, for example, it maps out the over 20 industrial business in North and East Lubbock required to report waste to the Environment Protection Agency. Under the education tab, it maps out school performance across Lubbock in correlation with funding and the percentage of white students enrolled at the school.

Next to the map is a video of two students at Estacado High School discussing their neighborhood and how few opportunities there are for work.

The website maps out things like population trends over time and shows a map detailing the lack of bus routes in neighborhoods.

Here's the link to the Lubbock Voices and Visions project: http://arcg.is/1WPaDv

This story map was introduced at a screening event Saturday afternoon at the Mahon Library. The event lasted nearly three hours, and more than 30 citizens were in attendance. It was more of a discussion than a screening — the audience members were asked to give feedback on issues still needing to be addressed, their vision for the neighborhood and how these obstacles can be overcome.

One of the needs discussed by the residents was the perception these neighborhoods need to change, and that businesses would want to come if there were more safety and security measures put in place. Another need expressed by one of the residents is that children and young adults need more places to go.

"We want to see things in place for kids, places where kids can go and be safe, like parks, bowling alleys, skating rinks, swimming pools and things like that," one resident said. "Things like that need to be developed in the area, as well as having businesses come in there. And not just storefront businesses where you just throw a sign up and say it's your business. It needs to be businesses like we have in other parts of town, where you have safety measures in place."

Most of the people in attendance Saturday were older, and remembered how vibrant the neighborhoods used to be. They remembered clean neighborhoods and popular businesses and say their neighborhoods have been neglected.

They say race is a motivating factor in this neglect.

Pirtle said this project is in the beginning phases, and now they're focused on detailing the history and the obstacles facing North and East Lubbock. What's available online is a product of only a few months of research and interviews.

The question of "what's next?" was the focus of Saturday's screening as well.

Amelia Adams, an equity analyst at Texas Housers, said after the meeting that the story map is set up to serve as a resource for data and information. And she said this information is there to be shared with people making the decisions, such as Lubbock City Council members and business leaders.

With events like the one Saturday, she said groups and organizations need to vocalize similar goals and wants, based off this information.

"The idea is to get the word out, so that people are aware that other people have the same concerns as them," Adams said. "We really want those communities to recognize there's a connection in the things they're facing. Together, they have a lot more power than when they're separate."

One of the group's focus now is on Lubbock's future comprehensive land use plan, which is being worked on currently by a committee of 30 appointed citizens.

Pirtle and other advocates of North and East Lubbock attended the meeting last week, and they plan on submitting suggestions to the committee over how to improve their neighborhoods. They hope to get these suggestions included in the city's detailed future plan.