We would like to draw a parallel line between where we today find ourselves as a nation, working hard to right the long-standing housing inequalities American citizens continue to experience, and how local appointed and elected leaders make decisions that either eliminate or perpetuate these inequalities. When city leaders refuse to take action or worse, actively resist strategies/opportunities that would support the creation of affordable housing types, the overall health and welfare of the community is negatively affected. Housing is a human issue.
Through our work on the SMTX 4 All Taskforce, whose members were intentionally assembled to represent the diversity of San Marcos, our community was able to gain insight into the housing shortfalls that directly impact our citizens. Our first step was to understand what types of housing were currently available in San Marcos, both for rent and purchase.
Our intention was to gauge whether or not the housing our community needed was in line with what was being delivered by our city’s ongoing development efforts. What the numbers revealed was consistent with what we were hearing anecdotally from taskforce members and the community at-large. Our families are substantially lacking in available affordable housing options both to rent and buy.
