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On Wednesday, researchers Patrick Bixler, Diana Joyce Ojeda and Jessica Jones presented the Joint Sustainability Committee with an update on sustainability indicators – especially on the effects of floods and extreme heat in the Austin region.
The research focuses on the differences in the way people experience weather extremes depending on their ethnicity, income class, and geographic location in central Texas.
“The Austin area sustainability project’s mission is to measure the quality of life and sustainability trends in the area,” said Jones, a dual graduate of the UT School of Architecture and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. “We hope to serve as a basis for a systemic approach to address the challenges of our region.”
The data comes from a biennial survey conducted in six central Texas counties: Travis, Burnet, Hays, Caldwell, Bastrop, and Williamson.
Unsurprisingly, Austin city respondents reported that extreme heat events were more common than flooding. Thirty-one percent of Austin respondents had experienced flooding, while 68 percent reported extreme heat.
The survey has been in circulation since 2004.
Jones told the committee that sharing research should help philanthropy, NGOs, governments and community agencies “use this data to improve decision-making.”
The last survey, which was mainly carried out by telephone, took place between September and December 2020.
Some of the answers, Jones said, came from the Internet as well. Most of the answers came from Travis County; in particular the postcodes 78744 and 78753.
Those in area 78744 – Dove Springs – reported at higher rates than others in the survey that flooding was increasing in their area. White respondents were more likely to say they had access to transport during flood events.
“We see that over the past 10 years, Hispanic respondents have been more likely to report being without transportation during a flood event,” said Ojeda, colleague at Jones.
Interestingly, those in the $ 75,000 to $ 100,000 income bracket reported higher rates of being without power during the Austin floods. Hispanic respondents said they signed up for emergency alerts and energy assistance programs at higher rates overall in the city of Austin.
The vast majority of respondents did not ask for help from disaster organizations such as FEMA, the Red Cross or the Salvation Army.
“We also saw that the majority of respondents, or 16.7 percent, tend to turn to pantries in the event of a hazard,” Ojeda told the committee.
Eighty percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the performance of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, while only 50 percent said they were satisfied with the performance of FEMA. Over 70 percent were satisfied with the performance of the pantries.
Photo by Bob McMillan, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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