The Gentrification of East Austin

A Critical Historical & Contemporary Community Investigation for Middle Grade Students

photograph by John Langmore, Texas Monthly

Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge that we are writing this curriculum on the indigenous lands of Turtle Island, the ancestral name for what is now called North America.

We would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the Alabama-Coushatta, Caddo, Carrizo & Comecrudo, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Kickapoo, Lipan Apache, Tigua Pueblo, Tonkawa, Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo all the American Indian and Indigenous Peoples and communities who have been or have become a part of these lands and territories in Texas.

Curriculum Overview

This curriculum is intended for upper elementary and middle school students in Austin. This curriculum is specifically designed to study the gentrification of East Austin, but many of the context-specific materials may be adapted to study gentrification in any US city.

This curriculum includes six lessons that can be completed as a whole group, as a small group, or as an independent project.

Curriculum Objectives:

Students will produce a working understanding of gentrification and will understand how Austin has been historically shaped by housing inequity and gentrification.
Students will analyze the impact of gentrification on long-term residents of East Austin.
Students will be able to share their learning through the publication of a final project.

Authors

Erin Green

Erin Green is a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin. She studies critical approaches to elementary social studies. You can contact her at erintgreen@utexas.edu.

Rachel Boggs

Rachel Boggs is a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin. She studies the geography of early childhood education. You can contact her at rboggs@utexas.edu.

Jeremy Horne

Valerie Sterne

Valerie Sterne is a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests are at the intersection of racialized perceptions of school quality, resource hoarding and school segregation. You can contact her at valeriesterne@utexas.edu.

Created at The University of Texas under the mentorship of Dr. Terrance Green