For all geographical purposes East Austin is defined as the community south of Airport Boulevard, and north of the Colorado River, west of Hwy-183, and east of I-35. In my opinion, East Austin is defined as home. It is where most of my family either lives or comes from. To me East Austin was the best place on earth. In recent years, this portion of Austin has been completely transformed into something else. Where in the past mom and pop tire shops and restaurants have existed are now micro-breweries and indie art studios. Not only are businesses being affected, but so are the residents of East Austin. The property taxes of lower income Hispanic and Black families are being raised at such an astronomical rates that families are being bought out of their home for below market price and forced to leave their communities. Most families can only afford to move to South Austin; which has been known historically for a high crime rate. It is this kind of passive aggressive change to the city that is hurting the livelihood of its underprivileged citizens. It all began with the City Plan of 1928; a plan that essentially segregated individuals of color from the rest of the City of Austin. City ordinances like this one were common practices of cities in the South. This was a quick, easy, and legal way to segregate entire demographics of people to entire portions of the city.1 The actual Plan of 1928 specified that one of the primary goals of this initiative was to establish a "Negro-district" within Austin city limits.2 After the segregation of African Americans, it took decades for Latinos, Asians, and low income Anglo Americans to follow after. As years went on; more minority groups that immigrated to the Austin community began to find a home East of I-35; slowly evolving into a melting pot of various cultures. Why show cite this ordinance? Simple, it is a perfect example of how it was not the will of minorities in Austin to move to the East end, but rather the will of the city leadership decades before. That being said, East Austin quickly became the home to the majority of ethnic and minority groups in the Austin community. The City Plan of '28 may have initialized the minority movement to the east side, but it was the events that followed the decades after that made East Austin feel like home. For many of the minority families immigrating to Austin, money was a struggle; and the East side was an affordable and manageable place that they could settle down in. Unlike other places in Austin during the 60's and 70's, East Austin was a community that didn't that grew stronger as a community racially oppressed community. Businesses owned and operated by local East-siders (a title they know welcomed) began to sprout up throughout the East side. The East side community began to gain clout as they began to truly establish their half of I-35 as their own.3 As the years went on the strength of the East Austin community began to thrive, but one factor remained consistent. East Austin was still home to a majority of the city's lower income families. While the city of Austin evolved into a powerhouse city of not only of the state, but also of the South, there were still individuals living on the East end that were struggling to make ends meet. Though the rest of the city saw improvements in number of White collar jobs and property value, the East side stayed relatively the same. This was mostly due to the mass amount of low-income individuals that lived in the East side communities. Considering the average income of most east side families being below average for the state (around $39,000), most white collar business so no profit in moving to the East side.4 Likewise, the citizens residing East Austin did not have the money to up and move to the more well-off districts of town. This caused a rapid growth of a poorer, more unstable East side. While initially most white collar business prospect saw no immediate value in the property east of 35, there was a certain business that saw a possible boom just East of Hwy 183. About 12 miles east of State Highway 183 lies the community of Elroy, Texas. Though still considered East Austin by all modern definitions, residents of Elroy would tell you they lived in the "country". That was of course before the track. In the latter half of the 2000's a billion dollar company looked to invest in the countryside of Elroy; purchasing over 1,500 acres of land the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) Motorsport Track began construction. This was to be the first Formula 1 motorsport track in all of North America; a billion dollar business endeavor. A billion dollar endeavor for a thirty thousand dollar community. Much like the rest of East Austin, the vast majority of Elroy's residents were lower income and with the addition of the COTA track, property taxes were almost guaranteed to raise dramatically. That being said, for the most part, most residents of Elroy were able to remain living in the community. It was the community of Old East Austin (Central East Austin) that were unable to survive the transition.5 For most international and upper class individuals that wished to journey to Elroy's premier racing track, a trip through Central East Austin was a grantee. This meant the "prime real estate" of downtown Austin was losing business to some East end businesses. In an attempt to end such happenings, many white collar individuals began to invest in property east of I-35. This proved to be extremely successful considering that most residents and businesses of East Austin would ignorantly sell out for way below market price. Wealthy businessmen began to turn $89,000 homes into $175,000 monthly rentals.6 Businesses that averaged a monthly income of about $7,000 a month, were bought out and flipped to booming micro-breweries and indie art studios. The average market value for an East Austin house rose 40% versus the average 3% increase for the Georgetown-Round Rock area. Whereas the latter district may be able to handle a 3% increase in property tax, a 40% increase on the East Side was crippling. Most houses in the Eastern districts were being sold for $75-100,000, being demolished and rebuilt, then sold for well over $200,000. This astronomically affected those still residing in "old" East Austin homes, who on average brought in an average income of approximately $35-40,000 a year.7 This forced most low-income African and Latin America families to sell their homes to the wide-eyed west side real estate agents. With no home, many former East-siders began to migrate south to the more crime and danger ridden districts of the city. Most would argue that this sudden boom of development in East Austin is extremely positive. Money is finally circulating through the poorest districts in the city; but this is at the cost of the well-being of fellow Austinites. Citizens of the city that were in the beginning, forced into the very place the learned to call home. Citizens that were cast out and separated from their fellow Austinites. These families have grown up in East Austin for generations, knowing the streets, businesses, and parks as home; are now left with what? A new prettier and shinier East side. An East side they do not know, an East side they can no longer live in, and just as before they are being cast out. With the City Plan of 1928, it was simple, a document was signed segregating the city; today this task is not so easily achieved. Before the lines drawn were due to racial intolerance, but today, segregation in Austin does not see color. Today the newly segregating Austin sees a stock pile that of cash with the west end’s name on it. It is that dollar that we all chase after. It is that dollar that has greatly developed some of the multitude of communities in Austin. It is that dollar that helps build newer and better schools as well as repair and refurbish the others. But in this instance it is a different dollar that Austin seeks; it is a dollar of greed and newly segregation defined segregation. It is this dollar that is killing East Austin, and if a solution is not made, the East Austin of yesteryear will become nothing more than a memory.