The Austin Common Radio Hour

Our podcast mini-series on homelessness continues with a focus on emergency shelter, which is meant to provide people with a safe place to sleep (temporarily), while they work to get connected to more permanent housing. But in Austin, we don't have enough emergency shelter beds, which can mean long wait lists, just to find a place to sleep that isn't outside. How do our shelters de

This episode of the The Austin Common Radio Hour kicks off a mini-series on homelessness in Austin. In this first episode, we focus on some of the first steps a person experiencing homelessness might take on their path toward receiving services and eventually gaining access to housing.... visiting the Sunrise Hub (a homelessness services day center in south Austin) and taking a Coo

On December 7th, Austin City Council will vote on the HOME Initiative, a proposal to allow up to three housing units to be built on single-family lots. The idea is to increase the city's supply of "missing middle" housing, but like so many debates related to housing and land use, the issue is complicated. In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury interview

The are 14 proposed state constitutional amendments on the ballot this year. In this episode we take a deep into several of them, including Prop 4 (property taxes), Prop 6 (water), Prop 8 (broadband internet). Our guests include state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, Jennifer Walker (National Wildlife Federation), and Kelty Garbee (Texas Rural Funders).

The are 14 proposed state constitutional amendments on the ballot this year. One of them, Prop 14, would create a $1 billion centennial parks conservation fund to grow our state parks system. To tell us all about it, host Amy Stansbury sat down with Luke Metzger (Executive Director of Environment Texas).

If you live in Travis County, you have two very important propositions on your ballot this year - Prop A (which is all about roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks) and Prop (which is about parks). To help you understand exactly what you'll be voting on, host Amy Stansbury interviewed Jennifer Bristol, who served on the Travis County Citizens Bond Advisory Committee.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury interviews Austin City Council Member Alison Alter about HB 1526, a new law passed by the Texas Legislature that will dramatically change the way Austin funds and acquires new parkland.

Earlier this summer, a route was chosen for Austin's first-ever light rail system. It will start at 38th Street, run down Guadalupe Street, cross Lady Bird Lake at Trinity Street and then split, running south along South Congress (ending at Oltorf) and running east along Riverside Drive (ending at Yellow Jacket Lane). But why was this route chosen? To answer that question, Austin C

Austin City Council has taken a lot of votes lately, aimed at changing our city's land development code. The idea? To allow more housing to be built in Austin... and at a quicker pace. To explain exactly what City Council is working on, host Amy Stansbury sat down with two Austin City Council members - Ryan Alter & José “Chito” Vela.

The regular Texas legislative session officially ended on May 29th... but that's not the end of the story. One "special session" has already been called (and more are expected to come) as a debate stretches on over property taxes and public schools. To fill us in on the latest, host Amy Stansbury sat down with Rep. James Talarico, who represents parts of the Austin area in the Texa