SITE OVERVIEW ♦ AUSTIN | TEXAS
Target Area: Rundberg • Population: 40,000
Fiscal Agent: City of Austin
Research Partner: University of Texas at Austin, School of Social Work and Department of Sociology
Crime Concerns: Open air drug markets, prostitution, nuisance properties
BCJI Funding Year: 2012 Planning & Implementation)
Neighborhood Profile
Situated in the far north section of Austin spanning about 30 square miles, Rundberg is a community of primarily single family residential homes divided by commercial corridors which have been eclipsed by the development of surrounding suburbs. Budget motels and other remaining business properties now contribute to problems including open air drug markets, loitering on street corners and in parking lots, prostitution and other criminal activity. With an exceptionally diverse population including many immigrants and refugees, Rundberg residents have not historically worked closely with police or each other to address these problems. The community also struggles with higher levels of poverty, disinvestment and unemployment than other parts of the city.
Planning Process
Restore Rundberg, as the BCJI project is known, is a partnership between the community, city government, researchers, and local organizations. The BCJI team analyzed data from a variety of sources during the project planning phase in 2013 to identify a more discrete list of hot spots, including several encompassing community schools, overgrown vacant lots and nuisance residential properties. As they talked with community members and examined data to better understand causes and patterns of offending, they developed a new community-driven structure for planning and decision-making that promises to make long-term crime reduction efforts more sustainable.
Implementation Strategies
Since early 2014, the Restore Rundberg team has implemented a variety of strategies to improve public safety; reduce physical disorder; improve social and economic opportunities; enhance collective efficacy; and advance the long-term planning and implementation of revitalization strategies. Highlights include:
- Mobile walking beats that enable Austin Police Officers to more regularly interact with residents and engage in proactive problem-solving, particularly in hot spot areas.
- Launch of an apartment/landlord coalition, providing a forum to discuss issues such as parking violations and family violence with property owners and managers.
- Community clean-ups to remove trash and other signs of disorder in hot spots.
- Youth programs including a mentoring program with police officers. enhanced school-based services, and the launch of the Rundberg Educational Advancement District (R.E.A.D.) to drive revitalization with a focus on educational values and school pride.
- Enhanced community engagement through a dedicated engagement specialist and efforts to build social networks among residents.
Results
As the workgroups within the Rundberg Revitalization Team implemented strategies to address priority topics from their plan since early 2014, they have noted progress in several areas, such as:
- Violent crime in hot spots dropped 15% - and as much as 44% in one hot spot – for the BCJI intervention period of April 2014 – August 2015, as compared to the preceding 16 months.
- Violent crime in Rundberg overall dropped 4.5%. Property crime decreased 14.5%.
- Feelings of safety have improved for people living and working in hot spots. 74% of residents surveyed in 2015 said that they felt Rundberg was safe for themselves and their family, as compared to just 41% the year before.
Featuring this Site
- Read the Austin research team’s report on Restore Rundberg’s achievements (October 2015)
- View this webinar featuring the Austin BCJI’s team’s efforts to reduce crime by rehabilitating vacant properties.
- Read this article describing the evolution of the Austin, Texas BCJI effort and the improvements in safety and community-police relations that the Rundberg community has achieved.
- This profile of Austin’s 2012 BCJI Planning & Implementation grant shows how the team built stronger ties with residents, revitalized large open spaces, increased support for youth, and created an empathetic and effective way to address an issue of homelessness.
This web site is funded in part, through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this web site (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).