Our understanding of the interplay of housing and health is incomplete without considering the impact of key community assets beyond housing, such as access to high quality education, nutritious food, health care providers, social services and transportation. The maps in this packet help to illustrate our Austin community which, like many others, faces challenges in creating equity in access to opportunity. Data visualization with maps can help support planning, and monitor the impact of policy and practices over time.
The maps which follow were created in partnership with the Austin and surrounding school districts. Not all Travis County school districts are represented, however those with known high concentrations of lower income families are included. As central Texas continues to undergo rapid growth and demographic change, school districts are essential partners in understanding how these changes are experienced at the neighborhood level.
These maps reflect the neighborhood concentrations of families with children in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) according to economic status, based on free/reduced lunch criteria. Total enrollment in School Year 2014-15 was 84,564, of whom 27.6% were English Language Learners. Free/Reduced Lunch rate was 59.7%. Maps produced using natural breaks methodology, with small concentrations hidden to protect student privacy.
These maps reflect the neighborhood level distribution of families with children in the Austin Independent School District, by student ethnicity. Patterns reflect concentrations by ethnicity at the neighborhood level reflecting the degree of ethnic segregation. Total enrolled students 84,564. Maps produced using natural breaks methodology, with small concentrations hidden to protect student privacy.
The absenteeism map is based on daily attendance and reflects 9,457 students who missed more than 10% of their enrolled days for the 2014-15 school year, putting them at highest risk to not complete high school. Absenteeism is not necessarily due to illness. The 3,289 students with asthma are those who had a known history of asthma and an asthma care plan during school year 2014-15. They did not necessarily have an exacerbation in school. Maps produced using natural breaks methodology, with small concentrations hidden to protect student privacy.
These maps demonstrate the value of time series mapping to monitor community change. Proportions of overweight, obese and severely obese students have gone up significantly in the north (St. Johns and Rundberg areas) but decreased significantly in East Austin (I-35 between Highway 290 and Lady Bird Lake). Visualizing community change over time encourages us to ask questions about what is behind the change. For instance, could the reduction in East Austin be due to improved health status of the students, or is the underlying story one of gentrification in those neighborhoods, or perhaps some other set of factors? Why do we see worsening conditions over time in North Austin?
Demographic Change 2011-2016 in Four Austin-area School Districts
Pflugerville ISD 2012-13 Enrollment: 23,347 Economically Disadvantaged: 12,314 (52.7%) English Language Learners: 4,544 (19.5%) Pflugerville ISD is located in northeastern Travis County. The city of Pflugerville is separately incorporated, thus maintaining a local government. The map on the left reflects the concentrations of student population, revealing that the eastern area is largely undeveloped. Population expansion is anticipated over time. The map on the right reflects that the highest concentrations of lower income families are in the west, closest to (or part of) Austin. Areas with yellow/orange/red hotspots in this map indicate neighborhoods with over 70% of children in lower income families.
Manor ISD 2010-11 Enrollment: 7,173 Economically Disadvantaged: 5,696 (79.4%) English Language Learners: 2,267 (31.6%) The community of Manor, in eastern Travis County is also separately incorporated. The map on the top right indicates pockets of population concentration throughout the district, which is largely still rural. The map in the lower right reflects that nearly all of these neighborhoods have high proportions of lower income families receiving free/reduced lunch. The map on the lower left identifies that most food and physical activity assets are not within the district boundaries. These maps were created using data from 2010-11. Highway improvements and community growth since this time are resulting in some shifting demographics in the school district as evident in the charts reflecting change over the last 5 years.
Del Valle ISD 2012-13 Enrollment:11,423 Econ. Disad.: 10,072 (88.2%) English Language Learners: 3,798 (37.7%) The community of Del Valle, in southeastern Travis County remains largely rural and is unincorporated. As a result, the school district plays an expanded role for families. The vast majority of students in the Del Valle school district live in lower income families and qualify for free/reduced lunch. The map in the center indicates concentrations of student families in what is largely a rural area of Travis County. The maps on the left and the right indicate that very few food or health assets are located near the families in the Del Valle school district. Understanding where the families are concentrated can help efficiently target services to local neighborhoods in a larger and more rural geography