12th and Chicon

12th and Chicon is ostensibly the 'worst' intersection in Austin. Police have cracked down hard on this area of central east Austin for the drug and gang related activity. When I went there on each side of the intersection were African American people, many more people than at other intersections and predominantly male. This is historically the black part of Austin. Some people were waiting on the bus stop, some were waiting in parked cars, some were just sitting on the street corner, and some were walking through the intersection. I went during the afternoon although I have been there previously during the evening. During the evening there are a lot more women than during the afternoon, ostensibly because they are trying to pick up clients. There is definitely drug trade going on around that intersection.

The discussion and debate around the intersection is intriguing considering the gentrification of the area and the increasingly diasporic nature of the black population in Austin. While the population of all other racial groups has grown in Austin, the African American population has decreased. What is causing this demographic shift? Foursquare may provide a clue. On Foursquare the intersection is listed as a drugstore/pharmacy. I checked in. Foursquare is exclusively used by people with the privilege to afford a smartphone, most likely not used by many of the people who spend time at the intersection. I have no way to verify this, but my educated guess would be that white hipsters labeled this intersection as a drugstore for the comedic effect. This is a small but tangible effect of gentrification in east Austin. I view gentrification as micro-colonization. Poorer white ex-students and young professionals without the means to live in other parts of Austin like Hyde park or south Austin have started taking up space in central east Austin, particularly with the new 'affordable' homes and apartments built in the area by the city. This in effect is an affront to the historically black area of Austin and furthers white domination. East Austin used to be the white part of town because it had the best farmland. Once farming was not the main way people made a living, the east side became marginalized. This split became definite when the railroad came in. Where I-35 is today, there used to be a railroad. It cuts Austin in half rather intentionally thereby creating segregation. The heavy police presence in that area is an effect of the ghettoization of central east Austin. As a result more people become picked up by cops for minor offenses. This has increased with the new white residents in the area. They want their property protected from vandalism and theft and so call for more police presence. In turn, as more black people get thrown into the criminal justice system, it makes it harder for them to be gainfully employed, and thus more likely to turn to crime. This benefits the new white residents because this frees up more space to be colonized by yet more white residents looking for cheap housing. As more white residents move in this raises property values, making it harder for the existing residents to keep their property and they are forced out.