| Summary: | Despite its close proximity to downtown, East Austin is one of the
underprivileged and under-developed areas in the City of Austin. Ethnic minorities and
low-income persons in inner-city areas often lack access to big box retail due to these
stores being disproportionately located outside of their neighborhoods. The aim of this
study is to identify the current accessibility of big box retail for East Austin’s residents in
order to confirm the potential impacts of big box retail growth on minority and lowincome
populations. Using GIS-based network analysis, it is possible to measure whether
the residents in East Austin have equal access to big box retail stores, as compare to other
Austin areas. Although residents in East Austin have greater accessibility to other
neighborhood-type retail like drug stores, small-format value stores, and supermarkets,
they must travel farther to access community-type retail like home improvement stores,department stores, large-format value stores. Moreover, these populations have access to
fewer cars, and must rely on public transit. Socio-economic characteristics of East Austin
include a high percentage of individuals living below the poverty line, high disability
rates, low to no vehicle ownership, and high percentages of female headed households.
Finally, the study proposes new mixed-use, mixed-income development models as a way
to improve retail access to minority and low-income population. === text
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