In Raul Alvarez’s presentation on Monday, I was interested in how he stated the Community Advancement Network (CAN) attempts to improve the socioeconomics of Austin, and how the group not only does this but also keeps records and spreads awareness throughout the community. There are a lot of big problems in the growing city of Austin and having an organization, in the beginning, to track down problems, will let Austin continue to prosper instead of becoming too much of a hassle to handle itself. After hearing this presentation, I was pleased by the work of Alvarez and his comembers of the organization.
As a citizen, and as a city in whole, it is important to explore wicked problems that are local to stop it in its tracks. This will keep Austin, the home of many, up to par in its reputation and attract more technological growth and prosper throughout the families who live here. Solving wicked problems on a municipal level helps massively because it reveals solutions that can be translated globally, and improve well-being in various countries.
What’s fascinating to me about all the work that’s being done around these issues already is that despite the major resources that are being directed into solving them, the issues are so large that it feels like a drop in the bucket. I’m really interested to hear how your group considers tackling this question of homelessness.