ADVOCACY
Woven Among Us:
A Chicano Patchwork
Community Resilience in the Face of Gentrification in East Austin
In February of 2020, Decipher City and AlvaradoWorks partnered to produce a series of bicycle tours through the historically Chicano neighborhoods of East Austin, Texas. Decipher City is an organization created "to analyze partnerships between the built environment and local governments as they relate to marginalized communities, and provide solutions to dismantling systemic inequities."
The tour (subsequent tours have been indefinitely paused because of the COVID-19 virus) visited sites of Chicano community resilience in the face of relentless displacement and gentrification. Each of the 12 sites were selected to highlight different historic and contemporary expressions of the Chicano culture that once thrived in East Austin. Today, the area is subject to rapid gentrification as a result of decades of redlining, municipal disinvestment, and environmental racism.
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To explore each of the sites in the tour (or take yourself on a self-guided tour), browse the StoryMap below. Visit Decipher City's website to experience the virtual, COVID-19 safe version. For an in--depth article about the resiliency of two sites, Cisco's Restaurant and La Perla's Cantina, check out this article to accompany the tour material.
Urban Transportation Commission
Providing Citizen Oversight and a Public Forum on all Things Transportation for Austin's District 1 Residents
In 2019, Daniel Alvarado was appointed by the then newly elected ​Austin City Councilwoman Natasha Harper-Madison to represent District 1 on the Urban Transportation Commission (UTC). The UTC is a sovereign and advisory commission that's chief role is to advise City Council and staff on all things transportation, including but not limited to streets, highways, active transportation, transit, ADA compliance, road right-of-way vacation and taxi franchise regulation. ​
As District 1 Commissioner, Daniel has been the sponsor or co-sponsor of numerous recommendations, including:
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Sponsored the unanimously passed Resolution urging TxDOT to fully consider publicly supported alternatives to the regressive I-35 highway expansion project, and dramatically improve their public engagement process
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Sponsored the unanimously passed Council recommendation that the Safe Mobility Bond (Proposition B) be added to the November ballot
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Co-Sponsored the Council recommendation that the City adopt the Project Connect Preferred Plan
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Co-Sponsored the Council recommendation that the City maintain and expand the Healthy Streets Program beyond the duration of the pandemic
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Contributed to draft language for Council recommendations on subjects including micro-mobility, the Urban Trails plan, and the Community Climate Plan
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Below is the full text of the recommendation to TxDOT regarding I-35 as passed by the Urban Transportation Commission on March 30th, 2021.
Walk Austin Board of Directors
Building an advocacy organization
dedicated to building a Walkable Austin.
Since 2018, Daniel has been a member of the Board of Directors of Walk Austin, a non-profit organization dedicated to making walking useful, safe, and enjoyable for all Austinites.
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Walk Austin manages and supports a number of programs and initiatives in the greater Austin area, including the Healthy Streets Program that converted under-used street space during the COVID-19 Pandemic to better accommodate active transportation and recreation.
