This month, Airbnb announced the launch of its Housing Accelerator, an initiative to invest $250 million in affordable housing projects nationwide, starting with $6.4 million for 201 affordable homes at Austin’s St. John Redevelopment project. As part of this initiative, AURA was selected as a grant recipient in recognition of the work we’ve done to improve housing affordability in Austin.
Airbnb’s grant is dedicated to supporting our decade-long effort to legalize missing middle homes such as fourplexes, townhomes, and neighborhood-scale apartments. It will allow us to hire our first-ever paid staff member, a part-time advocacy coordinator, for the next one to two years. Long term, we’d like to be able to grow AURA sustainably, and find more ways to involve our members and engage the broader community in our efforts to create a more affordable, walkable Austin.
Why does this matter now?
For thirteen years, AURA has been an all-volunteer organization. AURA members and volunteers have helped to lead the fight for better housing and transit policy, like Project Connect, the HOME initiative, and affordable housing investments, all while supporting pro-housing, pro-transit voices at City Council. That work has made AURA a serious force in Austin politics, but it’s also been sustained over the years almost entirely by the unpaid labor of a small number of people. A dedicated staffer means we can better focus the work of volunteers and keep doing what we’re good at, without that work depending entirely on those who are often juggling full-time jobs and families.
We also want to be clear that this grant comes with no strings attached. Airbnb has no role in setting AURA’s positions, priorities, or advocacy agenda. Those remain, as they always have been, entirely up to our membership and board.
Over the next year, City staff will be proposing real changes to zoning ordinances to legalize missing middle and mixed-use housing throughout Austin. This will be a critical time to ensure that more affordable missing middle housing types become legal—and easy—to build again, and that in the future those new zones are applied where they are needed most.
With a dedicated staff member and the continued support of our volunteers and the wider pro-housing, pro-transit community, we hope to help build an Austin with abundant affordable homes in walkable neighborhoods.