Austin is for everyone

Austin is for everyone Categories: Columns Austin is for everyone Connor Mire, Columnist October 14, 2026 Mia Gomez Texas is constantly growing. Between 2024 and 2025, the state was home to five of the 15 fastest-growing towns in the U.S. Austin is no exception; the city’s population surpassed 1 million residents in 2025 — a 53% increase from its population in 2000.  Change follows growth, but not everyone approves of the departure from what “old” Austin once was. Most notions of Austin’s past, however, are clouded by nostalgia, which can gatekeep the city from its new residents. Austin isn’t just for a select group — it’s for everyone. “I love the new people that have come here,” architecture professor Larry Speck said. “They came here because they love this place. They’re not here just because they were born here, and they want to engage and be a part of this community.” Advertisement Rosy retrospection is a type of cognitive bias where people remember the past more positively than it actually was. As a result, negative aspects of previous experiences are less likely to persist in people’s memory. Adam Powell, an Austin native and executive director of the Austin History Center Association, said that many iconic moments in Austin’s history were short-lived. For example, Armadillo World Headquarters, one of Austin’s most historic music venues, only existed for 10 years.  Austinites are no exception to rosy retrospection, including Powell. Powell said that accounts of old Austin largely depend on what Austin was like when someone moved to the city.  “Old Austin to me, personally, is seeing the UT Tower light up orange after seeing Vince Young win the Rose Bowl against USC,” Powell said. “For many people a few generations before me, that is like, ‘Oh my God, UT football spiraled out of control.’ My exemplar old Austin moment is probably an example of Austin’s culture dying to someone else.”  But not everyone shares the same nostalgic sentiment. For Speck, who moved to Austin in 1975 for work, vacant parking lots, weedy sidewalks and boarded-up businesses along Congress Avenue defined his old Austin.  “There was a real presence to the Capitol building and a few things, but downtown was derelict,” Speck said. “It was a place where people came in and went to their lawyer’s office, and then went out to the suburbs.” As an architect, Speck has designed numerous buildings across Austin, including the Austin Convention Center. Speck said without the convention center — and downtown Austin’s development in general — festivals like South by Southwest wouldn’t be possible. Without this change, Austin’s modern cultural identity would likely be unrecognizable.  “We’d never have South by Southwest if we didn’t have a good, lively downtown to plug it into. … We wouldn’t have (Austin City Limits Music Festival),” Speck said. “Visitors come to our city because there’s a ‘there’ there.” When the identity of Austin’s ‘golden age’ is as subjective as it is, it loses its meaning. As someone not originally from Austin, I understand the hesitation to accept so-called “transplants.” But Austin isn’t frozen in time, nor does it belong to a particular group of people. Austin is for those who claim it here and now. “My definition of Austinite … is if you love Austin, you’re an Austinite,” Powell said. “That’s if you moved here yesterday, if you’ve been here your entire life, and everything in between.” Mire is a civil engineering sophomore from Mansfield, Texas. 0 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story More to Discover More in Columns Fall romanticization masks Seasonal Affective Disorder It's not AI — it's us Demand receptivity, not perfection Do we really need it, doh? Best set at ACL might be what you didn’t plan Don’t hate the player, hate the game