Change in Austin

One thing I would like to see change about Austin is the way that neighborhood organizations think that they speak for everyone in the neighborhood. It is unfair to penalize the rest of one's neighbors who might think differently, and claim that they are "conservative" and "don't know how things ought to be." An example of confused leadership is a group of people who talk repeatedly about cookie-cutter houses. To those people (including myself on occasion), I say this: custom made houses are like custom-made cars, and cost more. These "cookie-cutter" communities are the reason that some low income households are able to afford homes, and live near schools and businesses. As a density advocate, I know that these houses are also the reason why sprawl exists. The problem with looking at everything as if there is an easy answer, though, is that the easy answer usually excludes a large portion of the population.