Austin Implements Housing Reforms to Boost Affordability and Accessibility

City leaders and housing advocates discuss the challenges and progress made in improving housing in Austin.

Mar. 19, 2026 at 1:56am

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In recent years, the city of Austin has implemented a series of land use changes aimed at improving housing affordability and accessibility. These reforms, which include the HOME Initiative, Affordability Unlocked program, elimination of parking requirements, and approval of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) planning, came after a failed attempt to overhaul the city's land development code and in response to a housing crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A coalition of community groups and city leaders worked together to push through these changes, despite facing competing voices and the need for tough conversations.

Why it matters

Austin has struggled with housing affordability and accessibility for years as the city has experienced rapid growth. These land use reforms represent an effort by the city to address these challenges and make housing more attainable for residents, especially lower-income individuals and families.

The details

The key housing reforms implemented in Austin include the HOME Initiative to increase affordable housing, the Affordability Unlocked program to incentivize affordable units, the elimination of parking requirements for new developments, and the approval of the TOD planning strategy to promote transit-oriented growth. These changes were driven by a coalition called AURA, a grassroots urbanist organization, working alongside city leaders like Councilmember Zo Qadri. Qadri noted the importance of engaging the community, having tough conversations, and centering the human impact of policy decisions.

  • In the last few years, the city of Austin has implemented these land use changes.
  • Around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin faced a housing crisis that spurred some of these reforms.
  • The city recently put out a memo outlining efforts to improve the development process and examine rules impacting housing affordability.

The players

Zo Qadri

Austin City Councilmember who has been involved in pushing through the housing reforms.

Felicity Maxwell

Executive Director of HousingWorks Austin and board member of the AURA coalition.

Awais Azhar

Executive Director of Texans for Housing, a group that has advocated for the housing reforms.

Alina Carnahan

Vice President of Advocacy for the Real Estate Council of Texas, representing the real estate industry's perspective.

AURA

A grassroots urbanist organization that has been a driving force behind the housing policy changes in Austin.

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What they’re saying

“There's so many competing voices when it comes to the work that we do at city hall, I think balancing those voices is extremely important. And then I think at times, not everyone's always going to agree with everything.”

— Zo Qadri, Austin City Councilmember

“I think overall, as we look forward, I think we've done a lot of really great work at the council… [but] we always need to make sure that we humanize our policy, right? We need to make sure that we center the work that we do around people.”

— Zo Qadri, Austin City Councilmember

What’s next

Councilmember Qadri said his office is continuing work on parking reform, specifically through a council item that would 'unbundle' parking by removing the cost of parking from the cost of housing.

The takeaway

Austin's housing reforms, driven by a coalition of community groups and city leaders, represent a significant effort to address the city's long-standing challenges with housing affordability and accessibility. While not without difficulties, these changes demonstrate the potential for progress when diverse stakeholders come together to find solutions that prioritize the needs of residents.