Austin’s first-ever community displacement prevention officer, Nefertitti Jackmon (Photo by John Anderson)
When Austin voters approved financing for the Project Connect transit plan in November 2020, they created along with it a $300 million anti-displacement fund, aiming to offset the increase in housing costs expected along the corridors served by new rail and rapid bus routes. While that investment makes up a small slice of that $7.1 billion pie, it s the largest program of its kind to be launched in the U.S., and it nearly doubles the amount of city tax dollars that voters have approved for affordable housing.
As the city s first community displacement prevention officer, Nefertitti Jackmon will have the task of overseeing that fund. She describes the opportunity as equally exciting as it is daunting. Indeed, the fund will be closely monitored not just locally, but also nationally because of its unprecedented scope. Jackmon was encouraged by the vote and s