1928: The City of Austin Plan

In 1927 the Austin City Council engaged the services of Dallas/Fort Worth-area urban planning and consulting firm, Koch and Fowler, to produce the city’s first municipal plan and zoning map. The work of Koch and Fowler resulted in the City Plan of 1928 and is the legal basis for the establishment of East Austin as a Negro District. Blacks, and later Hispanics, were moved to East Austin because it was the only area in which they could receive city services, such as water and electricity.

The City Plan sometimes referred to as the ‘negro plan’ specified development of parks, schools and other facilities within roughly a six-mile area and incentivized the displacement with city-funded programs. The area designated was across East Avenue, which is now I-35. This document began nearly a century of disenfranchisement of lawful citizens that still echoes today.