Assignment:
In the past ten years, there have been so many different kinds of economic projects in Austin, Texas that have caused exponential growth making Austin one of the highest-ranking cities in the country economically. Austin is a very diversified city that prides itself on its individuality and economic status. Recently, Austin has been on the short list for many high-profile businesses to bring campuses to the city which would benefit the city greatly. Companies such as Amazon and Apple were short listed to move to the booming city bringing a magnitude of economic growth as well as opportunities for employment. In 2018, Austin was selected over hundreds of other cities for Apple Inc. the spend $1 billion on a new corporate office that could employ as many as 15,000 people.
The proposal for the new Apple Inc. campus consists of a 133-acre campus which is exceedingly larger than previous campuses that Apple Inc. has used. Prior to this expansion, Apple Inc. already had a campus that employed upwards at 7,000 employees. That number of employees is expected to increase to as many as 15,000 and construction of the campus is expected to begin in 2021. The facility will be built less than a mile from the much smaller already existing campus. The location of the 133-acre campus will be built 12 miles from the center of the city, adjacent to the highway, and will leave 50 acres of free sprawling space meant to inspire employees to commute to work and be more environmentally friendly. Apple Inc.'s proposal to move to the sprawling city did not consist of them asking for multi-million-dollar tax break, but the state of Texas offered the company $25 million in tax incentives contingent on job growth and creation. Williamson County also offered a rebate for 65 percent of its property tax which is equivalent to millions of dollars.
Although bringing Apple Inc. to Austin is expected to bring exponential growth to the economy and work force in the coming years, there are still major concerns. Realtors and investors are already swarming the greater Austin area anticipating the skyrocket of home prices. However, it is also their belief that with the influx of 5,000 to 15,000 Apple employees and the need for housing to be built, supply will go up allowing for more development, more jobs, and more economical growth. The question that arises is whether the Capital City of Austin has enough room and whether or not the already vivacious inhabitants of the city will be negatively impacted. Since the campus has not been built, the effects are unknown, but it is believed that there will have to be an adjustment period for the city to stabilize.
How does the building of Apple Inc. in Austin correlate with casual theory? According to the reading, casual theory consists of two divisions of evaluation. Those divisions are process evaluation which offers an assessment of the work accomplished and impact evaluation which assess the difference that the change had on society. Due to the program development or rather the building of Apple Inc., society is inherently changed, and the city of Austin and its citizens have different goals and objectives that are met. The main point is, that a goal is met by providing work for the community as well as an influx of economic development. The question that arises is whether or not the good of the building Apple Inc. in Austin outweighs the potential increase of cost of real estate and the potential of a demand that cannot be met as quickly as necessary. The reading also states that there must be an emerging of information. As Apple Inc. has not expanded yet and the effects are still unknown, the intended goal must continuously be monitored and must have the ability to change if it does not have the positive outcome intended.
Conclusively, it is believed that the expansion of Apple Inc. will have great benefit for the city of Austin, Texas. There is rising concern about potential negative outcomes, but the state of Texas has voted in favor because it is believed that Apple Inc. is the first of many large companies that would be willing to relocate to the up and coming Capital city. This week, our reading was about goals and what must be done through casual theory to maintain those goals and it is my belief that this economic development will meet those goals even though there will be some initial struggles. I know that I for one am interested in seeing the city boom in the next few years when Apple Inc. has finally completed construction.
References:
Blakely, E. J., & Leigh, N. G. (2017). Planning local economic development theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Holder, S. (2018, December 19). The Problem with Apple's Decision to Go to the Austin Suburbs.
Kendall, J. (2018, December 13). How will the new Apple campus affect Austin real estate?
McDonald, O. M. (1954). Collaborative Stewardship: Analytical Approach for Improving Quality of Life in Communities. Grace House Publishing.