《外刊精读》“美国深圳”奥斯汀的崛起

与中国类似，美国也出现了“逃离北上广”的趋势，许多企业和人才纷纷搬离硅谷，去到一个叫奥斯汀的二线城市，崛起速度堪比美国的深圳。这里为什么吸引他们？人才的涌入又带来了哪些问题？一起来听今天的讲解。   英文原文  ‘Startup City’: Accelerated Growth Strains Austin  “创业之城”：加速增长让奥斯汀压力山大  By Elizabeth Findell and Konrad Putzier  A few years ago, some blocks of Austin’s South Congress Avenue featured a castle-themed wax museum and comic book shop, a neighborhood bar with $1 taco deals, an auto shop and, in season, a Santa Claus on horseback.  几年前，在奥斯汀南国会大街上的一些街区，有一家以城堡为主题的蜡像馆和漫画书店，一家花1美元就能买到墨西哥卷饼的街市酒吧，还有一家汽修店。在冬天，街头还会出现一位骑马的圣诞老人。  Then, as at so many other places in Austin, the construction cranes came. Those blocks recently reopened with a strip of modern urban buildings with shops offering national brands from Lululemon to Le Labo perfumes.  后来，这里像奥斯汀的许多其他地方一样，工程起重机开了进来。最近这些街区重新开放，一系列现代化的城市建筑出现在人们面前，各种全国性品牌的店铺鳞次栉比，从Lululemon到Le Labo香水，应有尽有。  Austin is now one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., with a population of about a million, versus 675,000 in 2000. The pandemic also has spurred moves to Austin. Some New Yorkers and San Franciscans, now working remotely, have come for lower rents, great bars and year-round warmth. The arrivals have provided the economy with a boost as local businesses struggle with fallout from the pandemic. But they also are bringing the city more of the same high costs and gridlock they are escaping.  奥斯汀现在是美国发展最快的城市之一，人口达到约100万，而2000年的时候只有67.5万。疫情的蔓延促使人们纷纷迁往奥斯汀，一些远程办公的纽约人和旧金山人也搬到了这里，因为这里房租更低廉，酒吧很不错，而且全年气候暖和。正当本地企业在疫情的余波中挣扎求生时，外来人口的流入提振了当地经济。但新增人口也给这座城市带来了同样高昂的生活成本和拥堵的交通等问题，而这些问题正是他们想要逃离的。  Many longtime Austin residents have struggled to stay in their homes, particularly on the city’s east side, traditionally home to Black and Hispanic families. The area has rapidly sprouted strips of popular bars, apartment complexes and expensively rebuilt houses. Elsewhere in Texas, “you also see neighborhoods that are gentrifying and families that are experiencing displacement amidst that, but what’s unique about Austin is the pace at which it’s occurring,” said Heather Way, a University of Texas professor who grew up nearby and co-wrote a 2018 study on gentrification in the city.  许多奥斯汀的长住居民想要有一个安定住所都很难，城东的居民尤为如此。传统上，奥斯汀东部地区是非裔和西班牙裔人的家园。如今，该地区涌现出很多受欢迎的酒吧、公寓楼房和成本高昂的重建房屋。希瑟·薇是德克萨斯大学的教授，她在这附近长大，曾以共同作者的身份撰写过一份2018年的城市士绅化研究报告。她说：“（在德克萨斯州的其他地方）你也能看到士绅化的社区和因此进行搬迁的家庭，但奥斯汀的情况不同，这里进展的速度太快了。”  Many believe a solution lies in more housing and better transit, saying Austin wasn’t built for what it has become.  许多人认为，这一问题的解决方法在于增加住房供给和改善交通状况。他们认为，按照最初的城市规划，这个发展现状是奥斯汀无法承载的。