Residential districts in Mexico are called "colonias." In Texas, the term is applied to subdivisions in unincorporated areas near the U.S.-Mexico border that have inadequate water and wastewater infrastructures. In 1995 the Texas Water Development Board estimated that 340,000 residents live in 1,436 colonias.
Today, Jorge Chapa--the child peering at the Texas countryside en route to a family reunion in the late 1950s--is a sociologist and demographer with a special interest in Hispanic population issues. At the LBJ School he is one of two professors directing a policy research project on colonia housing and infrastructure.
Soon after the Texas Legislature passed a $450 million colonias water bill in 1989, a variety of state and federal programs were implemented to address some of the problems afflicting the region. These problems included widespread poverty, substandard housing conditions, poor health among residents, and unregulated development.
According to Chapa, the legislation and the programs that followed were a useful first step, but much more is still needed. "A lot of this assistance came in grants, some of it in loans. Unfortunately, it is not enough; it is half of what is needed to solve the problem," he remarked.
Currently, the problems in the colonias are being investigated by the Texas Senate Committee on International Relations, Technology, and Trade. At a meeting of the committee held in Laredo in January, Chapa used data gathered by students in the colonias policy research project to testify.
During the testimony, the project's preliminary findings became the focal point of the hearings. According to Chapa, the most striking finding was that 85 percent of the 350,000 people who live in the colonias are U.S. citizens. "Many people had said explicitly and others assumed . . . that the people who live in the colonias are mostly undocumented workers," he said. "In fact they are mostly U.S. citizens."
Chapa added that since 1977, when the first LBJ School study on the colonias was done, the basic problem has remained the same but involves more people.
By building a demographic profile of the area, the policy research project has helped place the problem of the colonias back on the agenda. "There are those who believe that the state has done enough and that the colonias area is not the only place where poor people living in substandard housing are located," he remarked. "By providing the data, we have told them, 'if you don't do anything, it's going to be worse.' "
LBJ School Professor Robert H. Wilson, who heads the UT Austin Urban Issues Program, agrees with Chapa. According to Wilson, there are two issues facing Texas policymakers: the infrastructure that needs to be built and, more important, the population growth in South Texas that is creating a dearth of affordable housing for low-income people.
"The colonias are a result of inadequate affordable housing in cities. The colonias are symptoms of a broader problem," Wilson said.
But money and political will are not the only ingredients needed to resolve this difficult problem. Since 1989, Chapa has been advising U.S. Census Bureau officials on methodology appropriate for gathering statistics on the colonias.
"When I first made suggestions on how to enumerate the colonias, they asked, 'what are the colonias?'," he related. "At that time I was told that it was too late to incorporate my ideas in the 1990 census, but that maybe they would consider them for the census that would be done in the year 2000. Since then, I have sat on the Census Advisory Board, and they now recognize the problem."
Chapa said that he remains optimistic that efforts such as the work done by this year's policy research project will have a positive impact on the people who live in the colonias. "We are optimistic that the data will be helpful in developing ideas and planning solutions," he commented.
The Study
Strongly interdisciplinary, the policy research project on colonia housing and infrastructure combines the demographic, water engineering, and public affairs resources of the LBJ School and focuses them on poverty-stricken Texas communities in border counties such as Cameron, El Paso, Hidalgo, Starr, and Webb.
Funded by a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant administered by the UT Urban Issues Program, the project involves 14 students and is codirected by Professors Jorge Chapa and David J. Eaton.
Working closely with two other groups--the Texas Low-Income Housing and Information Service and the Texas Interfaith Educational Foundation--the project addresses three major issues: the population and housing characteristics that determine public policy toward the colonias, the costs of planning water and wastewater infrastructures, and the problems with existing water and wastewater programs.
To accomplish its goals, the policy research project is creating a geographic information system (GIS) database containing digitized maps of colonia boundaries and existing and proposed water systems, highways, and roads. The GIS uses original data as well as statistical data from currently published sources, such as demographic and housing statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and geographic information from both the Census Bureau and the Texas Water Development Board.
When combined, the information will be used to assess the population and housing characteristics of colonias, project their population, and assess future housing and infrastructure needs.
"Until you can identify what is happening in clearer terms you can't be in a position of recommending investments of money or policy," said Eaton, who has a background in environmental engineering and has been working with the team dealing with water and wastewater issues.
The computerized maps have allowed the group to obtain an overview of the problem. "With this GIS capability you can evaluate and determine ways you can provide services to these groups," Chapa said. "You can find the cheapest way and you can choose from different alternatives." For example, he said, the GIS maps indicate the characteristics of the population as well as the locations of the nearest source of water and nearest sewage plant.
According to Eaton, the GIS is built from a base map upon which layers of information are placed. Each layer can be graphed as a map, used to produce tables and figures, or used to conduct statistical tests.
"You can use the GIS as a basis for descriptive and statistical analysis. It is a convenient form of organizing and storing information; it is a graphical spreadsheet," he remarked.
Unlike previous studies done by groups outside of the LBJ School, the current policy research project has taken a comprehensive approach to gathering data. Chapa said that in the present study "we were able to get demographic information for almost every colonia."
Funded by UT Austin's Project QUEST, the project will include interactive maps of colonia locations that will permit the user to choose a colonia and retrieve the relevant census information. Photographs of the colonia landscape, housing, infrastructure, and other features will also be included.
"The data on colonias . . . will shape Texas' policy on colonias through the rest of the century," stated Chapa in his proposal to request funding. "Making these data widely available on the WWWeb and graphically illustrating . . . needs (in this region) will reinforce this effect."
Using virtual reality computer software, the Web site will show what the colonias are like. According to Chapa, images will include a panoramic view of El Cenizo, one of the worst colonias in South Texas, as well as photos of the other colonias.
Much of the work involved in placing the information on-line will be done by Chapa's assistant, Lucy Neighbors.
Comments to lbjwmast@uts.cc.utexas.edu