San Antonio ranks as the third poorest among the top 25 largest U.S. metro areas, behind only Houston and Detroit,<\/a> according to the latest U.S. census. In 1980, 20 percent of residents lived below the poverty rate. Today it hovers around 17 percent, higher than the state or national averages, said Monica Cruz, a special research associate with the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.<\/p>\n San Antonio\u2019s economic woes are tied to longstanding societal setbacks that have gone unresolved by past administrations, critics say. Those setbacks include a reliance on low-wage workers; low rates of higher education; and limited access to homeownership, one of the most common ways to amass generational wealth.<\/p>\n Rogelio S\u00e1enz, a professor of sociology and demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said the region\u2019s poor neighborhoods had struggled to recover from redlining, a Depression-era practice in which federal housing policies and lenders labeled Black and brown neighborhoods as too risky for investments.<\/p>\n The practice was formalized through color-coded maps that shaped where banks issued loans, creating pockets of deep poverty and racial and economic segregation in the process, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t have the financial means to be able to purchase your home, you never build that wealth up from owning a home, and then you don\u2019t pass that on to your children,\u201d Mr. S\u00e1enz said. \u201cYou see the unequal funding of education. You continue to see the inequality taking place.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1968, a CBS documentary titled \u201cHunger in America<\/a>\u201d shocked the nation through its depictions of extreme poverty in four corners of the nation, including the west side of San Antonio, which is known today for its taquerias, small stores known as tienditas, and murals of the Virgin of Guadalupe and folklore singers who reflect the neighborhood\u2019s Mexican American history.<\/p>\n Nearly six decades later, Kayla Miranda, 45, a housing activist and a mother of four children, two of whom are autistic, said the community remained stuck in a persistent pattern of poverty because of a legacy of discriminatory policies that had deprived low-income neighborhoods of investments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe money goes to millionaires and billionaires instead of giving money to extremely low income,\u201d Ms. Miranda said. \u201cA lot of people here are a car breakdown or health emergency away from becoming homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Miranda said she became stuck in this cycle after a death in the family and the temporary deportation of her children\u2019s father forced her home into foreclosure. She became homeless for a year and a half. She has since rebounded and now lives in public housing where she cares for her two disabled sons full-time.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t hold a normal job because I have to take care of my sons,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is this horrible stigma that people have that you are poor because you want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she hoped the city would address the longstanding failures that had left families like hers struggling. \u201cThe mayor and the council inherited this problem,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was passed down to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Former mayors of San Antonio like Juli\u00e1n Castro, who served from 2009 to 2014, and Ron Nirenberg, who left office last year after four two-year terms, said they had enacted policies that were aimed at tackling systemic poverty, knowing they would not see all of the outcomes during their tenures.<\/p>\n Mr. Castro championed a prekindergarten education program, tax breaks to incentivize the construction of new homes and jobs in renewable energies.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has been significant progress in the last couple of decades in diversifying the local economy, increasing the number of good-paying jobs,\u201d Mr. Castro said. \u201cBut there\u2019s still a lot of work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Nirenberg, who is running for county judge in Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, said he was playing the long game. While in office, he worked to support economic initiatives for early and college education, access to health care and affordable housing.<\/p>\n If he were elected as county judge, a role similar to the mayor\u2019s at the county level, Mr. Nirenberg said he planned to work with Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones<\/a>, who was sworn in less than a year ago, to see his old policies through.<\/p>\n In an interview with The New York Times, Ms. Jones said she was working to expand affordable housing away from decaying public housing and attract large companies in the artificial intelligence space, biotechnology and other industries to San Antonio. She recently led a delegation to Taiwan to urge businesses to invest in San Antonio.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I have found in speaking with companies is, they know Austin, they know Houston, they know Dallas, but they don\u2019t know San Antonio as well,\u201d she said. \u201cI think we have to be much more aggressive in our economic development outreach. If they don\u2019t know about us, then we\u2019ll go there and share our story.\u201d<\/p>\n One person familiar with San Antonio\u2019s story was Ricardo Martinez, 46, a real estate agent from Austin who moved to the city during the pandemic in search of a home for him and his husband.<\/p>\n \u201cWe couldn\u2019t find anything within our price range in Austin that wasn\u2019t another condo,\u201d Mr. Martinez said.<\/p>\n They couple found a 2,000-square-foot home for about $300,000.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Austin, that would have gotten us a closet,\u201d he said. \u201cSan Antonio is a lot more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n The affordability that has attracted newcomers has not eased concerns about whether the city\u2019s growth will translate into meaningful gains for its poorest residents.<\/p>\n Letty Sanchez, a prominent community activist and chair of the Historic Westside Residents Association, said she was disappointed to see some of the city\u2019s new ventures move downtown and to other wealthier neighborhoods. Even though voters narrowly approved a proposition for an expansive sports and entertainment area known as Project Marvel<\/a> during the March primaries, Ms. Sanchez said most of the jobs generated from the project were likely to be in concessions, restaurants and retail.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t help to lift people out of poverty,\u201d Ms. Sanchez said. \u201cIt is not a living wage.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Cruz, the grandmother who cleans homes, said she was unsure if she would see a prosperous San Antonio in her lifetime.<\/p>\n On that day in April, she knocked on the door of the house she was cleaning and was greeted with concern by her employer of many years, someone she considers part of the family, who noticed her cane and her limping.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you OK?\u201d the homeowner asked. \u201cAre you able to work today?\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Cruz dismissed her concerns with a smile and quickly picked up a rag to start wiping a dresser by the door.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t afford not to work, even if my foot hurts,\u201d Mr. Cruz said moments later. She had hurt herself on a rock while walking a dog.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bills don\u2019t care if you are in pain,\u201d she added with a bittersweet chuckle.<\/p>\n
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