West Side the measure of San Antonio’s future

San Antonio is among the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. It’s also learning how to grow and develop, as is the case in construction — for streets, homes and overall infrastructure provisioning. This is true in every neighborhood, including those on the West Side.

The West Side comprises 15 square miles that 103,000 people and 39,000 families call home. It is home to Our Lady of the Lake University, where I serve as president. There are 2,500 small businesses here generating hundreds of jobs.

The West Side ZIP codes are experiencing sharp increases in home prices, with 78207 topping the list at 51 percent. This ZIP code represents socioeconomic and infrastructure needs on the West Side. In 2021, for example, the median annual household income among 78207 West Side residents was reported at $26,650, compared with $55,084 for San Antonio, $62,169 for Bexar County and $67,321 for Texas.

Health outcomes and risks are higher among lower-income and minority communities, partly due to a lack of infrastructure: sparse multimodal transportation, limited sidewalks and minimal open spaces. These infrastructure needs are coupled with a lack of access to health care and healthful food options.

As the president of OLLU, I must call attention to these ground-level challenges.

The West Side’s built infrastructure is some of the city’s oldest. We lack the spaces that other parts of our community boast, such as modern classrooms and laboratories. The 2022 Bexar County Community Health Needs Assessment estimated that 78207 has the city’s lowest access to computers and broadband, which affects education, entrepreneurship and livelihoods. Lastly, the West Side is the lowest in San Antonio in the number of adults with an associate degree or higher.

These indicators provide direction for the work ahead. I appreciate those initiatives that convene multiple stakeholders to address our community’s pressing needs. Case in point: the city’s $200 million voter-approved Ready to Work program, which holds the promise of boosting incomes in 78207.

Think of a chain. While our beloved West Side possesses a wealth of assets — strong links in the chain — it has carried too many vulnerable links in its built infrastructure. This is a neighborhood whose cultural and ethnic fabric reflects our country’s future. As the West Side goes, so goes our city and, arguably, our country.

I have met many of our community’s leaders, who give me confidence we can collaborate to ensure the future the West Side — and, yes, America — will be invested in so people can thrive and grow. Let’s discuss the holistic approaches around these infrastructure needs. I offer our campus as the place to come together to chart a vibrant path forward that appreciates and respects our community’s beauty, stories, culture and history. I also offer our campus as a thought leader and willing participant invested in the future of our West Side, our city and our nation.

Our Lady of the Lake University has been the heart of the West Side for more than 125 years and is one of the area’s largest employers. Could it be that as Our Lady of the Lake University and the West Side go, so goes San Antonio and so goes the country?