An Austin resident who has been documenting the city’s homeless crisis helped develop an AI interactive map to track encampments and communities.
Jamie Hammons, who has been documenting the crisis through DASH Media, provided data to Nomadik, a group that has developed a fully-featured AI map. The map clearly depicts where homeless encampments are concentrated in the city.
AI-powered maps provide a visual representation of where Austin’s homeless population is concentrated. (Nomadic)
Hammons told Fox News Digital that the map “will be a tool that governments and nonprofits can use in the future to predict patterns in homeless communities.”
Nomadik founders Trevor Sorrells and Morgan Winters told Fox News Digital that data on Austin’s homeless population is “fragmentary or non-existent.”
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As a result, they said, “there is a significant lack of understanding of what resources, interventions, and treatments are having an impact.”
“We are applying our geospatial analysis and machine learning skillsets to shine a light on this issue. By drawing attention to the issue, we hope to make it easier for everyone to understand and contribute.”And rightly so,” they said in a joint statement.
The city relocated the campground residents in mid-August. (Jamie Hammons)
The creation of the map comes after the city’s homeless population spiked in 2023. As of January 2023, Austin’s homeless population was just under 2,400 people, according to a point-in-time count by the nonprofit Austin ECHO.
By October, it was estimated that about 6,600 people a day were experiencing homelessness in Austin or Travis County. This number includes both unsheltered homeless people sleeping in tents, cars, and abandoned buildings, as well as sheltered homeless people sleeping in emergency shelters and “temporary housing.”
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“I’ve been saying for a year now that our population is underestimated,” Hammons told FOX News Digital. “It’s outrageous that after spending millions of dollars, the city is now admitting how big the problem has become. It’s time for new policies that work.”
City officials told Fox News Digital that Austin is “focused on homelessness.” A city spokesperson said the city recently completed a review of its homelessness response, which resulted in the creation of an independent homelessness strategy office in December 2023.
Aerial view of the Sturgeon supermoon rising over the downtown Austin, Texas skyline on August 1, 2023. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
A spokesperson said the city is developing future efforts to “ensure that homelessness is rare and does not recur in the short term.”
A spokesperson said the city deems the AI-powered maps “unreliable” because “the source data is not comprehensive and does not take into account factors that contribute to resolving migration and large encampment clusters.” He said that
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“Again, we are focused on homelessness and have invested significant resources in developing strategies to address homelessness,” a city spokesperson said. “We are beginning to see progress and with more permanent supportive housing planned and working with many community partners on this effort, we expect further positive results in the near future. I hope you will.”
FOX News’ Brian Preston contributed to this report.
