00:00Brownsville, Texas was once ranked America's poorest city, with 36% of residents living below
00:05the poverty level. Now it's the heart of Elon Musk's SpaceX empire, and a $75 billion IPO is
00:12about to flood these dusty streets with a new class of millionaires. Since SpaceX arrived in
00:172014, the transformation has been stark. Downtown Brownsville now features French-inspired bistros
00:22catering to some of its more than 3,000 local employees. But for a city that's 94% Latino,
00:28the divide is visible. Longtime residents are being priced out of $300 dinners and watching
00:32their favorite beach fill with cyber trucks and space tourists. The real shock to the system is
00:37real estate. Between 2014 and 2025, median home prices in Cameron County surged 125% to $254,000.
00:46Houses once associated with the drug trade are being snapped up by aerospace engineers.
00:51For locals like artist Becca Hinojosa, the SpaceX effect means rising rents and neighborhoods being
00:56converted into Airbnbs. Mayor John Cowan sees opportunity, citing a proposed $300 billion oil
01:03refinery and an LNG terminal following in Musk's wake. But as SpaceX employees incorporate their own
01:09private city star base, some wonder if the wealth will ever truly reach Brownsville storefronts.
01:14airbnbs.com.
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