Residents of Austin are known as Austinites.They include a diverse mix of government employees, college students, musicians, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers, and a vibrant LGBT community.The city's official slogan promotes Austin as "The Live Music Capital of the World," a reference to the many musicians and live music venues within the city, as well as the long-running PBS TV concert series Austin City Limits.The city also adopted "Silicon Hills" as a nickname in the 1990s due to a rapid influx of technology and development companies. Austin is known as a "clean-air city" for its stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, including restaurants and bars.The FBI ranked Austin as the second-safest major city in the U.S. for the year 2012.U.S. News & World Report named Austin the best place to live in the U.S. in 2017.
"Keep Austin Weird" has been a local motto for years, featured on bumper stickers and T-shirts. This motto has not only been used in promoting Austin's eccentricity and diversity, but is also meant to bolster support of local independent businesses. According to the 2010 book, Weird City, the phrase was begun by a local Austin Community College librarian, Red Wassenich, and his wife." The slogan has been interpreted many ways since its inception, but remains an important symbol for many Austinites who wish to voice concerns over rapid growth and irresponsible development. Austin has a long history of vocal citizen resistance to development projects perceived to degrade the environment, or to threaten the natural and cultural landscapes.