A Vision for Houston’s Future
By James Hill
Background
Over the past century, Houston evolved from a small town along the banks of Buffalo Bayou into a modern economic powerhouse, a metropolitan area with over 4 million inhabitants spread over an eight-county area. Houston boosters tend to attribute our phenomenal growth as a ratification of our can-do, unfettered business climate, but much of our success is due to a number of fortunate circumstances, not the least of which is our great wealth of petrochemical resources.
Most projections of the future indicate that this growth is likely to continue. As a sun-belt city well positioned to take advantage of our proximity to Mexico, our population is projected to grow disproportionately to the rest of the U.S. – by some estimates increasing by 50% over the next 20 years. More growth, more prosperity, the Houston economic juggernaut rolls onward.
So, all is well… or is it? The growth projections mentioned above should give us all pause. Many of the challenges facing Houston today are direct consequences of this uncontrolled growth: traffic congestion, air quality, flooding, sprawl, and the steady erosion of civic involvement and the sense of community. Houston’s image suffered during the last presidential campaign, but the widespread perception of Houston as a relatively undesirable place to live had already been well established. Prior image campaigns and a persistent defensiveness on the part of our business and civic leadership merely serve to confirm this fact.
It is becoming widely apparent that the key to success in the future can no longer be based on a purely economic model. Citizens, particularly the well-educated and highly mobile people that hold the key to future prosperity, are demanding quality of life from their living environments. They favor high amenity “lifestyle centers” that, while difficult to quantify objectively, are easy to identify by observing the relocation patterns of the new economy leaders: Boston, San Francisco, Portland, even Austin.
It is indeed true that Houston compares favorably on a number of quality of life measures, such as museums, theaters, restaurants, and recreational amenities. Our climate is unpleasant in the summer, but the mild winters are a plus. Our ethnic diversity makes us one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the U.S. All that aside, people’s perceptions about a place are based on fairly obvious, pervasive, if sometimes superficial characteristics: our permissive growth has resulted in a car-dominated, physically unattractive environment exacerbated by poor air quality and a sense of visual chaos.
Several critical issues must be addressed to ensure Houston’s continued success in the future:
Growth Management
It is past time to re-assess our attitudes to unlimited growth. While our political climate is not friendly to notions of controls on economic development, there is an increasing realization that unmanaged growth will have a negative impact on our quality of life, which will eventually lead to a less attractive economic climate. We must transition from an “anything goes” attitude to a more deliberate, planned approach. The intent is not to curtail growth, but to guide it in a more coordinated and sustainable fashion.
It is critical that this effort extends beyond the city limits. Indeed, the highest growth areas, and worst offenders in gobbling up open space and contributing to congestion, are outside of Harris County. The metropolitan region must be approached as a comprehensive entity in terms of planning for mobility, flood control, clean air, and development. Houston must become a leader in forging inter-jurisdictional ties and promoting regional cooperation.
Education
A livable city that attracts desirable knowledge industry jobs must also be able to supply well-educated citizens to fill those jobs. While this is not a city government function, Houston can do more to coordinate the curricula of the various school districts, the community colleges, and to involve the business leadership in supporting the public schools.
Ethnic Diversity
As Houston’s population has grown, it has become increasingly multi-ethnic in character; in particular, Hispanics have accounted for a disproportionate amount of the growth in recent years. While the overall numbers indicate a well-balanced, multi-ethnic mix, we remain largely segregated, both physically and by economic stratum. The physical separation is exacerbated by our low-density sprawl pattern of development, which makes it easy to be separated from anyone, even those of similar means and backgrounds. This physical balkanization must be addressed if we are to make effective regional decisions.
Physical Attractiveness
A first-time visitor to Houston is likely to drive from Intercontinental Airport towards downtown via I-45, US-59 or the Hardy toll road. While the character will vary depending on the route, the first impression will be a lasting, albeit negative one. This is a city that cares little about the visual quality of its environment. A lack of development controls, signage standards, coherent planning, or aesthetic sensibility betrays a city that has built its foundation on exploiting the resources of the natural environment.
Peter Brown, AIA
James Hill, AIA
Texas Study - Klineberg
David Crossley, Gulf Coast Institute