Houston Public Radio -  June 5, 2007 

 

Tuesday PM June 5th, 2007


By Ed Mayberry

ouston growth approach lauded by Joel Kotkin in urban report...

Houston is one of five U.S. cities offering the most compelling model for urban greatness, according to a study by Joel Kotkin called “Opportunity Urbanism: An Emerging Paradigm for the 21st Century.” Kotkin says cities like Houston will be successful because they are approaching the future with a mind to providing broad-based opportunities for the masses, rather than simply catering to the elite.

“Many of the cities that had been held as being the hip, cool cities were losing populations, losing jobs.” Ed: “Which cities?” “Well, let’s say Boston, San Francisco—a good start—were relatively stagnant, even through the recovery. And that they were actually losing educated people—net--and particularly younger ones. At the other hand, places like Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta, were gaining quite strongly. So what we think is the predominant lure for educated workers, which is hip, cool inner city life, exists only basically to people in their 30’s. And you know what? Most of us intend to live a lot longer than that, and most of us will probably have to work a lot longer than that. So cities that could not only attract these people but keep them there, or keep attracting people like that, are in very good shape, and Houston right now is in a particularly strong situation because it’s got a very, very strong economy. This is really a kind of greatest opportunity that Houston’s had in 20 years, to really push the envelope to another level.”

The study provides a counterpoint to the current assumptions that focus primarily on luring affluent, well-educated “creative elites” as the key to a successful urban strategy. Kotkin spoke at a Greater Houston Partnership event.

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