Increasing Venture Capital in Houston and More

The lead item this week is my guest column at Houston InnovationMap on new 401k investment options that would spur Houston venture capital and innovation, which builds on an idea from an older post of mine here. In a nutshell, it is now possible for Houston employers to offer an option to their employees in their 401k plans that would channel retirement savings into Houston-focused venture capital, which could be a huge boost to the local startup scene. I’m hoping someone like Houston Exponential or the HX Venture Fund will pick up the idea and drive it forward – if you know anyone over there, please forward it!

Moving on to this week’s items:

• Worth: Houston is Becoming the Cultural Capital of the South – With burgeoning arts, cultural, culinary and design scenes, Houston just might be entering its Golden Era. Hat tip to George. Great excerpt:

“It’s an amazing time to be a Houstonian because it doesn’t matter where you’re from. Once you’re here, you’re welcomed—and welcome to make a great life for yourself.”

• Houston was the third-largest construction market in 2020 behind NYC and DFW. Hat tip to Oscar.

• Next time someone argues planes and highways are subsidized like transit, you can tell them just how wrong they are…

• The City Planner’s Guide To Tragedies And Trade-Offs – A new book is full of ideas on housing that progressives and conservatives can both like. A lot of good ideas in here I mostly agree with, with the same caveats as the reviewer.  And Houston is already doing a lot of these, like (effectively) upzoning (via no-zoning), eliminating density limits, low impact fees, and having by-right development. Hat tip to Judah.
• Houston #3 for total minority-owned startups behind NYC and LA.
• This graph of San Francisco vs. Houston housing permits helps explain a big part of our affordability difference in a nutshell. Hat tip to George.

This piece first appeared on Houston Strategies.

Tory Gattis is a Founding Senior Fellow with the Center for Opportunity Urbanism and co-authored the original study with noted urbanist Joel Kotkin and others, creating a city philosophy around upward social mobility for all citizens as an alternative to the popular smart growth, new urbanism, and creative class movements. He is also an editor of the Houston Strategies blog.