Posts

Houston skyline at night

‘Be Someone’ City Opportunity Urbanism Event and more

by Tory Gattis — Join us Wednesday evening June 16th: Building a 'Be Someone' City: Houston and the Rise of Opportunity Urbanism. We will discuss how to develop a market-centered, ‘people-oriented’ approach to urban policy, planning, and development.
New construction in Texas

Houston Land Use Event, 2nd in Tech Growth, and Republican Voters Moving to Texas

by Tory Gattis — First, I'll be covering some of Houston's land use and zoning history as well as what other cities can learn from Houston in an online event this Tuesday. Second, demographic information post-pandemic indicates that it may be frustrated Republican (R) voters leaving Democratic states and moving to R states...
Four drivers of Texas' rapid growth

Four Drivers of Texas’ Rapid Growth

by Tory Gattis — Four drivers of Texas' rapid growth: a light touch on zoning, high standard of living, and family friendly housing prices in good school districts make for opportunity cities.
Photo credit: Aerial vies of Irvine, Texas by La Citta Vitta, via Flickr

Texas and Houston Growth Secret, Texas Miracle is More than Oil

by Tory Gattis — Going beyond all the usual reasons given for Texas' high growth, here's the technical overlooked one that I think is a big key: Texas does not allow unincorporated counties to regulate land use (i.e. create zoning), which creates pretty much a totally free market in development just outside cities.
Housing elasticity and prices in 20 fast-growing U.S. metrosMarket Urbanism Report

Texas Startup Manifesto 2.0, Houston housing elasticity, remote work reshaping America, and more

by Tory Gattis — How does the Houston housing market achieve elasticity? Less regulation. The city famously lacks a zoning code, and many of its suburbs are also very pro-growth.
Houston, city of the future

Increasing Venture Capital in Houston and More

by Tory Gattis — Houston employers can now offer an option to their employees in their 401k plans that would channel their retirement savings into Houston-focused venture capital.
Urban developers have a bad reputation; how did that get started?

Houston Ranks 3rd Among Global Cities of Future, Explaining the ‘Evil Developer’ Trope, and more

Houston ranks 3rd among global cities of the future. The Texan city is a reputable talent hub and offers a welcoming business environment.