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.
The "Be Someone" bridge

My Land Use without Zoning Event, TX #1 for Small Biz, and the Be Someone Sign is Back

by Tory Gattis — I will be one of the speakers at the "Land Use without Zoning: Putting Ideas into Practice" online event, hosted by the Mercatus Center. Understanding how to navigate and remove zoning and land-use regulation barriers allows for a dynamic housing market and paves the way for successful community development efforts.
Industrial scale 3D printing

Transit Tips from Harvard and Japan, Houston Life Science

by Tory Gattis — Transit tips from Harvard and Japan could benefit Houston. Meanwhile, Houston has just been named a Life Science emerging market.
Interstate 45 approaching Houston downtown business district

What Houston Could Lose Because of Harris County’s Anti-NHHIP (IH-45) Lawsuit

by Tory Gattis — Houston could lose because of Harris County's Anti-NHHIP (IH-45) lawsuit; the highway project provides extensive, transformative improvements.
Port of Houston now handles more cargo than Rotterdam

Are We Entering the Distributed Age? Plus Perspectives on Houston Infrastructure

by Tory Gattis — As we enter a distributed age of remote work, Houston's extensive infrastructure and affordable housing position the city for growth.
Winter freeze and power outage in TexasTerry Hammonds, CC 2.0 License

Grid Resilience, Repurposing River Oaks Theater, TX Migration and More

by Tory Gattis — Texas can improve grid reliability without extraordinary costs: treat gas pumps like critical infrastructure during blackouts! This simple paperwork blunder left Texans cold during the deadly freeze.
working remotely in a horse trailer, January 2021

The Future of Remote Work and What it Means for Houston

by Tory Gattis — What does the post-pandemic future of remote work mean for Houston? Is the city likely to benefit from remote work or not?
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.

Regulation of Electric Power in Texas

by Jim Crump — That electricity was tragically unavailable to many Texans during the recent period of extreme cold is driving concerns about current policy and regulation of electricity in Texas.