Houston Strategies

No-AC Astrodome ok, Houston winning tech jobs, NZ learns from Houston, funding tech startups, and more

My MetroNext op-ed made a big splash last week and got a ton of positive feedback (very much appreciated everyone).  Numerous smaller items this week:

• On the lack of A/C in the immediate Astrodome renovation plans: It's not as crazy as it sounds.  The primary use is the Rodeo and OTC, both in the spring, so good airflow probably adequate until there is a revenue stream to afford a new A/C system.
• The 15th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2019 (Rating Middle-Income Housing Affordability) has been released (New Geography coverage here and here).  As always, Houston ranks quite well, scoring a 3.7 this year in the ratio of home prices to median incomes.
• The New Zealand government report I was interviewed for on creating more competitive urban land markets down there has been released.  They may potentially adopt something similar to our MUDs.  NZ has a horrendous housing crisis because of lack of development, and hopefully the government will be taking bolder steps to address it through new incentives for private development.  Hat tip to Chris.
• A good option for Houston? One Way to Finance Tech Startups Outside of Superstar Cities
• A great Market Urbanism tweet on Houston:

"The Market Urbanism stance on affordable housing:
Deregulate land. In hot markets, this will lead to rapid construction & price stability. Take Houston: since 2010 it's #2 in population growth, but #1 in permits - maintaining price medians below the US average."

• More from the Market Urbanism Report: Why is Austin the most expensive big city in Texas? Home prices are growing higher and faster in Austin than other Texas cities. The cause is regulation.
• And one more from MUR: Does adding expensive housing help the little guy? According to our analysis, expensive housing helps not only the little guy but every other income group.
• Joel Kotkin discusses how Houston and other affordable cities are actually beating the superstar cities for tech jobs.
• Excited to see the potential for MaX Lanes inside the loop on I10.
• Excerpt from a New Geography piece on CA vs. "wild west" Texas residential densities:

"But it goes much further. Even the metropolitan areas of Texas have comparatively high residential densities, despite their reputation for urban sprawl. A seminal analysis by the Brookings Institution characterized Texas metropolitan areas as having “an unparalleled openness to growth and development.” Indeed, Brookings named the Texas land use category, “Wild Wild Texas,” noting that “Wild Wild Texas presents the closest thing the United States has to land use deregulation.” This reflects the most market oriented land use regulations in the United States, and as every planner seemingly from Adelaide to Berlin seems to have been taught, “Houston has no zoning.” 

In fact, the four largest Texas metropolitan areas, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin each have median lot sizes of from 0.18 acres to 0.25 acres, small or smaller than Philadelphia, Boston or Washington. The market orientation of Texas land and residential development have not resulted in less efficient use of land."

• Vision Zero, a ‘Road Diet’ Fad, Is Proving to Be Deadly: Emergency vehicles get stuck on streets that have been narrowed to promote walking and bicycling.  To be clear, I support Vision Zero efforts when it's about pragmatic accident reduction at problematic intersections, but not when it's a smokescreen for anti-car efforts shrinking roads, reducing speed limits, and adding speed humps.  Excerpt:

"It’s noble to want to make America’s streets as safe as they can be. But government officials shouldn’t impose projects on communities that don’t work, inconvenience residents, hurt businesses and impede emergency responders in the process."

Finally, new County Judge Lina Hidalgo has put out a survey to the public to help set the priorities for her administration. I encourage all my readers to fill it out here.

Labels: affordability, Astrodome, density, development, entrepreneurship, home affordability, land-use regulation, MaX Lanes, mobility strategies, tech

posted by Tory Gattis @ 6:13 PM