What Hawaii can learn from Houston, our tourism niche, metro population racing, and more
Just a few items this week:
Very cool animated "bar race chart" of metro areas adding the most population between 2011 and 2018. As you can see, Houston was #1 much of it while oil boomed and the rest of the country struggled to get out of the 2008 crash. But then the rest of the economy took off, oil faded, and Harvey happened but we're still resilient enough to be #3, just getting edged out by Phoenix as California baby boomers cash out of their inflated houses and retire somewhere much cheaper but with easy access to kids and grandkids they leave behind in CA. Watch NYC, LA, and SF all drop like a rock as they become increasingly unaffordable.
Houston Strategies from 2006 on Chron Wayback machine. As you can see it hasn't changed, lol. My design is sort of stuck, and that's because I have a legacy Blogspot template that can't be upgraded to a newer design without either a lot of work outside my expertise or losing my archive of old posts. Hope you don't mind the old format. I'm kinda assuming the content matters more to my readers than a slick modern design ;-) Hat tip to Rich for the catch.
A proposal for our next "giant leap" beyond the moon: the Solar System Explorer
As we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing this weekend, the Chronicle asked "What’s our next ‘giant leap’ beyond the moon?" That reminded me of an old unpublished op-ed I submitted way back in 2003, but I think it still holds up after all these years. See what you think and let me know in the comments.
A New Mission for NASA
“In Search of a Mission” reads the bold Sunday Chronicle headline, kicking off a six-part in-depth series on NASA after the Columbia tragedy. In search of a mission, indeed. The Columbia disaster has surfaced many reservations about NASA and its $15 billion dollar annual budget, especially about the limited scientific contributions of the manned shuttle and space station programs. NASA seems to have lost its way, and a growing chorus of voices is calling for a renewed vision and reinvigorated leadership.
Some of the more extreme voices – focused purely on maximizing “bang for the buck” science – are calling for a severe curtailing or even elimination of the manned programs in favor of more unmanned robotic missions like the very successful Mars Rover. But no matter how much the economics make sense, most people agree that there is something important and magical about manned exploration of space – a shared passion for simple human exploration that goes beyond the pure science. NASA needs an inspiring vision that recognizes the importance of manned exploration, the value of good science, and the realities of budget constraints.
I believe that long-term vision – that big, audacious goal to motivate the tens of thousands of NASA employees, contractors, and scientists – should be no less than the eventual construction of a Solar System Explorer: a manned ship designed to go on long-range missions to Mars and the moons of Jupiter and beyond. A flexible, modular ship that could perform base-building freight missions to the Moon in addition to its long-range exploration missions – designed to return to Earth orbit again and again and again for refitting and upgrades for the next mission. This would be a ship designed to be built-in orbit and never touch the surface of a planet (although it would certainly carry landing modules). The Solar System Explorer would bring a level of excitement back to the space program not seen since the 1960’s race to the Moon.
Unfortunately, such a ship is well beyond any budget reality that exists today. This is where a short to mid-term vision for NASA comes in: they need to create a “Moore’s Law of Space Travel.” Moore’s Law is named after Gordon Moore, who postulated in 1965 that the price/performance of semiconductor chips would double roughly every 18 months – a prediction that has held up remarkably well ever since to be the dominant driver of our computer and Internet revolutions. Just as Intel has helped drive those improvements through sustained R&D investments, NASA should drive improvements in space travel economics through innovative R&D investments in propulsion and other systems. Just as the NIH gives out grants to test innovative approaches to attacking our most intractable diseases, NASA should administer grants to test a wide range of possible approaches to reducing the costs of space travel. Doubling every 18 months is a bit unrealistic, but even smaller gains can compound over time until the Explorer is financially feasible.
This approach allows NASA to “think big” – so critical to morale and public support – while staying grounded in economic realities: an inspirational mission balanced between head and heart to launch the space program to new heights in the 21st century.
"Notably, cities where incomes grew at the top overlapped very little with those where incomes grew at the bottom. Of the 11 cities where 20th-percentile incomes increased by a statistically significant margin from 2012 to 2013, just two (Jacksonville and Houston) also posted gains at the 95th percentile."
Can somebody explain to me why it's news that low-income individuals can't afford median-price apartments? (which, btw, have on average more than one bedroom, so are really designed to accommodate two or more anyway) Why would you ask if bottom of the bell curve incomes can afford middle of the bell curve rents? Wouldn't it make more sense to see if median-income individuals can afford median-price one-bedroom apartments, and assume that low-incomers are going to be renting the half of apartments below the median? It just seems like a strange mismatch of a comparison to me.
Growth Concentrated in Most Suburbanized Core Cities. "An analysis of the just-released municipal population trends shows that core city growth is centered in the municipalities that have the largest percentage of their population living in suburban (or exurban) neighborhoods." In other words, cities that let their suburbs grow the most also enable their urban core to grow the most.
METRO doesn't do too badly on this chart of how much each transit agency loses/tax-subsidizes per trip. It's a reasonably efficient system, and one that hopefully will get more so when the bus system redesign rolls out in August. We certainly do *much* better than Dallas DART, which sank way too much money into underutilized rail - glad we didn't make (as much of) that mistake. We made a superior strategic choice to use Park-and-Ride HOV buses for long-distance commuting. Hat tip to Mihir.
#1 in college grads and real estate, the new class conflict, in praise of boring suburban cities, and more
A week for clearing out the rapidly growing backlog of smaller items:
Houston is #1 in growth of college grads with a 50% increase since 2000, at least according to the graph in the NYT story here, although you wouldn't know it from the article, which doesn't even mention us. More here, which also points out how much Dallas is lagging in Texas.
The WSJ on the backlash against toll roads in Texas, especially around DFW. I'm a big proponent of toll roads, as they remind people what it really costs to live far out and commute in (as opposed to the illusion of free highways), but I'd also like to see the gas tax indexed for inflation. Texas is falling dangerously behind in infrastructure investment.
Houston and Austin ranked first and second, respectively, topping San Francisco. In similar examples, Charlotte, N.C., ranked higher than Seattle and Boston, while Nashville topped Manhattan. Dallas/Fort Worth ranked No. 5.
“Investors are looking closely at opportunities beyond the core markets,” ULI global CEO Patrick Phillips, said in a statement. “These cities are positioning themselves as highly competitive, in terms of livability, employment offerings, and recreational and cultural amenities.”
GHP's October report has some good notes on our economy, including noting that we've hit a half-trillion dollars in metro area GDP, #4 in the nation, and some new census data.
“Soulless” and “boring” are to some extent judgmental code words for “stuff I don’t like.” Sophisticated urbanites tend to look down on much of suburban life. But I suspect many suburbanites find downtown obsessions – contemporary art, say, or elaborate ways of preparing coffee – equally tedious. Why isn’t their thumbs-down verdict on urban pretentiousness just as valid? …. Those of us who love urban areas’ walkability, variety and novelty often have a tendency to universalise – not to say sacralise – our values and tastes. But in an ever more diverse world, different people are going to have different ideas about the good life. We need to be more tolerant of those who make different choices. (In Arlington you can’t even argue that the car culture is killing the environment, since as Adler notes they’ve focused much more on transit and density than your average place). Some people like stability, predictability, rootedness and a lot of what suburbs have to offer. There’s nothing wrong with that. We frequently fail to recognise that our own personal preferences are in most cases just that. And too often in urbanist discussions, that means white hipster preferences.
“Urban enthusiasts live in a bubble. I don’t care where they are. The reality is that the VAST majority of people like getting in a private air conditioned car, driving to an island of shopping or whatever and finding a parking space closest to where they are going without being bothered by street people. Urban enthusiasts are under the delusion that most people want to walk around in sticky moist air and sit at their desk stinking all day from sweat in order to pretend they live in a city that was built before cars were invented so they can live like the people they envy on t.v. A dense urban environment in the inner city would be a novelty and I’m all for it. Choices are great. Downtown and Midtown are shaping up nicely. The center of Midtown is going to have a very cool buzz going on with all the new infill. The Match, Superblock, Mid-Main development, etc. East side Downtown is going to be a beast and so will Market Square. But as cool as it may be to have a tiny, tiny, microscopic sliver of New York in the center of this city, it is totally unnecessary. Our booms have proven that. The VAST majority don’t have a problem with strip malls, blue glass or driving cars to get where they want to go.The VAST majority stay in Houston because they WANT to live in a suburban environment. Jobs? There are jobs in other cities. No one stays in Houston long if they really hate it. You can’t argue with success. Builders keep building things the way they do in Houston because it works. ‘Quality’ is subjective. Some people think Miley Cyrus is quality. But you can’t argue with ‘quantity.’ Houston is fascinating to people (even the haters) because whatever it is, unlike many of those true centers of urbanity on the east and west coast, Houston IS NOT stagnant. Even in slower economic times, things happen in Houston and it is fun watching it grow.”
Why the Texans should draft Johnny, light rail pros and cons, HTC, and more
Before we get to this week's smaller misc items, my case for why the Texans should draft Johnny Manziel if they feel he's at least in the ballpark of similar potential to the other available quarterbacks in the draft: the Texans are in competition with the Cowboys for the hearts and minds of Texans (citizens, not players). When the WSJ recently had their national county-by-county loyalty map, it was very clear the vast majority of Texas supports the Cowboys more than the Texans. If the Texans want to make progress in that battle, drafting Manziel is a great way to suddenly get every Aggie in the state to start caring about their games, and that's the kind of thing that shifts team loyalties over time. Signing Case Keenum was a similar much smaller nod in that direction for UH alums. I'm not saying they should draft him if they think there's a much better talent they should go after, but if they think it's a tossup or very close between several candidates, he should be their man as a very formidable weapon not just on the field, but in the ongoing mindshare battle with the Cowboys. How's that for a Houston strategy?... ;-)
Moving on:
Atlantic Cities on "Can Houston learn to love light rail?" I think it's a reasonably well-balanced article on the pros and cons, with a fierce debate in the comments, but the concluding paragraph is not very optimistic:
"Wandering this neighborhood, now a ten-minute train ride from downtown, I came across Del's Ice Cream, a small shop one block from a brand-new light rail station. Owner Delfina Torres has a front row seat for Houston's transit experiment, but she has doubts. "Houston is a vehicle town," she says. "They love their cars. It's going to be a long way coming to a city with less driving and more walking." Though it is now a direct light rail trip from her home to the Houston Rodeo, eight miles away, she says she can get there and back faster in her car."
If you can't even attract people with direct point-to-point service, what are the odds with long walks and connections?
Continuing the theme, here's Atlantic Cities on "Have U.S. Light Rail Systems Been Worth the Investment?" The costs and benefits are complex, but the short answer is No. They just didn't increase transit's overall share of trips.
"Houston's rise follows its success in many areas. The city's growth rate led to placement on a list of "super cities" based on economic success. Houston has also placed highly in rankings for best places for young families and best places for graduates to get jobs."
According to this survey and op-ed, overall a majority of people prefer single-family suburban living, but most cities are still not providing enough multi-family housing to meet the demand - mainly because of zoning/building restrictions. Fortunately, Houston does not have such restrictions, and you can certainly see the construction everywhere inside the loop as developers race to meet the surging demand for inner core living. Chalk up another win for no-zoning.
Finally, I was recently given a short tour of the Houston Technology Center by their president, Walter Ulrich. They're doing great work supporting entrepreneurship in Houston, including partnerships with NASA in Clear Lake to build up aerospace entrepreneurship in Houston during tough times at JSC. If you're not a corporate sponsor now, you should seriously consider it. Check out these stats:
"The Houston Technology Center works day in and day out with emerging technology entrepreneurs in energy, life sciences, IT, nanotechnology and NASA related space. The companies that we have worked with have created over 4,500 jobs that generate over $680 million in annual economic activity. They have enjoyed investments and financial transactions in excess of $1.5 billion. A back of the envelope calculation shows that a Gold Sponsor at the upcoming gala Celebration of Entrepreneurs adds $1,670,000 of economic activity and gets to enjoy celebrating with Apache Founder (and WWII Bomber Pilot) Raymond Plank, Nobel laureate Robert Curl, and Houston icons Dr. Red Duke, Dr. Bernard Harris and Morrie Abramson. Some of our largest sponsors contribute $20 million in economic activity thanks to their generosity."
"The energy industry and burgeoning trade with Latin America are powering the Third Coast, combined with a relatively low cost, business-friendly climate. By 2023 its capital–Houston–will be widely acknowledged as America’s next great global city. Many other cities across the Gulf, including New Orleans and Corpus Christi, are also major energy hubs. The Third Coast has a concentration of energy jobs five times the national rate, and those jobs have an average annual salary of $100,000, according to EMSI.
As the area gets wealthier, The Third Coast’s economy will continue to diversify. Houston, which is now the country’s most racially and ethnically diverse metro area, according to a recent Rice study, is home to the world’s largest medical center and has dethroned New York City as the nation’s leading exporter."
A Swiss journalist visited Houston a couple months ago and interviewed me for this piece on Houston where I'm quoted. He informs me it was one of their top 3 most-read stories the day it went up. Google translate will help you get the gist of it, but it's somewhat painful to read the rough translation. It concludes with this confusing line:
"The city's motto could therefore be: Its not slip."
Which the author tells me should really translate more like:
"The city´s motto could therefore be: Being not pretending."
Being not pretending. I like that!
Finally, I thought I'd end the post with a fancy rendering video of the Ellington spaceport proposal. Pretty slick. I hope they can pull it off with a fair economic return on any taxpayer dollars invested. It would be really cool to have a major spaceport here.
The greater Houston area has replaced New York City as the largest goods exporting region of the US, official data have shown, thanks to the energy boom that is reshaping the country’s industrial landscape. ... Mark Muro of the Brookings Institution, a think-tank, said the city’s “increasingly global ethos” was also a factor in its export success.
“Houston has a big airport serving a lot of international flights, and an increasingly international mentality, built up from its global position in energy and the importance of the port,” he said.
About 28 per cent of Houston’s population was born outside the US, putting it in the top 10 of large US cities for foreign-born residents.
In another sign of the region’s international perspective, direct commercial flights from Houston to Beijing began on Thursday, run by Air China.
As well as fossil fuel products, the Houston region also has significant exports of manufactured goods including machinery and electronics.
Although the latest numbers are for goods exports only, the shift away from New York and towards Houston echoes the US economy’s tilt away from financial services and towards energy.
Since the start of the recession at the end of 2007, the New York area has added a net 75,000 jobs, a 0.9 per cent increase, while Houston has added 195,000, a rise of 7.5 per cent.
Charlotte delegation comes to learn from Houston, with extensive Charlotte Observer coverage here, here, and here. It's too bad they didn't spend more time on the value of our no-zoning approach and free market land use policies. Hat tip to Jessie. Excerpts:
Business, political and civic leaders on the Charlotte Chamber’s annual inter-city visit said Friday they came away impressed by how Houstonians think big, and pull together for massive business and public works projects. ... “If you can’t make it in Houston, you can’t make it anywhere,” said Huebner, president of the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council.
The nearly 21 million square feet of office and mixed-use space now in the ECD is expected to swell to 38.4 million square feet within 17 years, according to CDS, a Houston-based marketing research and analysis firm. Three-quarters of the existing space is considered Class A.
Already, 6.5 million square feet of office/mixed-use space is under construction or proposed for the District. A good portion of that is slated along what will soon be the extension of Park Row, a road now being completed by the ECD.
The CDS research report features demographic projections, including a breakdown of where Houston’s engineers live. It also examines current and future parcels, 30-minute drive times, under-construction and proposed buildings – and perhaps the most telling finding, employment forecasts.
Office and retail buildings under construction and proposed, according to CDS, could soon bring 22,000 additional employees to the District, now one of the largest workforce centers along the Gulf Coast. The ECD’s employment base is expected to grow from 84,000 to 147,000 employees by 2030, reports the CDS study.
Better 288 plan, top rankings, NASA JSC Gangnam Style, and more
We've got a big backlog of smaller misc items to kick off the new year with...
HGAC Mobility Now episode on the 288 corridor. I was excited to hear about the two reversible HOT lanes being planned in the median, but disappointed to hear that the long-term plan is four lanes with two lanes each direction, the same as the Katy Freeway. Bi-directional lanes make total sense along the Katy because there are many jobs on the west side in the Energy Corridor and Westchase, so the traffic demand goes both directions during each rush hour. 288, on the other hand, like 290, is very uni-directional: inbound in the mornings and outbound in the evenings. There just aren't that many jobs in Brazoria County pulling people south in the morning and sending them back north in the evening (and the free lanes provide plenty of capacity for those people), so those toll lanes will just sit empty during those times. What a waste of potential capacity. Why not make it like 290, with 3-4 uni-directional reversible lanes?
In a NYT profile, West describes what makes a city more resilient than a corporation, “Think about how powerless a mayor is. They can’t tell people where to live or what to do or who to talk to. Cities can’t be managed, and that’s what keeps them so vibrant. They’re just these insane masses of people, bumping into each other and maybe sharing an idea or two. It’s the freedom of the city that keeps it alive.”
Houston interactive accident hotspot map. Check the types of accident and the year. Then zoom in and out to find hotspots. Interesting stats at the bottom of the page. I was surprised that only 1 in 10,000 accidents involves a fatality. Impressive levels of safety, when you think about it.
That's probably enough for this week. And if you haven't already caught it, this NASA JSC parody of the Gangnam Style video is really well done and has gone viral. They put some real effort into it. I actually added it to my backlog of misc items for the blog before it went viral, but it took me a while to get it posted. My bad.
NYC dominates with 39% of all the nation's transit commuters.
Despite many billions of dollars of federally subsidized rail lines, only NYC and DC have had strong transit share growth since 2000. Light rail focused Portland has been completely flat.
Houston is not in the top 10 for commute times, which is impressive for the 4th largest city in the country.
Brookings has Houston as the #2 best performing metro in the nation. Strangely, I thought DC would be #1 (your deficit dollars at work), but it turned out to be New Orleans. I guess if you get your economy destroyed by a hurricane, your recovery statistics look pretty good. No thanks, I think we're happy with #2.
"...it doesn’t seem like a sign of national health that America’s political capital is suddenly richer than our capitals of manufacturing and technology and finance, or that our leaders are more insulated than ever from the trends buffeting the people they’re supposed to serve."
Rice gets another top ranking, this time #4 in the nation. I may be biased here, but Rice is a truly outstanding asset for Houston, and, IMHO, one of the major differentiators between us and DFW.
"Rice is one of only four schools to receive a top-20 ranking in 25 of 26 attributes. Among national universities, Rice is No. 2 for intellectual development, preparation for career success and value for the cost of education, and No. 5 for college experience and overall assessment. In the category “would recommend to a student,” Rice is No. 6. It’s No. 7 for household net worth and No. 8 for overall happiness. It ranks No. 11 for three attributes – friendship development, likelihood the alumni would choose Rice again and the percentage of alumni giving. Rice’s overall rank among 177 universities (national and liberal arts combined) in the guide is No. 4. ... Last month the Princeton Review’s “The Best 377 Colleges” ranked No.1 for the happiest students in the country for the second year in a row. The 2013 guide also ranked Rice No. 2 for best quality of life, best-run college and students’ love of their school, No. 5 for relations between the city and university and No. 7 for lots of race-class interaction in addition to several other top-20 placements."
The Chronicle recently ran a story on a study being done to de-bottleneck the freeways around downtown, including the idea of a giant one-way roundabout (!). I discussed a much simpler solution at HAIF: elevate 4 or 6 express I45 lanes over the Pierce elevated. They would have no entrances or exits - they would be express-only lanes through downtown. The existing lanes would act to handle all the exiting/entering traffic. I think they could be plugged in to the very long+wide freeway ramps near Scott Street. I don't think they would necessarily solve all of the problems downtown, but it could be an affordable solution that creates massive improvements. As they say, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good - and I think a perfect solution will be unaffordable in today's TXDoT budget realities.
Finally, to end on a humorous note, the awesome xkcd online comic recently posted their notorious "Click and Drag" comic which probably single-handedly measurably reduced national productivity that day. As Wired pointed out, you could spend a very, very long time exploring it. I gave up pretty quickly, but found this great clip out of it online that somebody else found - and it was an all the more impressive find because it was all alone in a gigantic open sky of white space. I have no idea how they found it. But I'm glad they did, because I found it quite amusing. Enjoy:
Today is the 7th anniversary of Houston Strategies. After 947 posts (cream of the crop here), almost half a million visitors, and thousands of comments in an epic dialogue about Houston, I thought this would be a good time stand back, look at the big picture, and ask "What should be next for Houston?" while linking back to some of the gems from that archive.
First, let's look at where we are currently. Our foundation is in great shape. Houston has started the 21st-century with a set of rankings and amenities 99% of the planet’s cities would kill for: a vibrant core with several hundred thousand jobs; a profitable and growing set of major industry clusters (Energy, the Texas Medical Center, the Port); the second-most Fortune 500 headquarters in the country; top-notch museums, festivals, theater, arts and cultural organizations; major league sports and stadiums; a revitalized downtown; astonishing affordability (especially housing); a culture of openness, friendliness, opportunity, and charity (reinforced by Katrina); the most diverse major city in America; a young and growing population (fastest in the country); progressiveness; entrepreneurial energy and optimism; efficient and business-friendly local government; regional unity; a smorgasbord of tasty and inexpensive international restaurants; and tremendous mobility infrastructure (including the freeway and transit networks, railroads, the port, and a set of truly world-class hub airports).
We offer a "best of both worlds" between a big, multi-ethnic, international city with great amenities, culture, and opportunities, while also being affordable and fast-growing with a feeling of community (the "big small town").
With all that, it's really easy to get complacent. In fact, in some ways I think we might be coasting a bit now. But coasting is definitely not how we got here. Big initiatives are a proud tradition here: dredging the original port, founding the Texas Medical Center, establishing the Johnson Space Center, and being the first in the world to build a gigantic, futuristic, multi-purpose domed stadium - just to name a few examples. But what should be next? Where should the world's Energy Capital put its energy, so to speak?
I was recently inspired by the Urbanophile's post on Indianapolis' 40-year economic development and tourism strategy built around sports. Starting with nothing but the Indy 500 they've built a string of wins all the way up to hosting one of the most successful Super Bowls ever last month. We need that same sort of sustained, long-term strategy that goes beyond specific projects to a theme we can weave into everything we do over the decades ahead. We need to take the energy boom we're currently enjoying and invest it to secure our long-term prosperity no matter how technology shifts in the future (most especially energy technology).
In an unpredictable world, the only safe bet is a talent base that can adapt. With the Texas Medical Center, we concentrated health care talent in a district that has grown and adapted into the largest medical concentration in the world with an array of world class facilities. We've done the same on an even larger scale with energy and engineering talent. The next step is to take that strategy and generalize it to focus on being the global capital of applied STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) talent. We need to mobilize the city around a common purpose of building this human infrastructure. We need to embed it into our education, tourism, cultural and economic development strategies. It's just a perfect fit for Houston on so many levels:
It provides metrics we can measure to track our progress, like STEM degrees, jobs, tourists, and students
There seems to be a broad consensus across the community about its importance
Our diverse set of ethnic and national communities means all cultures can be comfortable here, attracting both talented students and foreign subsidiaries from around the globe
In particular, I think we should focus on applied STEM - systems-based problem solving (engineering) over pure knowledge (where we are at a competitive disadvantage with many university clusters around the country). Facilitating man's progress through innovative problem solving.
Building on two of the most famous Houston quotes from the Apollo 13 mission: "Houston, we have a problem" and "Failure is not an option" - the greatest single instance of problem solving in Houston's history.
Part of this strategy includes tourism, articulated in more detail here. We need the big tourism experience of other world class cities, and STEM is a unique niche we can build around, with a primary focus on families, schools, and STEM-related conferences. We already have some of the assets in place - JSC and Space Center Houston, the Natural Science Museum, the Health Museum, the Children's Museum, Moody Gardens - and others with more potential, like the Texas Medical Center. But we need that signature attraction: the world's largest institute/museum of technology. Not just a history-focused museum, but an institute actively involved in the community with a strong focus on the future. Local kids should spend frequent school days and summer camps there on fun and inspiring STEM activities. It could provide educational STEM experiences both online and on-site, helping to attract talented global youth to Houston for amazing experiences that draw them back later for college or after graduation. It should have the world's largest hackerspace. It should be an inspiring space that attracts global academic and professional STEM-related conferences (building on the OTC) - groups trying to solve big problems and contribute to humanity's progress (imagine a Davos or G8 of STEM...). Each conference could leave behind a new exhibit on its subject area, building the collections over time. And since it has the event space, we might as well open it up to festivals to expose more of our community to that same inspiration. Name? Maybe "The National Museum of Technology and Innovation"? We could even get it officially certified by the Smithsonian, which is now allowing national museums outside of DC.
The natural place for such an institute is clearly the Astrodome, our historic icon looking for a second life. We should embrace the Astrodome as Houston's architectural icon like Paris does the Eiffel Tower, New York does the Statue of Liberty or Empire State Building, Rome does the Vatican or Coliseum, and San Francisco does the Golden Gate bridge. It can find a second life as our inspiring cathedral to man's technological progress (along with some fun mixed in - Robot Rodeo anyone?). Most importantly, it has around a million square feet of space. Here's how it compares to other top museums:
But unlike every other museum in the world where exhibits are carved up into a series of halls, almost all of them could be visible in a giant 360-degree panorama while standing on the floor of the Astrodome. How amazing would that space be?
And consider this: at every single Texans home game (and the 2017 Super Bowl!), the national media would be pointing their cameras at the Astrodome STEM museum and talking about Houston's STEM innovation focus and strength. They would have aerial blimp shots talking about it and even doing interior shots of exhibits for their cutaway footage (you know, the short local background videos when they return from commercials). Our national and global identity would get tied to technology and innovation (in addition to the existing identity around energy), and that would help draw talent and jobs.It would be a *huge* reputation and brand builder for the city.
The cost, you ask? Easily in the hundreds of millions. But if LA can come up with $1.2 billion to build the Getty Museum, I have no doubt that Houston can muster the needed resources. It's a tiny fraction of the wealth of Houston's 14 philanthropic billionaires, much less the broader base of wealth in this booming city. We can come together to make this happen before the Astrodome's 50th birthday in 2015, and it can put us on a path to greatness for our bicentennial in 2036 that Houston's and Texas' founding fathers could never have imagined.
We, the citizens of Houston, aren't the types to get complacent and rest on our laurels. That's not the legacy previous generations left us. It's time to step forward and tackle our next great challenge. Are you in?
UPDATE 4/24/22: this could also be integrated with the annual high school FIRST robotic championships which are held every year in Houston and bring thousands of top STEM students here!
Out history New Orleans, Boston, Savannah or Charleston? (or even San Antonio)
See what I mean? People choose vacation locations for specific reasons, and the winners are pretty damn dominant. We're stuck as a local/regional "big city" tourism destination like Chicago is for the midwest and Atlanta is for the southeast, with our share of great museums, restaurants, shopping, and a few attractions - but not enough to pull people from across the country - much less the world - to vacation here.
And here's my new insight that came out of the discussion:
From a marketing analysis, there is an unfilled niche, and here's my articulation of it: parents plan family trips, and they often want to educate their kids as well as have fun. There are plenty of opportunities to do this with history - Colonial Williamsburg, Boston, New Orleans, San Antonio and the Alamo, etc. - not to mention Europe. DC is where you learn about our great country's history and political system. The national parks for learning about nature and the environment. San Diego for every type of animal in the mega-zoo (and SeaWorld for aquatic animals).
But there's bit of a hole in the tourism market when it comes to teaching kids about and inspiring them into STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). On a national level there's the Air and Space Museum in DC and a couple of NASA sites (inc. Houston JSC), but it's pretty limited. On a local level it's pretty small science and children's museums. We could aspire to be one of those "must-do" vacations for all families that want to broadly educate their kids. "A DC/Smithsonian of STEM" might be a way to think of it. Maybe that's one mega-museum, or a collection of medium-sized ones. The Astrodome is a huge opportunity, as is the giant empty field to the south of it and the easy rail connection to our Museum District. And we already have a starting pull with Space Center Houston. Build on that, and we can create a differentiated niche from other tourist destinations.
By creating a very future-oriented, big challenge-focused, STEM-based tech/engi/science museum complex (including energy) as a compliment to NASA, we become one of those destinations families will want to visit for the benefit of their kids. I'm not saying they won't also have some fun when they get here (Kemah, Galveston, shopping, eating, etc.), but the core reason they will add it to their vacation plans will be to inspire their kids into STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) - just like I'm sure plenty of DC trips have inspired kids into public service careers.
The short description would be like the National Air and Space museum (the 2nd most popular museum in the world after Paris' Louvre), but covering a broader range of STEM subject areas and giving not just history, but articulate the big challenges facing those fields going forward. The goal is to not just look backward, but inspire kids to study hard so they can contribute to working on the big problems of the future in their careers. The original vision of Epcot might be another example. Include lots of interactivity and summer camps, with school field trip groups on multi-day visits. It should address the Grand Challenges of Engineering, with maybe a wing for each.
I think most of the museum would be the history of engineering and technology, maybe grouped into themes like "transportation", "computing", "health/medicine" (link to the world's largest medical center, anyone?), "energy", etc. but then shifting at the end of their timelines to broad, long-term challenges. The goal is for the kid to get swept up in the great people and innovations of the past and then get them excited about being contributors to future progress.
I wonder if a better name might be "The Museum of Progress", showing how human civilization has advanced with science, engineering, and technology and the great challenges we face going forward.
Definitely take some time to browse the thread - there are some good ideas and graphics from others in there. And I'd love to hear your thoughts on the strategy, the specific museum concept, and potential names in the comments. And if you're one of Houston's political or financial power-players interested in supporting something like this, please drop me an email (tgattis (at) pdq.net).
Best : #2 in cost of owning business space, entrepreneurial environment and life satisfaction, #3 in commute time and cost of living
Worst : Last in foreign job-creating investment and international tourists
Details: Houstonians love Houston. So do US business owners. The rest of the world ... not so much. With lax zoning laws and plentiful space, Houston's low cost of living and doing business is a dream for American businesses and middle class workers, but the rest of the world pretends as though the city doesn't exist. The city has fewer international tourists than any other comparable global city.
That sparked an interesting debate started over at HAIF on how to improve Houston's tourism, especially for foreign visitors. This has always been a tough issue for Houston. We just don't get tourism proportionate to our global economic standing, and out-of-sight is out-of-mind. But what would a realistic strategy possibly be?
Out family-fun Orlando?
Out weather California?
Out beach Florida or Hawaii?
Out culture New York?
Out museum DC or New York?
Out gamble/adult-fun Las Vegas? (or South Beach?)
Out ski Denver or Salt Lake City?
Out history New Orleans, Boston, Savannah or Charleston? (or even San Antonio)
See what I mean? People choose vacation locations for specific reasons, and the winners are pretty damn dominant. We're stuck as a local/regional "big city" tourism destination like Chicago is for the midwest and Atlanta is for the southeast, with our share of great museums, restaurants, shopping, and a few attractions - but not enough to pull people from across the country - much less the world - to vacation here. Our one niche exception - something with some global pull - has been NASA JSC and Space Center Houston, but who knows what the future is there.
Here's a long-shot proposal I made a few years ago on this blog, one that would build on the NASA niche:
Finally, Houston needs to upgrade its tourism experience. All great, world-class cities offer a compelling tourism experience, even if only for a short trip. Even with NASA, the Galleria, and solid museum and theater districts, this has been one of Houston’s most glaring weaknesses, and one that has kept us off the radar for educated, well-traveled professionals. Again, the light rail network and some vibrant pedestrian districts will help greatly, but we really need one powerful, anchor “mega-attraction” that will actually draw people to Houston for at least a long weekend. One niche where I think Houston could be distinctive would be the world’s largest engineering and technology museum – something along the lines of DC’sNational Air & Space Museum, Munich’sDeutsches Museum, and Chicago’sMuseum of Science and Industry. It could even be one of the Smithsonian’s network of National Museums, which have started to move out beyond Washington DC (Design in NYC, Industrial History planned for Pittsburgh). Think of it as Houston’s version of Paris’ Louvre or London’s British Museum. The combination with Space Center Houston could create a national draw, not to mention a wonderful source of educational and career inspiration for our youth. As far as sites, 109 acres just became available at the end of the light rail line with the closing of Astroworld – not to mention the old Astrodome - both easily accessible to downtown and Reliant Park conventioneers. Any well-heeled philanthropists out there?
Done on a large enough scale, I could see it attracting not just the usual tourists, but multi-day student group field trips from all over like Space Camp does in Huntsville or the Smithsonian complex in DC - inspiring a new generation of scientists and engineers. It should not just focus on history, but articulate the great engineering and technology challenges we face going forward. It would be a big, bold, expensive gamble - but could be just the ticket to move us up to the next level in tourism and international recognition.
Not surprisingly, there has been much gnashing of teeth about Houston being denied a retired space shuttle to exhibit. And as a Houstonian, I'm certainly disappointed. But let's step back a bit and understand the logic of the decision and even the upsides for Houston.
First, and most obvious, Space Center Houston won't have to spend the required tens of millions of dollars to exhibit the shuttle, which would have certainly boosted ticket prices and possibly even cut attendance by price-sensitive families.
Second, Space Center Houston already has a complete mock-up of the cockpit and nose of the shuttle, and JSC has a mock-up of the entire shuttle that I believe is part of the tour. I accept that's not the same as a complete, real one, but if kids (and adults) want to learn about the shuttle, we're certainly not lacking of exhibits in that department.
Third, would the boost to tourism really be all that large? If people are interested in space, they're going to visit Space Center Houston - even if only to see an awe-inspiring Saturn V rocket. I can't imagine many people blowing it off simply because it lacks a full-size, real, retired space shuttle. The whole, comprehensive package of exhibits is an impressive draw as-is. On the margins, people will choose to either visit SCH or not, and a space shuttle - or lack thereof - won't change the decision.
Fourth, let's not forget that the most important thing that NASA - and therefore JSC and Houston - needs is public support. If the citizens don't support it, it's not going to get the resources it needs to survive and thrive, and that support has been flagging in recent years. We need these shuttles to be exposed to the absolute maximum number of people possible, including the next generation of kids. NYC, DC, LA, and Florida do that (and they are willing to spend big money on spectacular displays). NYC and LA are the two largest metros in the country (by far), and will attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from both coasts and across the country. The DC Smithsonian is a no-brainer, and will generate huge exposure. And while the Midwest is complaining loudly about not getting one, let's face it: almost everybody in the Midwest goes to Florida on a regular basis every winter. If they want a chance to see a shuttle, they're certainly going to get it. And let's get realistic ourselves: most of the citizens of this country are going to visit NYC, LA, DC, or Florida long before they ever put Houston in their vacation plans. We're a great city, but let's not fool ourselves that we're a national tourist destination (but at least we're not Dayton, Ohio! ;-)
Yes, it's still a bit disappointing. But viewed in context, it's just not that big of a deal, and could even yield some long-term benefits for NASA, JSC, and Houston. And isn't that what we all really care about?
HSR, TX growth, help bring a Space Shuttle to Houston, and more
Another week to clear out some smaller items:
High-Speed-Rail Costs Irk States - WSJ.com (good map here too, including the absurd exclusion of the Texas Triangle). This cracks me up. The Federal govt offers free money for high-speed rail, and they get a $108 billion in applications. All of a sudden they ask states to chip in 20%, and the requests drop to $8.5 billion. What, put our own money into boondoggles? That's for the federal government. We have real priorities we need to spend money on. This brings up a good approach for increasing the efficiency of government funding, though. When Congress creates pools of money like this, it should be prioritized by the amount the state matches: the higher the percentage of state match, the more likely it's a good project that's really worth the money, and the higher priority that project should get for funding.
Houston ranked No. 1 in the nation in job growth over past 5 years, just ahead of Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places respectively. Texas is definitely faring better than the rest of the country (although by no means fully healthy or booming - just suffering less).
Tyler Cowan at the NY Times on the cost of providing free parking. I think dynamic market pricing for street parking makes a lot of sense, but it's less practical and applicable to other parking spaces for the same reasons we don't toll all roads: the expense and hassle factor. And then there's the free rider problem as people use nearby free spaces (commercial or residential) to avoid paying for parking. Hat tip to Brian.
Caterpillar to Build Excavator Plant in Texas - WSJ.com. A big win for Houston (well, technically Victoria). 500 new good paying manufacturing jobs. Too bad they didn't pick Sealy, since that military vehicle factory is about to lay off hundreds as the contract moves to Wisconsin.
"Based on our comprehensive review of possible locations, Victoria's proximity to our supply base, access to ports and other transportation, as well as the positive business climate in Texas, made this the ideal site for this project," Gary Stampanato, Caterpillar vice president for excavators, said in a statement.
...
The Victoria plant is Caterpillar's second major recent investment in Texas. The company moved its engine-manufacturing operations to a new plant near San Antonio early this year from Illinois.
Finally, a plea to help support Houston, and it'll only take a minute of your time:
Help Bring a Space Shuttle to Houston!
When NASA retires the Space Shuttles next year the three orbiters will be decommissioned and placed on permanent display at selected museums or science centers across the United States. The competition is stiff. We know that one will go to the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar Hazy Center thereby leaving only two vehicles for the more than 15 locations, including Space Center Houston, that are vying for an Orbiter. Time is of the essence; your help influencing key decision makers is immediately needed. You can support Space Center Houston’s acquisition initiative by visiting www.bringtheshuttlehome.com . Here, you can send a letter to your congressmen, senators and President Barack Obama urging them to select Space Center Houston to receive a retired Space Shuttle. Let them know, the right home for one of these orbiters is the very epicenter of human spaceflight – Houston, Texas. Let all of your friends and family know about Space Center Houston's effort. Letters from outside of Houston are very important too. It shows that there is broad support for the effort. We expect the decision to be made very soon so please send your letters today.
Tripling the value of the Clear Lake Metro Park-and-Ride
I know I've been a little thin on new content recently, something I hope to rectify soon. In the meantime, here is a small new 'strategy' for Houston Metro: move the Clear Lake P&R lot from Bay Area Blvd. to the Space Center Houston parking lots.
Here are the benefits:
Express commuter buses could now carry passengers both ways with NASA employees and contractors that live up in Houston doing the reverse commute. They could walk to the NASA campus easily from Space Center Houston (or even take the Rocket Park trams).
Tourists to Houston would be able to access our #1 attraction with a single express bus ride to/from downtown (or maybe even Uptown and/or TMC). This is especially helpful to convention and business travelers that may not rent a car. And the increase in tourism traffic may also be incentive for Space Center Houston to offer the use of the lot to Metro at substantially discounted or even free rates.
You may have seen the recent commentary in the Chronicle defending Houston against criticism from Outside magazine (great HAIF response: "This just in: RVing magazine rates Manhattan poorly!", or my own version, "Boating magazine disses Albuquerque.") Christopher Dentler sent me an email we agreed would be worth sharing on the blog:
First off, I want to mention that the article is a thin skinned response to a legitimate criticism (we are a flat, sprawling and hot and not exactly an “out doorsy” city).But most importantly I want to comment on Houston’s national rep, which I know is a discussion that has been done to death.But I’m a relatively recent transplant (4 years) and haven’t had the chance to really discuss this anyone.
If there’s one thing I’ve noticed since living here is that Houstonians only have themselves to blame for the city’s bad reputation.They are positively the WORST ambassadors any city has ever had.You have a diverse, cosmopolitan, laid back and in many areas, hip city.But are most Houstonians even aware?Do many Houstonians even care?When I first moved to this city from Austin I lived in midtown/Montrose and worked out near Harwin and the Beltway.I was struck with how interesting and eclectic the city was.There is always a new neighborhood to discover, a new restaurant to eat at and an interesting person to talk to.I had fun exploring my new city and enjoyed showing it off to friends from Austin, Boston, San Fran, LA – all of whom were struck by how “cool” this town actually could be.
But as the years went on I was shocked at how little many Houstonians knew about their own city.I had a coworker tell me he wanted to live in another town because Houston wasn’t that interesting to him.This coworker lives, like many Houstonians do, on the outer fringes of the city (which I don’t consider Houston, but that’s beside the point).I mentioned that I found Montrose to be a very vibrant area and asked how often he explored that part of town.And his response was, and I still have trouble coming to grips with this, “Montrose?What’s that?”- and therein lies Houston’s problem.
When these people move, or visit other cities, they describe Houston as boring and soulless.When a relative visits from out of town, or when a coworker is here on business they may take them down a bland freeway to the Galleria or a sporting event (both things I love, but nothing unique), but otherwise it’s back to the suburbs by dinner.How do you expect to establish a great reputation if you’re showing people the same crap they could find anywhere.
Bottom line, I think Houston needs to work on improving its reputation with its own citizens before it starts trying to impress the world.It’s not a town for everyone.
And my response:
I saw that article, and I thought it was a good defense. I absolutely agree Houston has a problem here. We are a great city to live in. Surveys show very high satisfaction among people that live here a while. And I hear tons of people leave and then wish they could get back. The problem is that what makes us great is subtle. It's not easy to articulate. Very intangible.
Part of that comes from not having one district that represents Houston like you find in most other cities (NOLA: French Quarter; Austin: 6th street, downtown, Zilker; San Antonio: Riverwalk; Miami: South Beach, Chicago: downtown; etc.). NYC, LA, and SF don't really have a single defining district, but are so overexposed in TV and movies that people "get" those cities. We also don't have defining natural features, like Denver's mountains or Seattle or Portland's forests.
The lack of a clear district, distinct geography, or much media exposure not only makes it really hard for short-term visitors to appreciate the city, it makes it hard for locals to point to and articulate what makes it great (and why it's worth all the downsides, like heat, hurricanes, and traffic). It's some mix of diversity, eclecticism (driven by a lack of zoning), restaurants, opportunity, entrepreneurialism, openness, friendliness, tolerance, charity, and affordability (I think we have the highest standard of living among major world metros, in terms of how well the median salary lives here) - but there's no easy way to sum up that list or convey it to people. This is why I have continuously struggled with Houston's identity on my blog.
If we can define that identity clearly, we can then convey it to both locals and outsiders.
Another problem that prevents that identity formation: the city has delegated our branding to GHCVB. Their mission is to attract tourists, so they build our brand around that - when what makes Houston great really has nothing to do with tourism.
I'd like to hear your thoughts in the comments. And if you wanted to spend an afternoon showing a visitor what made Houston special, where would you take them? (including restaurants)
On an unrelated final note: the presidential commission on the future of NASA just released a document with the final options they are evaluating. What they report - and what the President decides - will have a big impact on Houston in the years to come. Final deliberations Wednesday afternoon are watchable on the web on NASA TV.
An open dialogue on serious strategies for making Houston a better city, as well as a coalition-builder to make them happen. All comments, email, and support welcome.
