Posted on May 26, 2010 | Tagged in: people , lifestyle , Houston , economy , community , business
Do cities have a future? Pessimists point to industrial-era holdovers like Detroit and Cleveland. Urban boosters point to dense, expensive cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco. Yet if you want to see successful 21st-century urbanism, hop on down to Houston and the Lone Star State.
You won't be alone: Last year Houston added 141,000 residents, more than any region in the U.S. save the city's similarly sprawling rival, Dallas-Fort Worth. Over the past decade Houston's population has grown by 24%--five times the rate of San Francisco, Boston and New York. In that time it has attracted 244,000 new residents from other parts of the U.S., while older cities experienced high rates of out-migration. It is even catching up on foreign immigration, enjoying a rate comparable with New York's and roughly 50% higher than that of Boston or Chicago.
So what does Houston have that these other cities lack? Opportunity. Between 2000 and 2009 Houston's employment grew by 260,000. Greater New York City--with nearly three times the population of Houston--has added only 96,000 jobs. The Chicago area has lost 258,000 jobs, San Francisco 217,000, Los Angeles 168,000 and Boston 100,004.
Politicians in big cities talk about jobs, but by keeping taxes, fees and regulatory barriers high they discourage the creation of jobs, at least in the private sector. A business in San Francisco or Los Angeles never knows what bizarre new cost will be imposed by city hall. In New York or Boston you can thrive as a nonprofit executive, high-end consultant or financier, but if you are the owner of a business that wants to grow you're out of luck.
Houston, however, has kept the cost of government low while investing in ports, airports, roads, transit and schools. A person or business moving there gets an immediate raise through lower taxes and cheaper real estate. Houston just works better at nurturing jobs.
Posted on Oct 23, 2009 | Tagged in: people
On October 31st HoustonWorks USA, a nonprofit organization who focuses on job placement, is awarding former Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire the Founder Award as a recognition of her assistance with continuing education and vocational training for displaced workers.
Whitmire will receive the award during HoustonWorks USAs 25th anniversary gala. Dan Rather will serve as master of ceremonies.
"Back in 1984, the idea was to combine public and private resources to create an organization that would be responsive to the needs of the business community by providing a place where unemployed or under-employed people could go to seek training and job placement," said Whitmire. She also added that "While it will always be a job training and placement organization, it has and continues to expand into a human services organization with more youth programs, scholarships, internships and now disaster relief. It is amazing what can happen when you have the entire community’s support."
Congratulations go to Whitmire, who served as mayor of Houston from 1982 to 1991.
