Day 1: Texas Triangle issues, challenges, opportunities
Frederick Steiner and Michael Neuman talked about the strengths and weaknesses of the Texas Triangle from an economic and infrastructure standpoint, as well as the collaboration required to address them. They emphasized that the Texas Triangle must not only promote its urban areas, but it must also protect its rural areas and farmland.
Video will be posted soon.
Frederick Steiner on Reinventing the Texas Triangle (.ppt, 61 MB)
Frederick Steiner, dean of the UT School of Architecture, said that despite common perceptions, the Texas Triangle has a strong tradition of urbanism. He cited San Antonio’s Riverwalk and projects along the Trinity River in Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as along Buffalo Bayou in Houston, as examples of how the area is reviving these urban traditions. At the same time, he said, the vast rural areas in between the major cities must be acknowledged as well. Steiner noted that growth in the Texas Triangle is being driven largely by Hispanic populations, which affects poverty, equity, and educational discussions.
Michael Neuman on a Framework for Future Growth in the Texas Triangle (.ppt, 17.5 MB)
Michael Neuman, coordinator of the Sustainable Urbanism Graduate Certificate at Texas A&M, noted that Texas is projected to grow rapidly in coming decades, and that like California, the state’s growth has exceeded projections during the last half century, so it might add even more people than projected.
The economies of the metropolitan areas are complementary, he said, with very little overlap. This could allow the cities to work together to attract businesses to Texas. However, he warned, the megaregion’s best farmland is under the most intense development pressure.
During the discussion period, Neuman told the audience, “I think that compared to other American megaregions, Texas has a huge competitive advantage, in that the Texas Urban Triangle is all in one state, making investments and policy coordination theoretically much easier. … What we need to do is give priority to existing federal and state funding programs to those who cooperate and plan in a coordinated fashion. You’ll be amazed at how quickly the actors will act accordingly.”
Steiner said that the problem with high-speed rail in Texas is that Houston is not connected under the current federal plan. However, he emphasized that all the high-speed rail plans so far are fictional. At the end of the session, Steiner and Neuman also announced that they were forming the Texas Urban Triangle Research Consortium to tackle some of these issues.