Books, book chapters
Anielski, Mark. The Economics of Happiness. New Society Publishers, 2007.
Kravitz, David A. and Stephen L. Klineberg. “Predicting Affirmative Action Attitudes: Interactions of the Effects of Individual Differences with the Strength of the Affirmative Action Plan,” In Research in the Sociology of Work, Volume 14: Diversity in the Work Force, edited by Nancy DiTomaso and Corinne Post. JAI Press/Elsevier Science: Amsterdam, pp. 107-130, 2004.
The University of Texas School of Architecture Center for Sustainable Development recently published a report on the Texas Triangle Megaregion. The report describes the history of the megaregion as well as each major city, then presents analysis of key questions for the megaregion.
§ Read the rest of this entry…
Here are perspectives on the Texas Triangle from each of the corners – Dallas/Ft Worth, Houston, San Antonio. The maps were made by the Regional Plan Association and America 2050.
§ Read the rest of this entry…
Regional councils, or councils of governments (COGs) are voluntary associations of local governments formed under Texas law. These associations deal with the problems and planning needs that cross the boundaries of individual local governments or that require regional attention.There are 11 COGs in the Texas Triangle.
Founded to address the growth in the 5-county Central Texas region including the state capitol in Austin, Envision Central Texas has been working since 2002 for smart growth alternatives, keeping the region’s residents in mind as it does so.
§ Read the rest of this entry…
The Houston-Galveston Area Council, widely known as H-GAC, is the Houston area Council of Governments that addresses the public, economic, and environmental concerns of the 13-county Houston region. It includes the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) that addresses transportation issues for the central 8-county region.
Behind many of these concerns is the growth issue. H-GAC addresses this issue by promoting “orderly development” as the region continues to grow. H-GAC is comprised of and works closely with local governments and their elected officials, which allows all counties and cities to voice their concerns. As a partner for the Megaregions + MetroProsperity conference, H-GAC’s support will allow the conference to consider the view of the Texas local governments as well as those members of the 13-county H-GAC community.
To learn more about the Houston-Galveston Area Council and its initiatives, please visit the H-GAC website.
Megaregion and MetroProsperity conference co-host, America 2050, is a national initiative to bring about change in the approach to urban design to encompass a new global reality where most economic activity is clustered in megaregions. As megaregions continue to grow, America 2050 is addressing the issues involved for each region. In every megaregion, the pressure on the infrastructure, economy, and environment will ultimately grow beyond repair if the megaregions do not work with each other and the government to address the issues at hand. As the population of America is expected to increase immensely by 2050, America 2050 is preparing the country’s megaregions to handle this growth in a smart and sustainable way.
To learn more about America 2050 and its initiatives (including the Megaregion project), please visit the America 2050 website.
Vision North Texas is working in the 16-county North Texas region to improve quality of life and increase public awareness of economic and environmental issues. In addition, Vision North Texas promotes discussion on these topics, in order to be as effective and knowledgeable as possible when making decisions. Vision North Texas’s partnership in the conference will bring the issues of the North Texas region of the Texas Triangle to the table.
To learn more about Vision North Texas and its initiatives, please visit the Vision North Texas website.
As part of the University of Texas School of Architecture, the Center for Sustainable Development prides itself on addressing four important parts of any type of development: Economy, Ecology, Equity, and Esthetics. These four “E’s” work towards a final product that will be successful and sustainable. This idea of a standard of sustainable building is due to the Center’s belief that many environmental challenges are linked to the built environment. The Center, as a partner to the conference, will provide the architect’s point of view, which is extremely useful in a sustainable growth project. This will link the idea of sustainable growth to the megaregion growth issue.
To learn more about the University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development and its initiatives, please see the UTSOA CSD website.
Lawmakers begin to acknowledge the benefits of a high speed rail system connecting the points of the Texas Triangle Megaregion, as they support a high speed rail project. This will allow the Megaregion’s cities to work together more easily to benefit the economy and the environment, without encouraging further sprawl. However, Dallas News reports, “projects will take decades to complete, and the $13 billion the Obama administration has dedicated won’t go very far.” Although the project now has the support of politicians, Texas will need funding to successfully complete a high speed rail project.
Full story: Lawmakers back high-speed rail but remain wary of price tag
Source: Dallasnews.com, June 24, 2009
The Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation meets five times a year to advocate for the transportation concerns in the state of Texas, concerns that are primarily found within the Texas Triangle Megaregion. The THSRTC works to promote the concept of a high speed rail system connecting the three points of the Texas Triangle Megaregion, which they refer to as the “Texas T-Bone.” The Corporation’s membership is comprised of cities, counties, corporations, and transportation entities, with other groups serving as resource and cooperating entities. These members bring a variety of issues to the table during the yearly meetings, providing a diverse set of problems and views.
To find out more about the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Coporation, visit the THSRTC website
Texas Triangle or "T-Bone" Map
.
America 2050 Megaregion Map Includes the Texas Triangle Region
The conference in September is one of a series of megaregion conferences held by America 2050 around the nation. Our conference will focus on the Texas Triangle’s particular needs and concerns, but we will learn from the experiences of other megaregions in order to make our conference a success. Planetizen has reported on the importance of these megaregion conferences and recognizing megaregions as a critical factor in the balance of the country’s economy, environment, and population:
The growing population of America is creating major metropolitan regions that can span state lines and encompass tens of millions of people. These emerging regions are projected to continue to grow, and as they do, their infrastructure is expected to struggle to keep up with the pace of expansion. In areas like transportation, energy and water, how these regions meet the needs of the near future is a question nobody quite knows how to answer.
What’s needed is a “third century vision”, says Mark Pisano, West Coast Director of America 2050, an effort to develop a nationwide infrastructure strategy. The group has been holding collaborative conferences with policymakers in each of the 11 “megaregions” forming in the U.S. to try to jumpstart regional thinking and cooperation . Due to their cross-border nature, these megaregions are seen by the group as stepping stones towards development of a national policy on infrastructure.
…
The idea behind America 2050 is that places within these megaregions already rely on each other, and unless they start acting — and investing — like it, the fall of one place could likely result in the fall of many others. As the group pulls together the ideas and advice of officials and policymakers from these 11 megaregions, they hope to plot out a way to argue that case – a move many hope will spark a more unified approach for addressing the infrastructural needs of America.
Full story: Megaregions and Megaproblems
Source: Planetizen, June 25, 2009
While some groups are focused directly on the Texas Triangle, others are formed specifically to support the future of Texas in ways that relate to the concerns of the Texas Triangle Megaregion.
Some of these organizations include:
Texas Conference of Urban Counties
Texas Economic Development Council
Texas Transportation Institute (Texas A&M University)
Center for Transportation Research (University of Texas)
Texas Triangle Megaregion
The Texas Triangle Megaregion has been dubbed many names over the course of numerous studies, growing opinions, and increasing acknowledgment of the region. Many blogs and projects have addressed the various concerns related to sprawl and the immense effects the growth of the triangle will have on resident lifestyles.
Below is a list of various blogs and resources, each with a slightly different focus. These give a diverse insight to the views of the people living within the Texas Triangle and those that are hoping to support the Triangle in the future.
Megapolitan Texas by the Numbers
The Texas Triangle as Megalopolis
The Simple Economics of the Texas Triangle
Economic Progress in the Texas Economy
Texas Urban Triangle: Framework for Future Growth
Texas A&M Megaregion Report
As climate change became widely accepted throughout the nation, studies were done to reflect the effects of the change. Texas A&M has recently published a report on the effect of climate change on the Texas Triangle Megaregion, as population grows and the economy changes within the area. The conference in September will address these expected shifts and how to manage them in a sustainable way, as these reports suggest is required for positive future growth.
The Texas A&M report is a descriptive study on the main concerns of the Texas Megaregion, illustrating the expected growth predictions and the affect these might have on several aspects of life, including economy, environment, and transportation (which are more broadly projected in the report as “people,” “environment,” and “infrastructure”). The intention of the study, as outlined in the executive summary, is described as having two sides to it, as sprawl continues to affect the region:
Its aims are two-fold: to provide a framework for decisions about future growth in the fastest growing region of Texas, and to spur further research into the complexities of this vast and rapidly emerging mega-region.
In order to achieve the most varied ideas and the most correct data, Texas A&M produced the Regional Analysis and Framework for Future Growth by the collaboration of over thirty students and faculty from many different fields throughout the university, with a majority coming from the urban planning program.
The executive summary gave an overview of the “Current Situation,” with a main focus on population growth, which is a factor in many of the other issues within the triangle:
The Texas Urban Triangle is located in the heart of Texas, with the metro areas of Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Antonio composing the vertices of the Triangle. The Texas Urban Triangle’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas alone had an estimated 2005 population of about 16.3 million inhabitants. In absolute terms, it has been the fastest growing region of the state for decades, with parts of the Rio Grande Valley having the fastest growth rates. In the year 2030, population for the counties that make up the Triangle is projected to exceed 23 million, compared to 31.8 million for the entire state. In other words, the 2030 population of the Triangle alone is projected to exceed the 2000 population of the entire state by over two million.
The main concerns of the region are broken into many smaller categories in the report, where data, maps, and clear descriptions of the concerns are given to support the claims. The Texas A&M report clearly describes important concepts to reach its goal of raising awareness of the issues, promoting further studies, and aiding in future decision making in the Texas Triangle Megaregion.
To read the full report or the executive summary, see the Texas A&M Texas Urban Triangle website for the entire publication.