Prop 1, TX vs. NYC, #1 shopping, JFK+Rice, and more
I had a tough time deciding this week between discussing the Geoffrey West/"A Physicist Solves the City" NYT story or another group of small misc items. Since I figure this is a holiday week when people might have more time to follow links and read more, the misc items won out. I'll post on the West article next week.
- Houston's Prop 1 drainage and roads fee is featured in this Wall Street Journal story (and it's among their most popular articles): WSJ.com - Strapped Cities Hit Nonprofits With Fees. My feeling is that it's just like any other utility nonprofits pay for. They pay for electricity and water, why shouldn't they pay to have the runoff from their land properly disposed of just like their trash and sewage? (although if they increase permeability or have retention ponds, they should get credit for that) They also benefit from being on the road grid just like they do from being on the electricity and water grids.
- A writer lays out the case for living in Texas over New York, albeit with a Dallas bias: "Deep in the heart of taxes: Why I won't move to New York", NY Post. Hat tip to Joel Kotkin for the heads up.
- The Wall Street Journal names a TV commercial for Rice University one of the best of the year. It's based on JFK's famous 1962 'go to the moon' speech from Rice Stadium. Alums will definitely find it moving, although I think all Houstonians should be proud.
- According to Forbes, Houston is the #1 shopping city in America (NY Daily News story, Houston specifics) I think this reinforces my case about Houston's incredibly high standard of living because of above average incomes with the lowest cost of living of any major city in America. That means we have the discretionary income to shop, and the lack of zoning means it's plentiful and hyper-competitive. Hat tip to Jessie.
"Houston comes in at No. 1 one the list. “Houston might be a big city, and sure you can spend days buying up the shopping malls, but for me the best thing has always been the boutiques that are somehow both 100% Southern and completely chic,” says stylist Kate Barash, a Houston native now living in Los Angeles."
And passing along some links from the Houston Digital Ambassador newsletter:
Houston ranks 10th in U.S. for high-tech jobs! http://bit.ly/gTfBBE
Houston and three other Texas cities dominate Top 15 best recovery cities, according to Brookings Inst. http://bit.ly/eFNYHA. Full report: http://bit.ly/gTAsBB.
NY Times highlights Houston’s sustainability efforts http://nyti.ms/gKLHYH
Houston and three other Texas cities dominate Top 15 best recovery cities, according to Brookings Inst. http://bit.ly/eFNYHA. Full report: http://bit.ly/gTAsBB.
NY Times highlights Houston’s sustainability efforts http://nyti.ms/gKLHYH
· National thought leader Joel Kotkin considers Houston part of a new wave of “efficient cities” http://bit.ly/gCr7Zc
Finally, a rather, um..., eclectic video titled "In Love with Friedrich Hayek". What does it have to do with Houston? Watch and you'll see (hint: go 1:27 into the video and see what you recognize) It seems appropriate to me that a love letter to the patron saint of free markets and capitalism would be filmed in Houston. I haven't checked out the rest of her YouTube channel, but if you come across any good ones of Houston, let me know in the comments.
And, to all my readers: thanks for your readership in 2010, and may you - and all of Houston - have a very happy new year in 2011!
And, to all my readers: thanks for your readership in 2010, and may you - and all of Houston - have a very happy new year in 2011!
Labels: affordability, economy, environment, identity, opportunity urbanism, perspectives, quality of place, rankings
posted by Tory Gattis @ 1:39 PM
3 Comments:
Obligatory link:
http://xkcd.com/793/
jt
The same people who love Sunbelt cities with zero or negative economic growth are often the first to blast Europe for having less economic growth than they'd like.
Damn, that's funny, jt! Thanks for the link.
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