Houston Strategies

2007 Highlights

I'm back from the holidays, having successfully dodged the travel-wrecking ice/snowstorms of Chicago (the best Christmas gift/miracle I could ask for) to visit the inlaws. It's time for the Fall 4Q07 quarterly highlights post, which in this case sums up all the highlights from 2007. These posts have been chosen with a particular focus on significant ideas I'd like to see kept alive for discussion and action, and they're mainly targeted at new readers who want to get caught up with a quick overview of the Houston Strategies landscape. I also like to track what I think of as "reference posts" that sum up a particular topic or argument.

Don't forget we offer an email option for the roughly twice/week posts - see the Google Groups subscription signup box in the right sidebar. An RSS feed link (Atom) (or RSS 2.0) is also available. As always, thanks for your readership, and I'm looking forward to an even better 2008.

December

• The brilliance of freeway tunnels (part 1, part 2)
  

November

• An Astro-nomical blunder for Houston? (how the Dynamo should save the Astrodome, and, if not, an alternate backup plan)
• Summing up my views on transit
  

October

• Addressing global warming
  

From Summer 3Q07:

September

• The potential for GPS at Metro
  

August

• What really preserves a neighborhood's character?
• Houston's SXSW = a global Energy Technology Conference (ETC) (original post, followup/more)
  

July

• Private toll roads: take the money (and concrete) and run?
  
• Reason on Why Mobility Matters to Personal Life (part 1, part 2)
  
• The many meanings Houston as an "Open City of Opportunity"
  

From Spring 2Q07:

June

• Joel Kotkin on Houston's unique 21st century development pattern
• Getting congestion pricing right on Westpark and elsewhere
• Opportunity Urbanism, 4 drivers op-ed, and response to critics
  

May

• How mixed-use development is done better in Houston than other cities
• Eurocity (urban) corridors
• Cheap fixes for traffic congestion
• Is urban form the root of politics?
  

April

• Economics of transit vs. cars
• Mayor expands historic preservation, air pollution initiatives (April Fools)
  

From Winter 1Q07:

March

• Houston vs. Dallas, Portland - Who builds more density?
• Architects vs. Economists (the planning vs. free market spectrum)
• Bruegmann on developers' attitudes towards land-use regulations
• Prospects for Texas commuter and inter-city rail
  

February

• Big plans for 288, but it could be better
• City size, and growth, matters
  

January

• Seven reasons why government planning fails
• Wrapping up Superstar Cities week: solutions
• The Wrong Way to Reform Property Taxes (arguments vs. appraisal caps)
  
• Planning: Panacea, Poison Pill, or just Purgatory?
  

And don't forget the highlights from the first two years. For what it's worth, I think the best ideas are found there, often in the first year (I had a lot "stored up" before I started blogging).

• 2006 Highlights here
• 2005 Highlights here

Labels: highlights

posted by Tory Gattis @ 5:05 PM