In a few day this post will be updated with the video of the wrap up of the event along with synopsis provided by the principals.
LIKE My Facebook Page
Follow @EgbertoWillies
Houston leaders ponder city’s economic growth at Rice summit
Saturday, September 15, 2012 – david.haydon@chron.com
Houston’s top leaders gathered at Rice University Saturday to discuss the challenges facing the Bayou City in the 21st century.
Improvements are needed to the city’s infrastructure, schools and health care, among other services, to create a thriving economy, experts said at the inaugural Houston Economic Summit: 20/20 event.
"Vast areas of the city don’t really work," said Michael McEnany, director of the Citizens for Blueprint Houston, a non-profit organization charged with creating a long-term plan for Houston’s development. "We look at the figures, look at the tax base, look at the income to arrive. What we think we need to do, rather than accommodating the waves of growth, is make a vision for the city of Houston that creates a plan, policy and programs that address economic prosperity."
The community as a whole needs to invest in areas such as education and health care, said Joe Webb, chairman of Blueprint Houston.
"It’s not just a me society, it’s a we society," Webb said. "We’ve all got to do it."
METRO board member Christof Spieler focused on Houston’s need for a mature transit system, and later said that for Houston to get it, "someone would have to pay a lot more taxes."
"The real issue is that we as a region do not have our act together," Spieler said. "We do not have a consensus on mass transportation."
Metro has placed on the Nov. 6 ballot an item asking voters whether to continue diverting part of the Metropolitan Transit Authority‘s sales tax revenues to local governments for road projects.
Houston’s transportation issues extend to port expansion. Maritime consultant and former Port of Houston Authority Executive Director Kornega H. Thomas related the Port of Houston’s history to the Panama Canal and the demand for more space and depth.
"Are we ready? Today, the answer is no. Can we be ready in time for when those bigger ships come? Absolutely," Thomas said. "We need to get the container terminal channels deeper. They’re 40-feet deep. They need to go to 45."
Louis Molnar, chairman for the Houston Economic Summit, challenged speakers to delve further into solutions for transportation logistics.
"The problem we really have as a city is older suburban areas," Spieler said. "That suburban growth is designed in an unsustainable way. The other thing we find in those areas is demographic shifts where lower incomes and larger households with bad social services and street structure that are very difficult to service in transit."
"We are really in a good place right now," Spieler said. "The thing that I love about Houston is that we have an amazing arts community. We have great neighborhoods. Those are the hardest things to attract. We already have those building blocks."
Houston leaders ponder city’s economic growth at Rice summit – Houston Chronicle