Houston and the rise of 'opportunity urbanism'

So you've heard all the discussion about how cities must lure the so-called "creative class" if they want to be great places, right? Basically, the idea is that the creative class — knowledge workers, artists, intellectuals and creative types, a subset of workers identified by economist and author Richard Florida — spurs economic power, high-tech industry, new ideas and growth in places that court it. Sounds like something Houston should be trying to attract, right? Well, no, according to one urban strategist.

According to a report from Joel Kotkin, only a few cities in the U.S. (such as San Francisco and Boston) can really succeed in wooing the creative class. Other cities, he argues, should follow Houston's model of "opportunity urbanism," an investment in infrastructure and education including, as the Chronicle says, "vocational training for well-paid blue-collar jobs." "Because of widening differences in housing and other costs, there has been a decisive demographic tilt towards cities such as Phoenix, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte (N.C.) and Houston," Kotkin wrote in his report, "Opportunity Urbanism: An Emerging Paradigm for the 21st Century." (You can read the report in PDF form from Kotkin's website. And keep in mind that the report was funded by the Greater Houston Partnership, whatever that's worth.)

In the report, Kotkin argues that what he calls "opportunity cities" are showing the greatest gains in high-wage employers and educated employees, including members of the creative class. Such cities, he said, attract corporate headquarters and high-end jobs because they're business-friendly and welcome a broad range of employees. "Houston exemplifies the characteristics we identify with Opportunity Urbanism: openness to outsiders, a diverse and highly entrepreneurial economy, a friendly business climate, a commitment to continued infrastructure development (particularly mobility), and a basically positive attitude toward growth," Kotkin wrote. "It has long been assumed that although places such as Houston may service regional or national markets, they lack the savoir faire to be taken seriously on an international level. Yet we believe that some opportunity cities have already achieved significant global status and, during the coming generation, will demonstrate the true long-term potential of Opportunity Urbanism."

Definitely check out the report. It's interesting in that — to us, at least — it points out the way Houston has grown since the very beginning: by throwing the doors open to anyone who wanted to come here and work toward their goal, whatever it might have been. What Kotkin calls the "opportunistic spirit embedded in the city's DNA" makes for its ups and downs, to be sure, but maybe we've been doing something right all along. Now if we could just get over that "world class" nonsense ...