Partha P.

Choudhury

MLMLA 6393 Houston: The Course

Dr. Jon R. Taylor

August 2, 2012

If ever there were a city more synonymous with the issue of commerce, it is in fact the City of Houston. Second only to New York City in the aggregate number of Fortune 500 companies in the US, the spirit of business and private enterprise is ever the motif that the city and its populace are dictated by. Regarded with distinction among major US cities, Houston boasts itself as the 4th largest metropolitan area in the United States and has already dispatched Los Angeles, California into becoming second-place in terms of multiculturalism and it being a chief hub for immigrants to attain a degree of upward social mobility all the while enjoying a high standard of living at a cost that is proportionately much lower than most other major metropolitan locales in the US. In its demeanor and pursuits, Houston has outpaced other cities in terms of laudable achievements in the economic sphere, aeronautical engineering, its Medical Center, athleticism, the performing arts and music, higher education and diversity in population that lends itself to the notion that were absolutely not backwards in outlook but rather that we are forward-thinking and progressive; that this city can set a standard for what very well might become the new societal shifts in the US in terms of a diverse population, economic incentives for those who want to work hard and the general degree of political ideology that has proved itself not to be too rigid but malleable whenever theres a collective will to get behind a commendable goal. Houstons reputation is preceded by the fact that there are just so many issues all at the same time and much of it very newsworthy. My chief purpose in writing this research paper for this course is to provide an insight into the economic sphere of the city of Houston by citing sources that have proved to be emblematic of the economic activities of the city and having insights into the City of Houston that represent a fair degree of upward positivism in terms of commerce, but also does provide insights into how a city such as Houston in contrast to other

locales can and ultimately did prove its mettle which has now resulted in its being hailed as a global city. Using a motley number of sources that attest to the genuine American spirit of Houston, Ill go one further and apply an economical measurement that had already deemed Houston to be a global city even with within the time period of 20 years. In its scope, this paper takes into account many of the perspectives of economists and academics who have purposefully written these papers with not only a sociopolitical posturing, but in many instances betray themselves as having a sociological bent as well. The context of the economic miracle of Houston is made evident by The Global Context of Metropolitan Growth: Houston and the Oil Industry, written by Professor Joe R. Feagin of the University of Texas at Austin. In it, Professor Feagin regards the City of Houston as a case study and recounts that many of the factors of business bonanza embodied in the success of Houston cannot be reproduced in other cities due to factors such as geography, climate and also Feagin provides an adequate commentary on the business-friendly atmosphere of Houston thats not as curtailed by regulation of business and in many instances lack governmental oversight that is in turn deferred by the tacit approval of many sectors of the local and federal government that has let the growth of Houston go on unabated. Hearkening back to the time of the Allen brothers from the American northeast who had purchased the tract of land, bayou and swamp and then called it the City of Houston, Feagin provides enough insight into the spirit of commerce in Houston that has had its foundations set by the cotton and railroad services in Houston at a time of American expansionism of the frontier and the American West. From there and onward, Feagin applies two dual terms in the distinction of Houston that set the tone for the rest of the paper: capital of the Sunbelt and the oil capital of the United States(Feagin, 1985, 1205). Even in regards to the antiquated date of publication of this article, the City of Houston had

surpassed many other American cities in terms of size of municipality and population alone. Feagin says that what makes Houston an outlier when compared to other cities in the American South is its cosmopolitan appeal in which theres a steady climate of upward social mobility in terms of people in its industries, and since the sense of opportunism in the prospect of raking fortunes surpasses any sort of prejudicial notions, Houston has deftly avoided what many Southern states had become pariahs to and established a spirit of cooperation with the American northeast, specifically New York City. And that much is attributed to its oil production and markets. This lends itself to the article written by Igor Vojnovic, Laissez-Faire Governance And The Archetype Laissez-Faire City In The USA: Exploring Houston. Houston, as the archetypical city in which business interests are given deference rather than scrutiny sets the template for this article. In spite of the electoral lead that the Democratic Party holds in the City of Houston, the platform of the party which dictates so much of the political culture in Democratic strongholds in the Pacific Northwest as well as the American Northeast arent applicable to Houston in terms of the clout that specifically moneyed interests have here. This is buoyed by the dissimilarity of the state at large which is Republican and thoroughly pro-business. And Vojnovic attributes this to the stature of the established Republican influence of the state which permeates itself through to Houston, Democratic though it may be. He recounts the incentives with which politicians will attract corporations to Houston and specifically the embracing of corporate culture. With powerful lobbyists on hand, this entails quite a bit of nepotism in the economic sector to the detriment of the public services and welfare system in a state such as Texas which has an affinity for less government and more emphasis on society at large to have a private initiative whenever it comes to welfare assistance. The minimum government philosophy in Houston is supported

by strong cultural beliefs in self-reliance and individualism (Vojnovic, 2003, 19). Since Houston, with its oil industry in production and trade commodities, had established itself as not needing the sort of dependency upon governmental assistance during the greater part of the Great Depression, the repudiation of state-assisted funding goes against the very ethos of the state with a tradition of self-reliance. Seemingly that goes beyond partisanship. In states that stigmatize unionists and collective bargaining from unions, the right to work state nomenclature is evident in the designation that Vojnovic is willing to do. In a state without a corporate or income tax, the act of comity with business interests has attracted sizeable attention from various sectors of corporate society who wholeheartedly agree with low taxes and still maintain a record of commendable local civic and philanthropic activities in a region that is grateful just to have their business. And seeing the fact that Houston is second only to New York City in the number of Fortune 500 companies who are headquartered here, the perks of corporate citizenship are apt to be less cumbersome in a city that insists upon the essence of laissez-faire. With the oil industry looming large in Houston, Vojnovic prophetically declares that without the oil and petroleum market, Houstons significance and prestige would take a huge dive and its distinction among other major US cities would no longer be a rallying point for the political and business elites to vouch for Houstons free-market enterprise principles. With enough revenue collected from corporations that do business here, and despite the relatively low cost of it, this in turn again recalls Feagins analysis of Houston as a case study that is an exclusive outlier in which enterprise has graciously shined here and will thrive here specifically for the reason of the energy trade. In Energy and Urban Growth: A Comparison of Houston and Chicago, Professor Harold L. Platt delineates to the reader the extent to which finding a fuel source and the adequate

marketing, production and the propagation of uses for it led to Houstons ascendency from a frontier market of fuel to a pioneer market which he attributes to the invention of the automobile as well as better refining methods and innovations in technology that had provided a momentous change in the output of oil. In Chicagos still enviable occupation of it being a more significant financial epicenter in the US, hence the world, its position had largely been beset by its geography and the fact that its insular. The trade, extraction, delivery and transportation of coal headquartered in Chicago provided a huge percentage of revenue for this city and its proximity to the Midwest United States made it a chief economic hub where people had achieved a respectable livelihood. Platt says that cities that had the distinction of being producers and conveyers of the energies commodities market are able to have burgeoning growth and cites that it was coal in Chicago and oil in Houston that provided a historical picture of how it is that cities experience rapid growth and dont have periodic stagnation. A historical narrative of the city of Galveston being washed away and devastated by a hurricane in 1900 had ultimately set the tone and diminished the rivalry between Houston and Galveston in terms of the sociopolitical and economic contesting from these two cities. Also another bonus for Houston in the energy market was the ready depletion of coal and the advent of oil and gas as the next wave of production. With the invention of the automotive industry, incentivizing this market involved quite a bit of federal governmental subsidies which Houston had been privy to, much to its benefit. Within the context of these articles, a composite of Houston as an American test case and a city that is worthy of being comparable to other major US cities is conveyed in Economic Restructuring And The American City, written by Professor Saskia Sassen of Columbia University in New York. Setting the tone for this article, the exclusive sectors of the US economy makes for what every specific major US city is distinguished by. Distinction among

major cities in the US is concentrated largely by what niche market these cities practice in the US financial market, thus setting the standard and the precedent in which very little room is made for outside markets and niches. New York Citys distinctions are its legal and banking sectors as well as it being the center where stocks and commodities are traded in the New York Stock Exchange. Boston is distinctive because of its insurance industry and risk management firms and services and Houston is regarded as the energy capital of the US. Within the symbiotic nature of the US economy in which the whole is an aggregate sum and the fact that many of these industries are interdependent upon each other, Sassen applies it to the disparity of wages and earnings distribution and cites often throughout this article the disenfranchisement of minorities concentrated in large cities. Taken from the viewpoint of an urban sociologist, this article also hinges upon precedent reforms in employment such as workers rights and unions in procuring for them and other workers the inherent rights that contribute to security and an adequate amount of proportionate representation. In the article, Sassen cites Houston as having an overrepresentation in the oil and gas industry as well as the real estate market but lags behind other cities when it comes to industries that draw quite a bit of water in those cities. Rather ever in tandem with the trend of a globalized economy, Houston reaches out to other cities and expedites these services over to them. As it relates to the societal impact of restructuring the economy to meet this trend, immigration to hubs such as Houston ensure that theres a bit of deference given to disenfranchised minorities who might be more productive in manufacturing jobs, establishing an adequate revenue for the city that just cant disregard them utterly. Taken from the context of a globalized economy, one can infer that during a time when much of governance is dictated by the needs and necessities of the market, Sassen asks the question of whether local politics matter in a time when markets produce political outcomes. In

the end of this piece, Sassen sees not only local governments providing security against certain industry initiatives and practices that might be harmful to workers, but makes it a point to include third party representatives and government oversight who provide at least a modicum of regulation. In Houston, despite trending towards the Democratic party which usually provides the ideological precedent of these notions, it is largely industry that has won this debate. A political ambiguity of Houston, despite its being one of the bastions of the Democratic party in Texas, is that in spite of this affiliation, a great degree of conservative nostalgia is evident as a result of being in the state of Texas. And in a state where conservatives deride the notion of compromise in the face of core conservative principles and tenets, Texas has in its governorship a more rigidly partisan Republican tenure in Rick Perry. In Governance In Houston: Growth Theories and Urban Pressures by Igor Vojnovic, the fervor with which the Republican party had stipulated its principles had been delivered at the 2000 state convention. In it, the five principles outlined were: 1. The least government is the best government. 2. The environment is best served by individuals working in their own best interest. 3. Abolish the income tax and the IRS. 4. Repeal minimum wage laws. 5. Phase out the Social Security system in favor of private retirement (Vojnovic, 2003, 590). With a conservative electorate thats bent upon the implementation of these values at a national level and the Republican supermajority in the state legislature in Texas, by no means is

the City of Houston impervious to these precepts. And with a business climate thats conducive to pro-growth and the hosting of corporations here, Vojnovic who was previously cited by me in regards to Houston having a laissez-faire disposition when it comes to business, is further vindicated here upon more acute inspection of the case study. As a result of this nepotism, In 1999 Houston was ranked fourth by Site Selection in its survey of US cities attracting most foreign investment during the 1990sIn the same year Houston was ranked second (behind Chicago) in industrial importance by Industry WeekOther recognitions in 1999 included Newsweeks second ranking in its survey of fastest growing job centers in the USand a number one ranking by CorpTech for jobs in bio-tech and advanced materials (Vojnovic, 2003, 590). According to Vojnovic, the landed moneyed interests that have set up shop in Houston have been here for a considerable period of time and these elites are tied into local economy to the degree of maintaining a monopoly in which theyre able to exert quite a bit of influence and authority. Since corporations are also part of the historical landscape of Houston, the prospect of being subjugated by an ideology that runs counter to that of the business interest in which they havent got the same ability to run their affairs in the same way is exceptionally blasphemous. Free enterprise is still the gospel (Vojnovic, 2003, 519) and the political climate in Houston specifically owes its lucrative potential to industry. With Houston as a cosmopolitan and metropolitan locale, the influx of immigrants who contribute a lions share to the economy is conveyed in Ethnic Places, Postmodernism, and Urban Change In Houston by Jan Lin of Amherst College. Written from the viewpoint of an urban sociologist, Lin dispels the stigma many would associate traditionally ethnically distinct areas of Houston with social pathology. With Houston ambitious for distinction among US

cities, the fact that this city has surpassed Los Angeles in terms of the heterogeneous mix of diversity is a strong factor of desirability in a city rather than a deal-breaker. With its capacity to embrace the outside masses who at one point came to Houston in a mood to make a transition elsewhere, the issue of group identity (Lin, 1995, 633) was something of an anomaly in Houston due to the vast income disparities and employment potentiality that many minorities lacked. But nestled in a part of the country that has a border with Mexico and the Freedmens Town given to liberated African-Americans, the proclivity to be racist and always insist upon Anglo nostalgia was something that had been satisfactorily dissuaded in this city. And with the US quotas on immigration no longer being distinguished by race after 1965, the ability to thrive went against the usually more stick-to-itiveness of the much more segregationist South at large. With the Voting Rights Act full in force, insisting upon the usual politics of exclusion no longer seemed necessary and was seen as a detriment. It is our distinction in Texas to be more inviting despite the hackneyed attitudes that many people have about the American South. Once ossified, retraction of the emancipation of minorities can no longer be tenable nor is it any longer desirable. And that is emblematic of Houston, Texas. As it relates to the issue of economics in the city, with the diversity of tastes and perspectives, the economy of Houston has its niches of catering specifically to an audience who clamor for authenticity and whove got an affinity for their land of origin all the while being in the confines of a thriving metropolitan city such as Houston. At a time of partisanship and the year 2012 being an election year, the citizenry of US cities have a bit of mulling to do and consider their options. This onset of partisanship can be attributed to the economy and what party will be the decider when it comes to possibly ameliorating the US economy and making it optimum again. Since Houston is the city that has

been deemed the oil capital of the US and carries quite a bit of traction globally, Richard C. Longworth of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs writes in Urban America: U.S Cities In The Global Era some of the maladies that might be intercepted in US cities due to the globalization of the economy and cites Houston as having a formative part in the interdependent economy. Since globalization entails a steady movement of people as well as having business and financial overtones to it to keep it fresh, Longworth chides other cities in the US for not acclaiming their piece of the globalized economy and says that they stand a good chance in being outside of the periphery of this new era. Since all cities look for a general degree of relevancy, clout and recognition from their peers, Longworth sees past the fashionable sentiment of globalization and deems it wholly necessary to be a viable economy at all in the first place. Instinctively, he likens survival of cities in the US to be accomplished by globalization. Houston, which is one of the chief proponents of free-market capitalism, is privy to the globalization phenomenon and is playing an active role in nurturing it outside of its own peripheries to oil production throughout the world, and further playing host to it as a center of commerce and business that is engendered by the prospect of accruing business. The attraction of Houston, with its high standard of living without raising the cost of these services, is bound to attract not only investors but also people who are looking for a respite in terms of enjoying the amenities of a better life without incrementally raising the cost. In The World City Hypothesis by John Friedmann, a citys affinity to be characterized by the perception that people elsewhere in the world may have about it is a point of distinction when it comes to the issue of global cities. In the spirit of free inquiry, Friedmann links urbanization processes which have set the standard in cities as playing a pivotal role in ascendency to becoming global powerhouses. In the developed first world, Houston is deemed as a

secondary global city that is in the chief core country of the US. Only three other cities in the US are deemed primary which include New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. It worth noting that a distinctive quality of these aforementioned cities are not only their histories but their relative size and cumulative populations. In a succinct statement by Friedmann, that being [w]orld cities are major sites for the concentration and accumulation of international capital (Friedmann, 1986, 73), sets the tone for the City of Houston as being home to a generous number of multinational companies who specifically come here for the energy sector. In these US cities, enough space, industry, and capital (human and financial) has been amply given to them and these cities are ahead of their competitors in the rest of the world due to the fact that acceptable modes of production happen in these cities, the yield of the products are commendable and there are enough established business elites to generate money which will in turn yield profits. Houston doesnt need a reminder to tell it that anticipating the next fuel of the 21st century will be incredibly lucrative; it knows that. The fact that it will have a say in the energies commodities market is something that we should always come to expect from it. So, as the world gains consciousness about global warming and inclement weather, for anyone to dismissively say that fossil fuels are going away soon have Houston to deal with. In summation, Houston as a center which will have clout for the foreseeable future is a given. This city in which four million residents call home has the distinction of livability, comfort, thrift and amenities that establish it as relevant whenever people decide to sprawl outside of their confines and seek to live elsewhere. In the lauding of Houston, much of it is due to the economical cunning and guile it has managed to generate much to its benefit. With corporations and multinationals from outside of the US look to conduct business in the US, the choices are made to relocate to a locale which will have a well enough business climate to let

them conduct their affairs in a sovereign fashion, the costs and benefits of doing business will be weighed in comparison with other cities, and as many corporations, multinationals and the countries that represent them have consulates in Houston, the degree of reciprocity with which these entities have given back to the Houston community is taken into account. Theres conspicuous language in the charters, decorum and mission statements of companies in Houston that imply that corporate citizenship necessitates a giving back to the community and fostering relationships that go beyond mere employment. One can only hope that theres a hearkening to the maladies of the city can be addressed jointly with corporations playing an active role. The philanthropic vein of Houston is accentuated by the spirit of initiative and taking the onus upon oneself to establish venture and make a name for oneself. In the pursuit of making and delivering quotas in terms of the economy, Houston is by no means a sidelined actor but often many policymakers throughout the US have considered the economical entailments of Houston into perspective before making a decision. At a time when the US is making the decision to subsidize renewable fuels, a Houstonians hope is that in the spirit of commerce that established markets wont be the only factor coming into play but also the factor of environmental stewardship should be considered in the back of ones mind. With the possible degradation of the environment, eyes are on Houston to make a decisive decision regarding investing in future renewable energies. As it is advantageous to be an influence in this certain market, one can hope that this prospect is lucrative enough to be a new standard. Aside from industry, Houston has many qualities about it that are sweetened by the economic incentives of living here. Whether it should be the cultural significance of the arts, humanities, music, aeronautical and space program (NASA), or the Medical Center, the

likelihood of Houston being privileged to have distinction exclusive to that of the oil and energy industry is established among Houstonians. But it definitely has its shortcomings as well. With rampant crime being on the incline, developmental programs much to be desired in various parts of the city, inclining poverty rates, high school dropout rates and substandard testing among schoolchildren, the hope is that there are enough Houstonians who have a generous degree of affability, education and altruism to pick up the slack. With nonprofits and volunteerism on the rise, the sense of community and helping the disenfranchised is in the spirit of Houston and one can sense that these attributes often come into focus whenever it comes to the civic culture of the city. But gauging the problems involves the knowledge that these arent at all spontaneous occurrences that have happened overnight, but in terms of addressing the societal impact of what these issues, if left to go on unabated, will have in store for Houston is still yet to be determined. Houston is emblematic of America, specifically despite its proximity to the South and its attached ruralism, is a test case for other US cities in terms of what luck, perchance and will can do. In its designation as a global center of commerce, one can expect that it should exceed expectations and that the soft bigotry of low expectations is not at all applicable to the City of Houston. American in its character, it offers promise in the future and viability to go one further and set the standard for whats to come in the future.

Works Cited (APSA Format) Feagin, Joe R. 1985. The Global Context of Metropolitan Growth: Houston and the Oil Industry. American Journal of Sociology. 90: 1204-27. Vojnovic, Igor. 2003. Laissez-Faire Governance And The Archetype Laissez-Faire City In The USA: Exploring Houston. Geografiska Annaler. 85: 19-37 Platt, Harold L. 1987. Energy and Urban Growth: A Comparison of Houston and Chicago. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 91: 1-18 Sassen, Saskia. 1990. Economic Restructuring And The American City. Annual Review of Sociology. 16: 465-90. Vojnovic, Igor. 2003. Governance In Houston: Growth Theories and Urban Pressures. Journal of Urban Affairs. 25: 589-624. Lin, Jan. 1995. Ethnic Places, Postmodernism, and Urban Change In Houston. The Sociological Quarterly. 36: 629-647. Longworth, Richard C. 2012. Urban America: U.S Cities In The Global Era. Journal of International Affairs. 65: 97-108. Friedmann, John. 1986. The World City Hypothesis. Development and Change. 17: 69-83.