Title: Free Enterprise City
1Free Enterprise City
2Ecological Model
- Decentralizing suburbanization process in
metropolitan areas is viewed as reflecting
desires of individual American homeowners for
affordable housing and better physical
environment, as expressed within the free market
system. Transport technologies are important in
urban centralization and decentralization.
3Favorable Free Market practices
- Good business climate low tax ,
laissez faire free market approach limit social
service spending, including subsidized housing,
limit zoning weak regulation of real estate,
anti-union laws, government officials sympathetic
to business, - In 1963 Texas Hwy., Department. Sec. of commerce
Hodges, said traffic problems solved by providing
better roads for cars, not by restricting the
number or caliber of cars We shout a here,
here!' let's construct those better roads out of
asphalt so they will cost less to build and thus
be easy on taxes -- at same time providing more
roads for more cars to travel more miles and use
more petroleum products."
4Houston and the Built City
- There is a close relationship between character
of capitalism in particular historical period and
its urban form. Office buildings are at the heart
of physical structure of modern capitalism,
providing places where administrative,
accounting, and other white-collar activities of
dominant corporations and allied business service
firms are located and interrelated
5Houston and the Built City
- Larger corporations tend to build, or have built,
tall skyscrapers. Why tall skyscrapers? Tall
buildings are considerably more expensive to
construct than are shorter and wider buildings
with same amount for space. It is estimated that
collar office towers cost at least 20 more per
square foot than an equivalent building with
fewer floors. The high price of land often
justifies creation of super -- skyscraper in
downtown areas however savings on land costs do
not offset of premium building cost for a
high-rise building. Wittenberg has reported on a
major office project in downtown Houston land
cost 12.5 million about 10 of the total cost
hundred 127 million of the building itself plan
costs was no more than the cost of expensive
elevator system for this high-rise structure.
6Since World War II Total Sq Footage of Office
Space in Houston
1949 6.9 million
1959 12.3 million
1969 18.6 million
1979 85.2 million
1985 159.2 million
1986 163.5 million
7Houston and the Built City
- Reason for high-rise buildings does not seem to
be high cost of land in downtown Houston area
instead, high-rise towers have been constructed
to facilitate integration of large corporations,
and symbolize corporate presence and dominance.
To quote urban theorist Lamarche, "they are first
and foremost physical expression of concentration
of capital and have close ties linking
headquarters of industry and financial world."
Office buildings are not simply products of an
architects imagination but rather a geographical
solution to integration of modern capitalism
8Political Economy Model
- Local residents have paid a heavy price for low
tax, laissez-faire, free market approach of the
citys business leadership (3). While Houston is
advertised as premier free enterprise city, in
reality the citys business leadership has
regularly taken major governmental (handouts) for
projects that support/create profit-making in city
9PEM continued
- Federal intervention in form of subsidies of home
mortgages, highways, oil production, and
decentralized airports significantly encouraged
urban de-concentration by reducing cost of
decentralized suburban development. Urban
processes such as suburbanization are not
natural result of automobile technology and
free-market forces but rather result of
intentional actions by powerful economic and
governmental actors seeking particular goals in
specific socio--- historical settings
10Houstons Political Economic History
- Houstons political economic history is recurrent
intervention of local and federal governments in
Houston economy usually at behest of local
business elites - Houston began in the 1830s as speculative real
estate venture by two northern capitalists ,
brothers JK Allen and A.C. Allen. - Lumber, grain, cotton commodities generated an
important infrastructure of railroads,
warehouses, cotton jeans, and banks servicing
southeast Texas agricultural economy.
11Houstons Political Econ History
- Cotton was sold to English buyers in return
European goods bought by local merchants were
sold to Texans. Some cotton merchants functioned
as bankers, loaning large sums of money to local
planters before there were organized banks in
area. - Cotton society had great inequalities in income
and wealth. From beginning Houston was class
stratified, with a small wealthy elite, a large
poverty-stricken population, and substantial
middle income sector. In 1850s black slaves
labored at worst jobs in city. Between 1815- 1860
a share of wealth held by richest 10 of
population increased from just over half to more
than two thirds.
12Houstons Political Econ History Early 1900s
- By early 1900s Houston was sheltered harbor
closest to the ranches and cotton fields of
Midwest and central south. By 1912 no less than
17 railroads use the city as a rail hub. Texas
was producing two thirds of all cotton in the US,
much shipped through Houston, which had six
cotton seed processing mills
13Houston Oil and Autos
- The developed infrastructure of port facilities,
railroads, and banks actually creating the
infrastructure foundation for Houston subsequent
dominance as an oil center. Investment decisions
made in Detroit spurred investment by oil
companies and transformed Houston into an oil
capital Until auto production accelerated in
1904 1919, crude oil had been used for
kerosene, fuel oil, lubricants. In 1899 only 3700
autos were built in US, but by 1909 figure had
grown to 126,600, and by 1919 to 1.7 million.
Coal had fueled rise in US industry and 19th
century, but by 1910s and 1920s oil was beginning
to replace coal as fuel choice
14Houston During Civil War
- The 1860s brought devastation to many cities in
south, most destructive effects of Civil War did
not reach Houston instead, war made Houston into
significant Southern marketplace and brought new
wealth to local elite. After war cotton became
main product in trade. Cotton first put Houston
on international economic map(49). By 1860s
city Council increased efforts to provide
infrastructure for development grading and
surfacing streets, building bridges, franchising
private companies for gas-lighting and horse
cars. Between 1860s and 1880s basic foundation
for Houston business elites approach to
government was laid down
15Local and Federal Govt Aid
- Under pressure from local growth coalition, U.S.
Congress in 1902 appropriated about 1 million in
public investment capital for local port
development A few years later Houston
capitalists met in the mayors office to work out
a plan for further subsidization(55). In 1910
Congress approved 1.2 5 million for deepening
Houston ship channel, reportedly largest grant
for such developmental purposes made by the
federal government up to that time
16Local and Federal Govt Aid cont
- Between 1918 and 1938 US government expended 56
million to dredge deep water ports at 12 Texas
coastal cities, including Houston. Houston
ranked fourth among US ports in total exports
tonnage by 1930 - In 1933 Pres. Roosevelt issued an executive order
banning interstate shipment of oil pumped in
violation of Texas program pro- rationing laws
the agents were sent to Texas to enforce order.
Governmental intervention and continuing federal
support for pro-rationing among petroleum
companies operated from 1930s to 1970s to protect
industry.
17Federal Subsidies Dual Role
- Federal subsidy had helped create oil industry.
But this subsidization or not was not the only
source of federal underwriting of petrochemical
and oil refining sectors of American industry.
Federal government purchase and consumption of
products of these industries was crucial to
long-run profitability and prosperity. Big
government in US was not primarily created by
the new deal social programs of the 1930s but
rather by massive industrial and military
buildups of World War II
18More State Aid 1950s -1980s
- Late 1950s to the 1980s in 1959 Pres.
Eisenhower set quotas for imported oil, limiting
imports to 12 of domestic production, a decision
justified in terms of national defense this
action helped to hold up domestic oil prices. The
government engineered differential probably cost
US consumers millions of dollars during the next
decade
19Reorganization and Restructuring
- In decade ending in early 1970s number of
multinational oil companies shifted subsidiaries
to Houston or buttressed existing operations
there. Shell relocated its US administrative
headquarters from New York to Houston. Exxon,
golf, and Texaco consolidated domestic operations
in Houston. As Anthony Sampson put it it is in
Texas, not New York, that Exxon feels more
thoroughly at home and it is Exxon skyscraper in
Houston, the headquarters of Exxon USA, which
seems to house the soul of the company.
20Reorganization and Restructuring cont.
- Oil and chemical companies were heavily
subsidized by federal government energy policy
in 1970s and early 1980s, government kept price
of gas artificially low and thus feedstock for
petrochemical plants and very cheap, situation
European manufacturers complained about.
21History of Zoning Struggle
- Houston is unique among major cities in US it
has no traditional zoning laws to control
patterns of land use - First they revealed depth of conservative
laissez-faire philosophy among citys leaders,
even when that philosophy interferes with other
interests of the leadership, such as protecting
elite residential neighborhoods from commercial
encroachment. Second, failure to implement zoning
accents power of real estate and development
capitalists in city, these interests have
traditionally been most consistently opposed to
zoning
22Zoning and Land Use Patterns
- Lack of zoning has meant a larger than average
number of oddly mixed land uses massage parlors
are built across street from churches, office
towers are erected in backyards of wealthy
suburbanites At broadest level the city's
land-use map is similar to the spread city
pattern, and to many Sunbelt cities.
23Zoning and Land Use Patterns
- Lack of zoning means Houston developers generally
face less red tape and shorter project
development times. In a city with strict zoning
and planning, such as Dallas, might take a year
or two to get a plan for a mega structure project
approved, but in Houston sometimes takes only six
months. - 1959 budget was 176,785 there were 20 full-time
employees city population was just under 1
million. - 1980 budget was 920,000 with a staff of 60 in a
city that exceeded 1.6 million. Inadequate
staffing reflects weak commitment of city's elite
to planning
24Houstons Short Term Planning
- In early 1980s Browning -- Ferris industries, a
private disposal firm, was doing solid waste
planning for city. Public decisions have often
been delegated to private firms which, journalist
Burke notes, "are really extensions of City
Hall." In general city departments, such as
public works, have been known for their
operations with developers and other real estate
interests (163). - If city cannot provide utility services, a
developer can create, with governmental
permission, a municipal utility District (MUD)
with the authority to sell bonds for utility
construction. In fact developers decide where
water, sewer, and other utility systems will be
extended next -- a type of privatized planning
(164).