31
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. B. Abraham, S. D. Iyer (eds.), Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in North American
Cities, Sustainable Development Goals Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59173-1_4
The Idea of Sustainability
to Evaluate Growth
and Development in the Houston
Region
David B. Abraham
4.1
Introduction
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were
developed for national-level reporting and with
performance target differences between countries
in mind. Performance targets in the SDGs also
reflect differences between islands and countries,
large and small countries, and countries with a
range of development standards and capacities.
What is not properly reflected in the SDGs are
local-level performance targets. At the local level,
there are vastly many more differences between
places than at the national level. At the local level,
in the USA, there is a great deal of political autonomy and hence ability to impact sustainability in
ways that may not be possible at the national level.
Since local political autonomy is so strong in the
USA, it is important to understand differences in
development performance between cities. This is
essential to be able to identify appropriate policies
and programs to enhance sustainability both
locally and at the national level. In this chapter we
show how the Houston region compares to other
regions in the country. Properly understanding
these differences will enhance our ability to set
appropriate targets, policies, and programs to
enhance sustainability across the Houston region.
In this chapter, we review major sustainability
challenges, opportunities, and constraints for the
Houston metropolitan region. We first cite past
and present major efforts at developing sustainability programs in the region. Then we highlight
unique challenges faced in the Houston region
through a comparison to the top 100 most populous metros in the USA.
4.2
From the Past to the Present
of Sustainability Efforts
in the Houston Region
Over the last 45 years, there have been at least
four (4) major efforts at developing sustainability
programs in the Houston region. The first major
effort occurred in 1974 when tycoon and engineer George Mitchell
1
convened a group of
renowned business leaders, educators, and futurists, including Dennis Meadows
2
in 1974, to
1 George Mitchell is considered “the Father of Shale Gas.”
His company, Mitchell Energy and Development
Corporation, was sold to Devon Energy in 2002 for $3.5
billion. Between the 1980s and 1990s, Mitchell’s company pioneered horizontal drilling technology and combined this with hydraulic fracturing of rock. This
breakthrough called “fracking” made it economically possible to extract natural gas from shale rock.
2 Dennis and Donella Meadows published The Limits to
Growth in 1972. The book, which sold 20 million copies,
was the result of a study commissioned by the Club of
Rome in 1970, to study “the predicament of mankind.”
Meadows and his 16-member team designed a macroeconomic model to analyze connections between population
growth, food production, use of natural resources, industrial production, and pollution.
D. B. Abraham (*)
Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
e-mail: DAbraham@Rice.edu
4
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. B. Abraham, S. D. Iyer (eds.), Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in North American
Cities, Sustainable Development Goals Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59173-1_4
The Idea of Sustainability
to Evaluate Growth
and Development in the Houston
Region
David B. Abraham
4.1
Introduction
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were
developed for national-level reporting and with
performance target differences between countries
in mind. Performance targets in the SDGs also
reflect differences between islands and countries,
large and small countries, and countries with a
range of development standards and capacities.
What is not properly reflected in the SDGs are
local-level performance targets. At the local level,
there are vastly many more differences between
places than at the national level. At the local level,
in the USA, there is a great deal of political autonomy and hence ability to impact sustainability in
ways that may not be possible at the national level.
Since local political autonomy is so strong in the
USA, it is important to understand differences in
development performance between cities. This is
essential to be able to identify appropriate policies
and programs to enhance sustainability both
locally and at the national level. In this chapter we
show how the Houston region compares to other
regions in the country. Properly understanding
these differences will enhance our ability to set
appropriate targets, policies, and programs to
enhance sustainability across the Houston region.
In this chapter, we review major sustainability
challenges, opportunities, and constraints for the
Houston metropolitan region. We first cite past
and present major efforts at developing sustainability programs in the region. Then we highlight
unique challenges faced in the Houston region
through a comparison to the top 100 most populous metros in the USA.
4.2
From the Past to the Present
of Sustainability Efforts
in the Houston Region
Over the last 45 years, there have been at least
four (4) major efforts at developing sustainability
programs in the Houston region. The first major
effort occurred in 1974 when tycoon and engineer George Mitchell
1
convened a group of
renowned business leaders, educators, and futurists, including Dennis Meadows
2
in 1974, to
1 George Mitchell is considered “the Father of Shale Gas.”
His company, Mitchell Energy and Development
Corporation, was sold to Devon Energy in 2002 for $3.5
billion. Between the 1980s and 1990s, Mitchell’s company pioneered horizontal drilling technology and combined this with hydraulic fracturing of rock. This
breakthrough called “fracking” made it economically possible to extract natural gas from shale rock.
2 Dennis and Donella Meadows published The Limits to
Growth in 1972. The book, which sold 20 million copies,
was the result of a study commissioned by the Club of
Rome in 1970, to study “the predicament of mankind.”
Meadows and his 16-member team designed a macroeconomic model to analyze connections between population
growth, food production, use of natural resources, industrial production, and pollution.
D. B. Abraham (*)
Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
e-mail: DAbraham@Rice.edu
4