48
transition from the growing economy to the
steady state? To achieve “optimum rates,” he proposed a “zero growth” scenario and also suggested to control the right to have children in
order to address the population problem and the
control of the consumption of different resources.
He recommended a system where the government would basically auction off the right to consume basic resources, and the time aloud to be
consumed would decrease over time, having in
place market mechanisms such as higher prices,
conservation, better tech, substitutions, etc. as a
way to limit the consumption (Daly 1973).
Mitchell was inspired by Daly’s ideas but was
inspired to host the conferences to engage leaders
in discussing and developing alternative solutions since he was philosophically opposed to the
“No-Growth” scenario, which Daly presented.
For Mitchell it was more of a question of how to
grow, rather than limiting growth (Schmandt
2010).
Mitchell spent a great deal of money and
resources to address this issue of growth vs development. Based on the performance of the
Houston region, the dilemma is still very acute
and its adverse effects are growing larger. Our
research team will engage regional business leaders to further Daly’s concerns complemented by
Mitchell’s interest to develop solutions and interventions to address the question, “How can we
grow sustainably in a sprawling region?”
We end this chapter with a few takeaway
points from Houston’s performance in comparison to the 100 largest metros in the country:
• SDG1 No Poverty, SDG4 Quality Education,
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth –
With a poverty rate above the national mean,
we have to address the determinants of low
economic contribution and poverty. Education
is a major determinant to these areas.
Professional organizations such as American
Leadership Forum are organizing members to
develop interventions for the wicked problem
of education in Houston. As the state takes
over the school district starting in 2020, the
business community should support efforts by
intervening to ensure student outcomes support industrial needs in the region.
• SDG3 Good Health and Well-Being – Heart
attacks, diabetes,
3
traffic accidents, and access
to physicians can also be correlated with
effects of living in a sprawl city. These areas
will all need public intervention to improve
our regional performance. Lack of health
insurance is both a national- and state-level
political issue, which may correlate strongly
with health issues such as infant mortality, low
birth weight, and STDs.
• SDG6 Water Stress – The City of Houston is a
regional water provider, which is good for the
residents within the City of Houston; however
it can become burdensome on city administration unless appropriate monies are charged to
support the operations of this resource.
• SDG7 Affordable and Clean Energy – This is
another area in which business needs support
from local government to incentivize clean
energy sources. Incentives may be in the form
of loans or grants for solar panel installation
or loans to incentivize business to develop
more clean energy sources.
• SDG10 Reduced Inequalities; SDG16 Peace,
Justice, and Strong Institutions – As our region
grows in terms of the Hispanic ethnicity, we
must develop interventions to ensure wicked
inequalities do not reduce our economic success or our quality of life in general. We need
to do more to ensure that all historic minorities have adequate opportunities based on
their needs to be able to develop without
prejudice.
• SDG11 Sustainable Cities and Communities,
SDG12 Responsible Consumption and
Production, SDG13 Climate Action, SDG15
Life on Land – As a result of its large land
area, the Houston region has to develop policies and interventions to deal with the effects
3 Diabetes may develop from eating the wrong types of
foods since access to fresh fruits and vegetables are limited in a sprawl city.
D. B. Abraham
transition from the growing economy to the
steady state? To achieve “optimum rates,” he proposed a “zero growth” scenario and also suggested to control the right to have children in
order to address the population problem and the
control of the consumption of different resources.
He recommended a system where the government would basically auction off the right to consume basic resources, and the time aloud to be
consumed would decrease over time, having in
place market mechanisms such as higher prices,
conservation, better tech, substitutions, etc. as a
way to limit the consumption (Daly 1973).
Mitchell was inspired by Daly’s ideas but was
inspired to host the conferences to engage leaders
in discussing and developing alternative solutions since he was philosophically opposed to the
“No-Growth” scenario, which Daly presented.
For Mitchell it was more of a question of how to
grow, rather than limiting growth (Schmandt
2010).
Mitchell spent a great deal of money and
resources to address this issue of growth vs development. Based on the performance of the
Houston region, the dilemma is still very acute
and its adverse effects are growing larger. Our
research team will engage regional business leaders to further Daly’s concerns complemented by
Mitchell’s interest to develop solutions and interventions to address the question, “How can we
grow sustainably in a sprawling region?”
We end this chapter with a few takeaway
points from Houston’s performance in comparison to the 100 largest metros in the country:
• SDG1 No Poverty, SDG4 Quality Education,
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth –
With a poverty rate above the national mean,
we have to address the determinants of low
economic contribution and poverty. Education
is a major determinant to these areas.
Professional organizations such as American
Leadership Forum are organizing members to
develop interventions for the wicked problem
of education in Houston. As the state takes
over the school district starting in 2020, the
business community should support efforts by
intervening to ensure student outcomes support industrial needs in the region.
• SDG3 Good Health and Well-Being – Heart
attacks, diabetes,
3
traffic accidents, and access
to physicians can also be correlated with
effects of living in a sprawl city. These areas
will all need public intervention to improve
our regional performance. Lack of health
insurance is both a national- and state-level
political issue, which may correlate strongly
with health issues such as infant mortality, low
birth weight, and STDs.
• SDG6 Water Stress – The City of Houston is a
regional water provider, which is good for the
residents within the City of Houston; however
it can become burdensome on city administration unless appropriate monies are charged to
support the operations of this resource.
• SDG7 Affordable and Clean Energy – This is
another area in which business needs support
from local government to incentivize clean
energy sources. Incentives may be in the form
of loans or grants for solar panel installation
or loans to incentivize business to develop
more clean energy sources.
• SDG10 Reduced Inequalities; SDG16 Peace,
Justice, and Strong Institutions – As our region
grows in terms of the Hispanic ethnicity, we
must develop interventions to ensure wicked
inequalities do not reduce our economic success or our quality of life in general. We need
to do more to ensure that all historic minorities have adequate opportunities based on
their needs to be able to develop without
prejudice.
• SDG11 Sustainable Cities and Communities,
SDG12 Responsible Consumption and
Production, SDG13 Climate Action, SDG15
Life on Land – As a result of its large land
area, the Houston region has to develop policies and interventions to deal with the effects
3 Diabetes may develop from eating the wrong types of
foods since access to fresh fruits and vegetables are limited in a sprawl city.
D. B. Abraham