Transparent Local Accounting:

Keeping Houston from Going Broke

Strong Towns Are Resilient

  • The hallmark of the Strong Towns approach to city development emphasizes economic resiliency.

  • Cities are resilient when they invest in their most productive areas and make “little bets” on infrastructure instead of funding “build it and they will come” projects.

  • Compact, walkable/bikeable, and safer neighborhoods are the most resilient—they pay for themselves, don’t need subsidies, and are our most valuable places.

Fixing Houston, the Poster Child of the Suburban Experiment.

  • Houston is the poster child of the Suburban Experiment: expanded highways, disrupted neighborhoods, spread out infrastructure, and deferred maintenance (among other things).

  • Houston is broke: we cannot take care of what we built and we have to keep kicking the can down the road.

  • But we can take Houston back. We have to say no to wide stroads and top-down projects. We must say yes to safe streets and local, bottom-up investments.

  • You can make a difference in Houston by supporting local business, promoting safe streets, and fighting for resiliency in City Hall.

6 Principles for a Strong Houston:

  • Financial solvency is a prerequisite for long-term prosperity.

  • Land is the base resource from which community prosperity is built and sustained. It must not be squandered.

  • A transportation system is a means of creating prosperity in a community, not an end in itself.

  • Job creation and economic growth are the results of a healthy local economy, not substitutes for one.

  • Strong cities, towns, and neighborhoods cannot happen without strong citizens (people who care).

  • Local government is a platform for Strong Citizens to collaboratively build a prosperous place.