The oil and gas companies clustered south of the central business district and in the Woodlands account for 3.4 percent of the city's employment, but the concentrated energy sector helps spread the wealth to other sectors in zoning-free Houston.
"Houston is clearly a growth leader," said Walter Page, director of office research at Property and Portfolio Research. "It was the first major economy in the U.S. to register more jobs than it lost in the recession." Since August 2008, employment is up 3.7 percent compared to New York's 0.7 percent. The city's office vacancy rate is down 13.4 percent from last year, according to the CoStar Group, and strong real estate sales reflect the interest and growth of the market. Developers are building 15 major office buildings in the first three quarters of this year to meet strong demand for office space in the area of the city where energy companies are clustered. "The global energy industry is headquartered here," said Mark Cover, Hines's chief executive for the southwest region. "It's not just oil and gas, it's alternatives too. Intellectual capital in the energy field is heavily concentrated here."
Without zoning laws, the city is essentially market-zoned, "because land prices are not based on zoning rights, they’re based on purely capitalistic, highest and best use value," says Cover. "Market forces shape the city’s development in hubs, says Jim Knight, who heads land development in Texas for Bury & Partners, an Austin-based engineering firm." Hence energy companies and major employers cluster downtown, while refineries and distribution centers open near the ports. Employees want to live closer to work so developers build apartments and homes around these areas. The increasing population attracts services and retailers, and the city continues to flourish.
Woodlands, a master-planned community 27 miles north of downtown, is becoming one such hub, with a town center oriented to pedestrian traffic and connections to a network of hiking and bike trails. Exxon Mobil is breaking out of the "energy cluster" mold by building a new campus there on 385 acres for 10,000 employees, perhaps demonstrating that the market for livable communities is stronger than the market for co-locating next to your business associates.
FULL STORY: A Boom in Houston Is Led by the Energy Industry

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie