In 100 years, which metro will be Texas's largest (Houston, Dallas: tornado, land)

[texdav]

Houston

[uglyblackjohn]

Originally Posted by austinnetx

All things being equal, it really comes down to water.

Neither city really took off until the major reservoirs were put in in the 50s.

Houston has an absolute advantage because it is near the Gulf and a nuke plant could easily desalinated more than enough water.

DFW still can triple its acre-feet of water with the new reservoirs on the books.

OTOH, birth rates in developed nations drop as women become educated. As globalization continues, my guess is that DFW and Houston will peak in the next 50 years then begin a decline. That is if cheap longitivity treatment does not become a reality.

Water seems to be a very important factor in all of this. Houston has access to highways, rail and the gulf in order to ship and receive products.
A new more spawling "metro-plex" could also sping up - much like the Inland Empire region of Southern California. Texas in 100 years? Look at California now for that answer.

[Kofi713]

Do you mean the California Central Valley? The Inland Empire in California is just more sprawl from Los Angeles.

As for Texas, I see The Valley, Midland-Odessa, Tyler, and Lubbock growing fast in the future as Texas grows. The Valley, MO, and Tyler already have healthy domestic and international migration numbers for metro areas of their size.

[KewlGuy]

Originally Posted by lutarian

The Earth will not exist in 100 years.

Thank you Al Gore for chiming in.

[lutarian]

Muhnay....what is your problem...you can't take a joke?

I say nonsense is a person with so much pride in an area that they can't admit what is going on. Now that is nonsense and ignorance.

[Muhnay]

Originally Posted by lutarian

Muhnay....what is your problem...you can't take a joke?

I say nonsense is a person with so much pride in an area that they can't admit what is going on. Now that is nonsense and ignorance.

Sure I can.. a Lutarian walks into a bar.. he sees a horse standing at the end of the bar, so he asks the bartender, whats with the horse.. the bartender says.. he is a very sad horse.. if anyone can make him laugh I will give them free drinks all night. The Lutarian being such a comic genius figures this will be easy and takes the bet.. he walks over, looks the horse up and down, and leans over and whispers something in the horses ear.. with in seconds the horse brakes out laughing... The Lutarian sits back down knowing he won the bet. The Bartender says, I have to know what you did to make the horse laugh.. it was simple, I told him I had a bigger penis than he did.. when that didn't work I showed him.. he began to laugh uncontrollably.

The moral of the joke.. Lutarian don't be a little prick. ( Just Joking )

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Muhnay

Well if you count Mexico.. El Paso has and will continue to have the largest population.

But I would think Houston and Beaumont will merge and they will become the largest... if they are not already.. I mean look at how far out Houston covers with its many smaller cities all around it, and suburbs.

Houston and Beaumont metros are on average 90-100 miles apart (like Austin and SA), but there is no merging between the two right now. There is a giant void between the two areas (unlike Austin and SA) for many good reasons. Void meaning no gas stations, no power lines, no infrastructure, no nothing but rice paddies, cows & cool birds. I guess in 100 years anything is possible, but if these areas ever merge it's because there is absolutely no other space left.

[Kofi713]

Originally Posted by tstone

Houston and Beaumont metros are on average 90-100 miles apart (like Austin and SA), but there is no merging between the two right now. There is a giant void between the two areas (unlike Austin and SA) for many good reasons. Void meaning no gas stations, no power lines, no infrastructure, no nothing but rice paddies, cows & cool birds. I guess in 100 years anything is possible, but if these areas ever merge it's because there is absolutely no other space left.

Only takes about 45 minutes now to get from San Jacinto Mall in Bayton to the Ford Center in Beaumont. Beaumont is growing west, and the East side of Houston is getting a lot of new jobs that some in Beaumont take. If commuter patterns increase, then they will merge. Development between the two is not the only way they can merge.

[tstone]

Just one example, takes me 55 minutes from that mall to Port Arthur, cruising at 80 mph except for the 8 miles of heavy construction. From outside Mont Belvieu to Port Arthur there's almost nothing (55 miles). I drive SE Houston to Port Arthur every day (90 miles one way) and it isn't what I'd consider a usual commute.

But again, anything can happen in 100 years.

[Lakewooder]

If we can get high-speed rail along the I-35 corridor it will be one megalopolis.