Demographics have changed significantly throughout the last 30 years worldwide. Increased population growth concerned the United States of America, impacting the biggest city such as New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, and others. Houston has become such a city where the population growth has been changing for the past three decades. It is the most populous city in the U.S.A. and took the fourth position among the country’s supercities. Furthermore, Houston is estimated to have 2,320,268 residents coming from different locations. Houston’s abundant natural resources, fertile land, a central location on the territory the United States, and a business-friendly environment have long drawn both immigrants and natives to Texas. As a result, the state’s population is growing faster, younger, and more diverse than the national population. These rapid demographic changes pose challenges for the future.
As time passed, people started to pay more attention to education and human resources than natural resources and lands. Such a situation occurred because people wanted to graduate from any American college, receive a diploma, become a middle-class resident. Thus, there has been a gap between poor and rich, the latter who received 10$ a day, the former earned 10$ an hour (ttweak Admin 00:03:52-00:03:55). Such a difference occurred because some people had access to higher education and as it is noted, “what you have learned is what you earn” (ttweak Admin 00:04:06-00:04:08). Education has become a critical variable of a person’s capacity for earning enough money to support the 21st century’s knowledge economy.
Over time Houston’s oil field will become substituted by the new technologies and innovatons. Houston’s wealth’s source will be the biotech medical centers that present multiple career opportunities for residents and conduct many advanced studies. They will study bio, nano, and informational technologies to attract high-certified people from all over America. Moreover, the authorities and elite groups plan to donate money to plant a million trees in the city. The main idea is to improve Houston’s atmosphere by repairing the roads, making the drainage systems look better, and greening places. The city is in the process of reinventing itself for the sake of its residents.
The American population was impacted by immigration during the last century. In the 1960s, three and a half million people fled into America (ttweak Admin). During the next decades, more people from Europe, Asia, and Latin America came to the country. However, not a single city has been transformed like Houston. It has become the most ethnically diverse place in the United States, sheltering Hispanic, African, Asian, and European migrants. Houston prepared a solid ground for those who came to succeed in schools, universities, and workplaces.
As the 21st century unfolds, Houston’s ethnic transformation can become the most significant contribution to the global economy. The modern immigration into American society is an unprecedented case because many non-Europeans with solid educational and financial backgrounds flow to America. 61% of Asian and African people have a college degree compared to 47% of natives (ttweak Admin 00:20:30-00:20:33). As a result, this process is an excellent asset for Houston’s present and future.
To my mind, the video presents a carefully elaborated story of Houston’s demographic boom. It clearly describes all the stages the city has gone through: from the 1980s to the 2010s. What is more, the statistics demonstrated shows how a town could drastically change. From the industrialized place to the city of modern innovations, Houston has revealed its prospects for those willing to thrive. The city and its authorities aim to provide each resident and immigrant with a decent education, workplaces, and a high quality of life. However, there are still some implications Houston should deal with to provide safety and comfort to its population.
Like the majority of American cities, Houston struggles with several issues such as traffic, flooding, and crimes. Primarily, traffic jams cause multiple complications to the city and its inhabitants. The solution is on the surface: building multilayered roads and highways would reduce road accidents and congestion. Moreover, increasing the number of public transport would alleviate the present conditions. What is more, flooding has been plaguing Houston for many years now, and an urgent solution is demanded. Tunnels with the inverted system may be used to move water underground during flooding. Even though they will not entirely eradicate the problem, they will decrease it along with other flood mitigation programs. Finally, Houston’s crime rate is relatively high and troublesome for its residents. Therefore, all community members’ active cooperation, including local authorities, police, courts, and other organizations, is required to stop the spread of criminal activity.
To conclude, it seems relevant to state that the ethnicity mixes and growth of Houston’s population has brought about significant changes and improvements for the past three decades. What makes its demographics flourish is its openness to new immigrants and its readiness to collaborate with them. Houston is a city of the future which has profitable opportunities to expand and facilitate itself for its inhabitants.
Work Cited
“Interesting Times.” YouTube, uploaded by ttweak Admin, 2014, Web.