Hello, I'm City Journal editor Brian Anderson.

Thanks for joining us for the 10 Blocks podcast featuring urban policy and cultural commentary

with City Journal editors, contributors, and special guests. The state of Texas has seen spectacular economic and population growth over the past two decades.

The Lone Star State's pro-development policies have made Texas one of the most attractive

places for middle-class families to own a good home

at a reasonable price. Texas's economic success has largely been concentrated in its four major

metropolitan areas, Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, which make up what is known as the Texas Triangle. Each city has successfully

lured its own mix of businesses and entrepreneurs to relocate or invest in Texas, and together

they're doing better than almost any region in the country since the Great Recession. However,

no economic boom can last forever, and with growth comes

significant challenges, many of which are the same challenges faced by other American cities

in the past. Joining us to discuss those challenges, and Texas's future is Aaron Wren.

Aaron is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of

City Journal, and a columnist at Governing Magazine. He's an expert on urban development and can be

found on Twitter at UrbanaFile. Aaron's latest piece, Lone Star Quartet, is featured in Texas Rising,

our new special issue of City Journal focused on Texas.

It can be found online at www.com.com.

Aaron, thanks very much for joining us.

Thanks, having me in.

Now, many people have compared Texas's explosive growth in the century with the rise

of California in the last century. There

are many similarities, but California today is one of the most expensive states for middle-class

...