The University of Houston

I had a fantastic opportunity while in Houston to meet Michael Harding and Craig Premjee, President and Vice-President of the University of Houston Student Government Association. As a former Student Guild President myself I knew it was going to be an interesting chat… but it was more than merely interesting…

The University of Houston has an enrolment of about 38,000 students (approximately equivalent to Curtin University back home in Perth). But unlike universities in Australia, there are 450 student organisations, 16 intercollegitae sports teams, 41 fraternities and sororities and services on campus that would make your jaw drop… and apparently this is small in comparison to most. The sports and Recreation Centre on campus boasts Olympic-quality facilities including:

- 50,000 sq feet of courts
- 30,000 sq feet of indoor swimming pools, a ten metre high diving platform
- Indoor Rock-climbing walls
- Squash courts
- A huge outdoor recreation swimming pool, water-slide and spa

Massive change-rooms, gym facilities and heaps more.

There’s also a daily student newspaper called the ‘Daily Cougar’, complemented by an up-to-the-minute news website providing UH students with comprehensive coverage of most of the issues which affect them on campus: www.thedailycougar.com I had the opportunity to meet Jack Wehman, Editor in Chief of the newspaper, who is supported by a team of nine sub-editors. Again, it’s student services on steroids… I’d argue a daily paper is overkill, but it certainly provides University of Houston Media and Journalism students with a great understanding of the pressures of the 24 hours news cycle.

Michael and Craig walked me all around their campus introducing me to a host of University figures including:

- William Munston, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Development and Dean of Students- Jason Bergman, Associate Director of the Centre for Leadership and Fraternity & Sorority Life - Staff of the UH Recretaion Centre- Admissions Office staff, and more

It’s really not an exageration to say that between the two of them, we were stopped constantly throughout the walk-around. Every third person was calling out, high-fiving, inviting them along to events, or talking about campus issues. It was fantastic to see tow guys so deeply involved in campus life, and a community of students who seemed so engaged. This is just an outsider’s perspective, but it seemed like a great place to study!

The Student Government Association is an advocacy organisation with direct relationships with the University through established personal relationships and formal University Committees. It was fascinating to hear the perspectives of Michael and Craig and also to hear from senior University figures that issues life financial pressures, student fees, campus services, quality of campus accommodation etc are all shared issues. As readers would know, Australia has a much cheaper Higher Education system. University of Houston public brochures state that semesterly tuition and fees for domestic students are $8,532 while room and board costs $7,886. For a student living on campus for two semesters that’s $32,800 or more. So the services are much better, but they pay for them. It raises an interesting question about priorities, cost-effectiveness and the quality of education…

It was clear that the SGA are highly-regarded on campus and have a great relationship with the student body and campus administrators. I’ve always believed that this was the best scenario in which to effect meaningful and long-lasting change in the interests of students. I wish Michael and Craig all the best for the coming year. They have much ahead of them, but i’m confident they’ve got all of the drive, charisma and street-smarts to do a fantastic job!

My next post, is on the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance: http://www.ghpa.org/

Signing off for now!

Reece H

An inspirational conversation with Sylvia Bolling

Inspirational!

One word that best sums up the work of Sylvia Bolling and her team of volunteers at Aldine YOUTH in the northern area of Houston.

Sylvia is one of those people who bursts with enthusiasm, optimism, warmth and generosity. In her presence you can’t help but be inspired by her compassion and her devotion to creating grass-roots change in her community. I could have happily talked to Sylvia for hours, and listened to her gems of wisdom and stories of hope the whole day!

Aldine YOUTH has been making a positive impact in the community of Houston for 21 years. As with so many community initiatives, it started in Sylvia’s own home, and from the back of her car. Since then, Aldine YOUTH has spread out across an expansive block of land in the centre of Aldine, encompassing an administrative office, workshop rooms, a community hall, thrift shop, classrooms, sports fields, a community garden, kitchen, food-bank  and more.

Funding
Like so many community organisations, Aldine Youth continues to suffer from a lack of funding. Ironic for a nation which is the richest and most powerful in the world.

Sylvia: “If you look at our bank account, we’re this close to being broke. Because money does not trickle down. I call Aldine YOUTH and other organisations like us true grass-roots. Being grass-roots means you’re closest to the root, but that also means you’re under the ground, nobody can see you and nobody’s going to come down and help you because it’s too dark and it’s too dirty doing the work we do. The money doesn’t trickle down either.”

“We don’t take a lot of government grants because they tend to tie your hands and I don’t have a grant-writer, we have to do everything ourselves. I went ten years in this mission with no paid staff and it is very difficult. I’m just so glad that I was well-rooted in this passion because you go to those places and they say: “Ok, when you go back, get your secretary…” and I’m thinking to myself “I don’t have a secretary.” or “All you’d have to do is just go on your computer…” and i’m thinking, “I don’t have a computer.” We just didn’t fit, and I would have left saying, I just cant do it, but luckily I didn’t have enough sense to realise that I couldn’t do it.”

Grass-roots involvement is key
Aldine Youth is a grass-roots organisation, and that means a long-term, personal, and one-on-one engagement with the community. The centre has been around long enough now to have assisted children in its early years who are now parents themselves. And therien lies the power of what Sylvia does, and why Aldine is such a shining example of the very best of community-service provision. Sylvia and her team know the lives of the people they are helping intimately. They live in the community, they volunteer in the centre, attend the same churches, and learn in the same schools; this is a tight-knit operation!

Programs and co-location of services
Sylvia has set out to co-locate as many community-services as the centre can manage here. So not only are youth services provided, but also classes for continuing education, and a business school teaching basic business skills for adults. Co-location of services, founded in the principles of relationship building and collective community responsibility is something that has set Aldine YOUTH apart from it’s downtown counterparts: http://www.aldineyouth.org/programslist.html

Accountability and giving back to the community
One of the other great things about Sylvia’s approach to community development is the honesty and accountability expected of the people she assists.

“The whole concept is, to make accessible what people need. I know everybody, so that’s my biggest gift. I used to just make everything free but finally we decided to put a price. Even if people can’t pay it they need to know that it has some value, so what we do is a barter system. We say “Ok, it’s $40 a week for your child to come to the after school program. How much can you pay?”

We had to break people’s mind-sets because they were saying “I’m low-income, I can’t pay anything” and see when you do grassroots community work, we’re thinking… “But hang-on, I just saw you at the store, and your basket was full of stuff I wish I could buy” so they can’t hide from us because we are close to them. They can go downtown to the agency and weave a story, but they can’t come here and do that, because I know you and I know your mamma so don’t even try it!

We ask what can you pay, and then we ask how you’re going to make up for the rest of it? We make people be a part of their own solution. If you take something from here, you have to give something back and that’s something we teach here. Everybody has something to give and it’s not always what’s in your pocket. Don’t come here and say that you’re not working and we should just give you something  so you can go home and watch the soap-operas. I haven’t seen soap-operas in a long time, so if you’re not working, then you’re even more accessible to come if you’re gonna take.”

Creating a genuine close-knit community
Sylvia aims to foster a respectful, loving and caring community hub with her centre.

“In many low-income communities there is no place where people feel safe enough to go and have a relationship and talk to somebody and that’s killing people because they start drowning their problems in drugs and all kinds of things. If we want to know why so many people are on drugs, we have to go to the root and the root is they don’t have the system, the relationships in their life, the trust and the people they can depend on. Positive role-modelling doesn’t exist, and I just really believe that if we have more organisations like Aldine YOUTH where people could come and be safe and trust people and get the help then things would dramatically improve. If you want to know how to serve people, you have to be among the people, and you have to listen.

Housing
Aldine Youth is situated right in the middle of a host of public housing estates, schools, churches and light industrial precincts. The surrounding community is, to be honest, not the prettiest part of Houston. It’s a part of Houston which is economically depressed and in need of greater attention and services.

“These apartment right down the road, two block of apartments just rotting out. The families are trying to get out of there but they don’t know where to go. It’s just horrible, and we expect our kids to come out of that and hit the school door and to behave the same regardless of where they came from that morning. And when kids don’t pay attention in class because they’re tired they get in trouble for something which is completely out of their control.”

Solutions
I asked Sylvia what were the top changes she would make if she had the political power and the resources; if she was the Mayor? Her answer:

“I would start by doing a lot at this level. I would make sure that grassroots people that live closest to the problem have some say so and resources to change things in their community. I think this concept should be all over the city. Empower people closest to the problem.

Broadening young people’s horizons
One day Sylvia was taking a group of local kids on an excursion, she had them in the back of her car and asked “Where would you like to go? ” The Answer: Target. Many of the kids in Aldine haven’t ventured far outside the surroundings of their suburb. The Centre takes kids on a tour of the city, explaining the interstate highways, the loop roads, and how the urban design of Houston fits together. How can you expect kids to decide what they want to be when they grow up, when they don’t even have a good understanding of their own city, let alone the world.

“There’s one kid who when he got older came back to the community and said “Ms Bolling, if I had any idea that city was as big as it was; i didn’t know… Why were we fighting over this one corner, killing each other?” He said “I had no idea!”. So some of the needs are simple, basic, and have simple solutions best implemented by the people who have a first-hand understanding os the issues.

Sylvia’s passion is incredible, and her length of service so impressive. I had such a good time chatting with Sylvia, and i’ll be working to help to pair Aldine YOUTH with potential donors in coming months, because they need all the resources they can get!

Signing off for now,

Reece

City Hall, the Mayor and the Mayor’s Youth Council

City Hall

 

The City of Houston

The First thing to understand is that Houston is MASSIVE. It’s the 4th largest City in the US and it is huge. Drive 40 minutes north, and you’re still in the city. Drive 40 minutes south, and you’re still in the city. There are multiple distinct built up areas including Downtown, Mid Town, Galleria etc. The reason i’m reiterating this, is to give you some idea of the responsibilities of the City of Houston’s Council and Mayor as compares to the City of Perth. The City itself has a population of approximately 2.3 million with a population in the Houston Metropolitan area of about 6 million. This compares to approximately 14,000 residents of the City of Perth, with approximately 1.7 million in the metropolitan area.

So the difference in scale is huge!

Houston has what is termed a “Strong Mayoral” form of municipal government. The City is led by Mayor Annise Parker whom I had the pleasure of meeting last Monday. She is supported by a City Controller and a fourteen-member city council, all elected to serve a maximum of three 2-year terms. The Mayor is the city’s CEO and is responsible for the direct management of the city and the enforcement of its laws. The mayor appoints city department heads, presents the City’s annual budget, administers oaths and presides over the City Council where she also has a vote.

Demographics and social need
According to the 2005 Houston Area Survey, 68 percent of non-Hispanic whites in Harris County (The larger area which takes in the majority of the City of Houston) are declared or favour Republicans while 89 percent of non-Hispanic blacks in the area are declared or favour Democrats. About 62 percent Hispanics in the area are declared or favor Democrats. So i’d argue that the city is quite divided politically, and there is a large correlation between race and political persuasion.

There’s so much to write about, but never enough time in the day to write, so i’ll highlight a few demographic and socio-economic issues and then my meeting with the Mayor’s Youth Council, and what I learned from the experience.

Everyone I met in Houston spoke to me about the comparitively low cost of living. I was staying in a stunning, beautiful, 4 bedroom home in a pretty wooded-neighbourhood, close to transport, on a quarter acre block, granite benchtops, expansive living areas, picturesque. Acoording to it’s hosts, its market value is about the same as my tiny, 50sqm studio appartment back home). People migrate to Houston for this reason alone. Here’s an example… A beautiful, spacious 2 bed 2 bathroom warehouse renovated apartment, right on main Street in Downtown Houston for $240,000: http://www.homes.com/listing/125927135/featured

The Global Financial crisis seems to have hit Houston Hard. Approximately 20% of the population and 16% of families are below the poverty line. These statistics are quite shocking: http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Houston-Texas.html So what we know about Houston is that there is a great need for community services, and a great need for services to assist the young, homeless, destitute and illiterate to shape themselves a better future. This compares with massive and overt displays of wealth, hard to describe. Homes equivalent to none i’ve seen in Australia. Multiple Suburbs of multimillion dollar mansions which easily Dalkeith Mosman Park.

The Mayor’s Youth Council

Mayor’s Youth Council

 

The Mayor’s Youth Council of the City of Houston are a truly inspirational bunch of young local residents, selected from surrounding highschools. They’re switched-on, compassionate, eloquent and very impressive to have a conversation with. They’re also in touch with social-justice and equity issues, while keeping an optimistic eye on the future of their communities discussing urban planning, future energy industries and improving infrastructure services. The City of Perth Youth Advisory Council and Houston mayor’s Youth council have a shared history, having participated in 2 video-conference linkups during the last few years; so it was a true honour to be able to meet face to face with them, and tell them a little bit more about Perth and some of the great things we’re doing.

The question “What would you do if you were the Mayor of Houston?” Received a flurry of responses, from improving the quality of district highschool, ramping up funding for community services, investing in public transport initiatives, and supporting the work of grass-roots and community organisations. I walked away with a boosted optimism for the future of Houston. It is a city packed full of people with huge hearts and enthusiasm to enact change.

Artistic endeavours and endowments

I’ve been blown away! Houston is a world-class artistic capital… no, really, it is!

Google “Art in Houston”, or “Artistic Houston” and just have a scroll through. For a young city, younger than Perth (founded in 1836) Houston punches well above it’s weight on the international stage when it comes to artistic endeavours.

Houston’s Theatre District
Houston’s Theater District, right in the heart of Downtown Houston is home to nine major performing art organisations and six performance venues; the second-largest concentration of theatre seats in the country behind New York City (more than 12,000). The city is one of a handful in the US with permanent professional resident companies in all major performing arts disciplines; Opera: Houston Grand Opera, Ballet: Houston Ballet, Classical Music: Houston Ballet and Theatre: Houston Ballet

The Museum District
The Museum District, south of Downtown Houston, is home to 18 museums and related institutions and attracts more than seven million visitors per year: Alley Theatre, Blaffer Gallery, Childrens Museum, Contemporary Arts Museum, Fire Museum, Health Museum, Hobby Center, Holocaust Museum, Houston Arts Alliance, Jones Hall, Menil Collection, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Municipal Art, Museum District, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Natural Science, Rice Art Gallery, Theater District, Weather Museum, Wortham Center

The Museum of Fine Arts

I had the privelige of visiting Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts while a world-class exhibition of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings was in town. Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Manet, Renoir… simply astounding! With the private and public wealth in Houston over many years, philanthropic organisations abound, and endowments have grown and grown. I was told in passing that the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston is the second-most well endowed Art Gallery in the United States after the Metropolitan in New York. And quite simply, i’d argue that in the art world, money = quality. Curatorial staff, security, facilities all build up to establish an institution’s reputation so that galleries around the world have confidence that their work won’t be misplaced or damaged should it be lent to the MFA. With more than 62,000 pieces in its collection spanning more than 28,000 square metres of exhibition space the MFA is a Houston must-see.

Booker Lowe Gallery and the Houston Arts Foundation

Booker Lowe Gallery is the only substantial gallery of Australian Indigenous Art in the Americas, and it’s in Houston, founded and run by Australia’s Honorary Consul, Nana Booker AM. I was lucky enough to meet with Nana and Karen Rezai, a member of the Board of the Houston Arts Foundation to discuss the artistic life of Houston, and the culture of philanthropy so evident throughout the city. Nana walked me through her latest exhibition titled “Sandhill Country” by Iwantja artists from the outback of South Australia. A fantastic collection which is being well-received in Houston and abroad.

Karen Rezai spoke to me about the Houston Art’s Foundation’s latest initiative called the‘Adopt a Monument Program’. The Arts Foundation pair up one of the citiy’s many monuments or sculptures with a local school or community group and develop a relationship over time. The school or group can select a monument with some meaning or historical significane or link to their community, and in turn, they fundraise money to pay for the ongoing maintenance and restoration of the monument. Not only is it a way for the city to recoup some of the costs of maintenance, but more importantly, it establishes a direct connection between a group in the community and a piece of public art. A feeling of ‘ownership’ and involvement is a key factor in building a connected city.

I think it’s an incredible idea, and something which we could look into implementing home in Perth.

Tomorrow a post about my fantastic meeting last night with the City of Houston Youth Mayor’s Council, and a few of the other things i got up to!

Nan Booker, Honorary Consul of Australia in Texas and Karen Rezai (Houston Arts Foundation)

 

City of Houston, downtown!

So it’s the evening of Wednesday, May the 4th here in Houston, and it’s about time I gave a little update on what I got up to on Monday.

The World Energy Cities Partnership is an international network of energy-economy cities including Perth, Houston, Calgary, Aberdeen, Stavanger in Norway, and Doha Qatar to name just a few. It’s an economic friendship between cities who share a mutual interest in developing energy resources, and an information network of cities and companies who share  industry best-practice, research and new initiatives and development strategies.

A formal luncheon was held Monday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Downtown Houston to welcome delegates and members and Mayors of these World Energy Cities Partnership members to Houston for a week-long trade exhibition called the “Offshore Technology Conference” Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference is the world’s preeminent event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production, and environmental protection. Each year, OTC attracts more than 65,000 attendees and 2,000 exhibiting companies representing more than 110 countries. As all the readers of my blog would know, Western Australia is an economic power-house particularly centering around our mining, drilling and offshore engineering industries, so it’s apt that many business leaders from Australian industry were in attendance.

These conferences are invaluable in establishing and renewing partnerships, friendships and business networks, and also in sharing information and the most up-to date  research and technological advancements. Inevitably friendships blossom and it can all be quite fun. I met a bunch of interesting people at the lunch including:

- Elaine Robertson – International Strategist with Aberdeen City Council
- Chet Morrison –  CEO of Morrison Energy Group
- Deborah Mansfield – Associate Director of Gulf Coast Regional Centre of Innovation and Commercialisation
- Billy Gillis – National Vice President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture
- Nancy Phillips – Director of Trade & Investment, The Greater Halifax Partnership

After lunch I headed to Downtown Houston for a great walk around the city, followed by a tour of the City’s museum district (I got there by light rail). The city is truly charming, but suffers some of the same planning and historical issues as the City of Perth when it comes to ground-level retail, fostering a more vibrant and attractive street-life and generating a critical mass of residents.

Houston is very much a commuter city, and very business-focussed. Buildings are offices there to be worked in, neighbourhoods are where the real community spirit can be found (these are of course generalistions, and I still have much to learn over coming days about the community, artistic and cultural life of the city, but these are my initial impressions of the place). Much of Houston’s commerce and street-life is actually not on the street at all, but underground… In an interesting quirk, Houston has an extensive series of underground arcades, climate controlled for comfort in both winter and Summer. I’ll make sure to visit these in coming days! Again, photos are much more powerful than words alone so i’ll leave you with e a few images until me next missive

Obama adresses the nation – Bin Laden

Video from the White House: Obama adresses the Nation – May 1st 2011

An historic day in the United States

As I sit here in the lounge-room, watching a live-address to the nation by President Obama about the death of Osama Bin Laden, it’s hard not to recognise that it’s an historic time to be in the United States. Speaking directly to the world, Obama speaks eloquently about the years of military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan targeting terrorist networks. And that he “gave the order” to go into the compound where he was hiding in Pakistan. Certainly an incredible time to be here… and I guess this is going to be the focus of news broadcasts for the week: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/01/bin.laden.obit/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

With people rallying in support of the President of the White House, there’s going to be a lot of interesting commentary in coming days. I’ll be sure to catch a copy of the Houston Chronicle tomorrow to bring home with me.

So, this is the end of the day… what else happened today?

Well, not too much to be honest. After 30 hours without sleep, I had a bit of catching up to do… but when I woke I decided to take a walk around and familiarise myself with my surroundings (like I do on the first day whenever I travel to a new city). Kingwood, Houston is a very pretty, planned suburb, north-west of Houston. Squirrels climbing trees, lush wooded forrests, green gardens, flowers flowing over luscious hanging baskets, rocking chairs on front-porches, US Flags flying proudly on the front lawn, houses which back onto Golf Courses and Lakes the laughter of kids and teenagers jumping into their swimming pools, SUVs humming slowly down the roads and people out walking their dogs.

I’ve been introduced to the neighbours as well, and they all know each other. They go to church together, know each others families, their children have married neighbours, such a tight-knit community, where everyone seems to be looking out for each other.

I guess, the best way to describe a place is in photos right? So here’s a few below.

Tomorrow, hitching a lift into downtown Houston before a lunch with Lisa Scaffidi (Lord Mayor of Perth) and representatives of the world’s largest Oil & Gas companies to discuss economic ties and developments between the US and Australia.

Signing off for now,

Reece

Video: The streets of Kingwood, Houston

Another: Kingwood, Houston

On my way to Houston, Texas

Travel, transiting and small talk

Airports are strange places.

Sometimes ick, sometimes sophisticated… after 28 hours of travel: Perth -> Sydney -> LA -> Houston, and 6 in-flight movies later… i’ve landed in Houston Texas. From above the sheer scale of Houston becomes apparent. This is no small country-side community. This is the US on a grand metropolitan-scale.

Houston is the 4th largest city in the US with just over 2.1 million people calling the city their home. Massive arterial freeways keep the traffic flowing, planned communities with neighbourhoods without back-fences or any pretences. I’ve been advised by Perth planners that Houston’s Planning and urban design system is quite unique, and that the notion of zoning of areas for residential, commercial only is non-existent.

Got a few spare million dollars? Why not build yourself a housing development? I guarantee you you’ll find it easier to get built than in Australia. The benefit is downward pressure on housing prices making Houston one of the  most affordable capital cities in which to live. But perhaps i’ll find this laissez faire system of planning creates its own set of problems? Something i’ll note down and keep an eye out for.

My fantastic host family live just north east of the CBD in a very leafy and lovely suburb called Kingwood. It reminds me of the suburban street-scapes of Kingston in Canberra. Wide streets and boulevards, tall pine trees, low and beautifully maintained houses. I’m incredibly lucky to be staying with Jerald Broussard, President of the Houston-Perth Sister City Association and his lovely family Cathy and Anthony.  Their generosity and warmth is just what i’d been told to expect from families in the US.

Over dinner tonight we discussed urban-design and planning, expanding access to education, long-term infrastructure issues in Houston, arts creativity and culture in the City and the economic ties between our two communities (particularly through Oil & Gas).

A great start to what will hopefully be a fantastic trip!

Perth from across the Swan River