Transcending Civic and Institutional Boundaries to Transform Texas Communities
A quiet but powerful initiative in bipartisan problem-solving unfolded on May 22-23 at The University of Texas at Austin, where a group of county judges facing rapid growth gathered for a forum with faculty subject-matter experts. Organized by the Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) at the School of Architecture, the forum created an opportunity for candid dialogue to address some of Texas’ most urgent planning and design challenges.
Across Texas, county judges make critical decisions about land use, infrastructure, and housing. These challenges are particularly pressing in the Texas Triangle, one of the nation's fastest-growing regions. For the inaugural Texas Triangle County Judges' Planning and Design forum, the CSD invited elected officials in the region and selected School of Architecture faculty Liang Wang and Jake Wegmann to serve as co-Principal Investigators.
In the months leading up to the forum, Wang and Wegmann traveled to each participating county to learn more about the community and work with each judge on a case study related to a planning or design challenge they currently face. The pair then convened a team of academic subject matter experts to join the collaborative forum and contribute their expertise in affordable housing, economic development, infrastructure, land use planning, natural resource planning and conservation, resilience and risk management, sustainability, and transportation.
The forum followed the Chatham House Rule — which permits participants to share ideas and information while withholding their identities — to facilitate open and frank exchange. Meaningful discussions emerged as judges found commonalities in the challenges they faced, and faculty from three universities both shared and gained valuable perspectives.
“The glue that held the discussions together was Texas pride and Texan identity,” reflects Jake Wegmann, Associate Professor of Community and Regional Planning at the School of Architecture. “There is a unifying identity that is strong in the state and is expansive and generous enough to make room for all kinds of people to fit into it.”
The tone for the forum was set on the first evening by John Hryhorchuk, Senior Vice President of Policy and Analysis at Texas 2036, a nonpartisan public policy think tank, who spoke on areas of agreement among Texans despite ideological divides.
“A recurring theme that we observed over discussions was the issue of resilience — both in terms of development and community engagement,” explains Liang Wang, Assistant Professor of Urban Design. “It became clear to us that we could build a consensus in the process of engagement and then development.”
This forum was made possible by a generous research gift from a long-term benefactor of the School of Architecture, who is committed to providing insight for improving the built environment to decision-makers and stakeholders.
“The forum was created to help judges sharpen their questions related to their emerging projects and gain a deeper understanding of possible answers,” said Allan W. Shearer, Potter Rose Professor of Urban Planning and the School of Architecture’s Associate Dean for Research and Technology. “The CSD has established a strong record of working with communities to make more informed choices, and we are proud to offer this new event for Texas.”
In the months following the forum, the CSD will provide each participating judge with a final report that summarizes the key points from the discussions and offers recommendations for their case study. The CSD also plans to expand next year’s Planning and Design Forum, inviting more counties and continuing to connect local leaders with university expertise.
“Embedded in the design and planning disciplines is the involvement of different stakeholders and communication is at the core of the processes,” says Wang. “From that perspective, it was natural for us to facilitate a successful set of discussions like the ones we did.”
“It's not always easy to have discussions across disciplines and between academics and elected officials,” adds Wegmann. “But we're good at that in the School of Architecture, and that is the real value we bring.”
Attending County Judges:
The Honorable Judge Andy Brown, Travis County, TX
The Honorable Judge Carbett “Trey” J. Duhon III, Waller County, TX
The Honorable Judge KP George, Fort Bend County, TX
The Honorable Judge Jay H. Knight, Liberty County, TX
Subject Matter Experts:
Ariadna Reyes, Assistant Professor, Planning and Public Affairs, College of Architecture, The University of Texas at Arlington
Community Development | Housing | Sustainable Development
C. Tyler Dick, Assistant Professor, Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Transportation Engineering | Freight & Passenger Rail | Operations Potential
Katherine Lieberknecht, Associate Professor, Community and Regional Planning, School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin
Water Infrastructure | Community Engagement | Risk Management
Keenan Smith, Adjunct Associate Professor, Community and Regional Planning, School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin
Land Use Planning | Urban Design | Economic Development
Ryun Jung Lee, Assistant Professor, Urban and Regional Planning, Kleese College of Engineering and Integrated Design, The University of Texas at San Antonio
Physical Planning | Risk Management | Green Infrastructure
Sherri Greenberg, Professor of Practice, LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin
Land Use Regulation | Housing | State and Local Government
