The Rise of Houston as a Global City
By Geoffrey S. Connor
The Rise of Houston as a Global City presents a clear look at how a small Gulf Coast port grew into a center of energy, medicine, and space technology. Geoffrey Connor traces the events, industries, and leaders that shaped Houston’s worldwide influence. His research shows how opportunity and long-term vision transformed the city into a powerful force in global trade, science, and innovation.
he Rise of Houston as a Global City by Geoffrey S. Connor offers a highly engaging exploration of how Houston evolved from its 1836 founding by the Allen Brothers into one of the most influential cities on the planet. Connor persuasively explains that Houston’s global position was built upon four main international pillars. The first pillar was International Trade originally based on agricultural goods before becoming every global commodity. The second pillar was Oil and Gas which rested upon the existing transportation and shipping capacity allowing Houston to develop refining, chemicals and plastics as well. Using wealth and international position, Houston created the third pillar of Medicine and Health Technology with the world’s largest and most advanced medical complex. Using wealth, global reach and technology, Houston lured the Manned Space Center as the fourth pillar with all the attendant spillover to computer and high technology businesses.
Upon these four pillars of global standing, Houston created a platform on which some of the most famous names of business, politics and society could exist. These international celebrities lured even more people and money to Houston in a continuing cycle of growth and expansion.
Geoffrey Connor
Author
Geoffrey writes about Houston with the precision of a historian and the practical insight of someone who has worked directly in Texas public and international affairs. His research draws on years spent observing how policy, commerce, and global relationships shape the state. This perspective strengthens his account of Houston’s rise as a center of energy, medicine, and technology and helps clarify why certain decisions and events carried lasting influence. His experience in law, diplomacy, and strategy informs a clear understanding of how local actions connect with international outcomes. His work offers readers a reliable and engaging guide to Houston’s remarkable growth.
Once a fledgling port on Buffalo Bayou, Houston’s destiny changed after the Great Hurricane hit nearby Galveston in 1900 soon followed by the discovery of oil at Spindletop in 1901, setting in motion a wave of industrial and economic growth that redefined Texas. Connor explains how Houston’s wealth and political influence spurred the creation of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center, home to M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital, and how its leadership in medicine and technology paved the way for the establishment of NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center in 1961. Connor connects these milestones of international economic expansion with the rise of Houston’s business, political and social leadership producing some of the most famous names and faces of the world along with their astonishing stories of achievement.
Rich with historical insight, The Rise of Houston as a Global City reveals how ambition, ingenuity and opportunity combined to make Houston a dazzling hub of international achievement.