Sep 17, 2026 · 35 min · 13 segments
Houston is booming — but is its infrastructure ready for what's next? In this episode of HBJ On the Record, host Sean McCrory and HBJ reporter Naomi Klinge sit down with Paula Fitzpatrick, Texas and…
We have a lot of ground to cover, so let's just dive right into the first question.
I think the answer to whether we'll be successful is are we able to put all the pieces together and plan from that perspective, right? We were talking earlier about looking at one piece of the puzzle, but I think more and more businesses need to look at and are looking at the broader picture.
What will attract them to Houston are, is the power reliable? Is it available? Is the land available? How easy is it to get permits? Where's the water coming from? Are there opportunities to be reliable and responsible as part of their business theme? So yes, we are poised for growth over the next 20 years.
Yeah, so it sounds like, I mean, maybe we're poised for growth, but whether or not we're already built for that growth that's going to be coming, it sounds like there's just a lot that needs to be done.
Talk to me about kind of those biggest gaps in infrastructure right now or the biggest just hurdles that need to be made to prepare Houston for the next couple decades.
It's a curse of mine that I always think in terms of opportunities instead of gaps.
So I see the opportunities in the gray spaces between all the interconnected systems around infrastructure.
But I think, to me, the most important thing that we need to be considering is maintenance of the existing infrastructure.
We have a lot of ground to cover, so let's just dive right into the first question.
I think the answer to whether we'll be successful is are we able to put all the pieces together and plan from that perspective, right? We were talking earlier about looking at one piece of the puzzle, but I think more and more businesses need to look at and are looking at the broader picture.
What will attract them to Houston are, is the power reliable? Is it available? Is the land available? How easy is it to get permits? Where's the water coming from? Are there opportunities to be reliable and responsible as part of their business theme? So yes, we are poised for growth over the next 20 years.
Yeah, so it sounds like, I mean, maybe we're poised for growth, but whether or not we're already built for that growth that's going to be coming, it sounds like there's just a lot that needs to be done.
Talk to me about kind of those biggest gaps in infrastructure right now or the biggest just hurdles that need to be made to prepare Houston for the next couple decades.
It's a curse of mine that I always think in terms of opportunities instead of gaps.
So I see the opportunities in the gray spaces between all the interconnected systems around infrastructure.
But I think, to me, the most important thing that we need to be considering is maintenance of the existing infrastructure.
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