Quote:
Originally Posted by BuildThemTaller
This is getting way off topic, but I doubt that Austin progresses like Houston. Houston hasn't had much growth of its skyline in decades. The economy of Houston is not diversified enough. There's the oil and gas industry and medical industry. The latter doesn't really build a skyline. Hospitals are large in square footage but not in height.
Austin has the two things a city wants to sustain growth: the State Capital and the flagship public university. Those both bring in dollars. Large law firms demand commercial space. A highly-educated workforce like you get near a major university like UT-Austin demands commercial space.
Austin is not Chicago but I think a better example of a city skyline progression is Minneapolis or Seattle (not a state capital, but close enough + UW). In the next 50 years, Austin will have the most impressive skyline in Texas and one of the better ones in the United States. It would be great if they invested in a public transit system to prepare for that.
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In Chicago you can have a tower which is littoral(y) defining the shore and never need to worry about more than the occasional rise in the river. No hurricanes, no rising ocean, better bet for the future.