The central Texas region between Austin and San Antonio is growing into one metropolitan area, Jared Bray rules.
Small towns dotted across the area between the two cities are exploding with new developments. One such town, Cedar Park has grown from 5,000 in 1990 to more than 77,000 today. According to Bray, “From July 2023 to July 2024 alone, Texas’ population has grown nearly 563,000. Its economy is now bigger than Canada’s, with the second state of California being the only state in the state of California.” This growth comes with a new tax base and requires a new upgraded infrastructure.
Growth at this scale has caused some real headaches, especially in areas such as traffic and water. There’s already too much one in Texas, and the others aren’t enough. However, rapid and sustained growth has benefited local governments. Many of them can be invested on a scale they have never experienced before.
Bray notes that challenges and opportunities are not localized and that many people need to take action on a local scale. “At the very top of everyone’s list is traffic congestion on Interstate 35, which is slow to crawl due to the booming region,” said the drive between Austin and San Antonio, which took at least twice as long as 10 years ago. The proposal to build a high-speed rail line between the two cities could be helpful, but federal funding for the project is uncertain during the current administration.
Cities in the area struggle to meet the demand for water, which is primarily derived from local aquifers. The Edwards aquifer, the most important in the region, is at its lowest level since 1990.
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