Dr. Stephen Klineberg captivates audience with 2011 Houston Area Survey

HOUSTON (November 11, 2011) HCC recently hosted Dr. Stephen Klineberg, professor and co-director of the Kinder Institute of Urban Research at Rice University. Klineberg presented the Houston Area Survey to HCC faculty, staff and community members.

Dr. Zachary Hodges, president of HCC Northwest, introduced Klineberg and shared his insight on the findings of the Houston Area Survey.

“We, as a college, are asked to be data-driven. If we heed Klineberg’s advice and really look at the data from the survey, then we will be successful,” Hodges said.

In March 1982, Klineberg and his students initiated the annual Houston Area Survey, now in its 29th year of tracking the changes in the demographic patterns, life experiences, attitudes and beliefs of Harris County residents. No other city in America has been the focus of a long-term longitudinal research program of this scope. No research more clearly exemplifies the transformations that are refashioning the social and political landscape of urban America.

Klineberg opened the presentation with a history lesson from the 1980s when the Houston region experienced the collapse of the oil-boom and then found itself squarely in the midst of a restructured economy and a demographic revolution. He shared that his annual survey was never meant to be a recurrence.

“In early 1982 when the survey was first issued, people in Houston were happy. By 1983, the oil industry had flopped and incredible changes were happening so the survey was re-issued,” Klineberg said.

Klineberg spoke about some of the major differences between the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Whereas the main 20^th century sources of wealth depended on land and physical resources, the 21^st century source of wealth is derived from investing in human resources.

“We are in a global economy where businesses can produce anywhere and sell anywhere,” he said. “The most important institute of higher education in Houston is HCC. I have a deep admiration for the community college because the college is important to connecting people to jobs in the 21^st century.”

Klineberg said the increased diversity in Houston since the 1980s places Houston as an international leader for business and economic development, although locally, the city has many challenges to overcome, namely access to health care and education.

Houston’s biggest opportunities for the future will be linked to bio-technology and the integration of medicine and information technology according to Klineberg. However, he stresses that Houston must work steadfastly to promote itself globally as an educated, effervescent city to attract the business development in the region.

For more information about the Houston Area Survey and Klineberg’s extensive research, contact 713.348.3484 or email slk@rice.edu.

Download Presentation Highlights

• Dr. Stephen Klineberg–2011 Houston Area Survey: Presentation Highlights