Last week, the Houston Chronicle asked, “Where should Houston’s innovation district be?” The question implies that this is an issue for all Houstonians, or at least their elected representatives, to answer. Indeed, the article states:
Two city task forces, one put together by city government, the other by the business community, recommended that the city designate a tech district, which could increase property values in the chosen neighborhood and boost the standing of politicians who help secure that designation.
And the jockeying has already begun. Council member Robert Gallegos is already advocating for EaDo — which he represents — to be the district’s new home.
In other words, this is already a political issue.Which means, taxpayers will ultimately get to pay the bill for whatever city officials dream up.
Apparently, if the city doesn’t lead the effort, an “innovation district” simply can’t materialize. This is clearly absurd. Houston has a multitude of clearly defined “districts” and government had little to do with it. The Medical Center and the Energy Corridor are two examples.
The article claims that density is necessary:
Perhaps the most substantive recommendation for fostering tech startups in Houston is to create a district where those young businesses can cluster, on the theory that physical density is essential for creating the kind of accidental interactions that stimulate new ideas.
“You have to pack them in,” local venture capitalist Blair Garrou told me in an interview published over the weekend. “Density is almost the No. 1 element of what makes an ecosystem work.”
That may or may not be true. But if it is true, why does the city need to be involved? Why can’t young businesses or a venture capitalist like Blair Garrou facilitate clustering? When government gets involved it means taxpayers get involved. And it means controls and regulations in one form or another.
Government is the antithesis of innovation. Government is an agency of force. Force and innovation are not compatible.
Innovation is a challenge to the conventional wisdom. Government regulations are a defense of the status quo. Every innovator in history has had to overcome critics and naysayers. When the innovator is free to act on his judgment, he can demonstrate the truth of his vision. But when government gets involved, the edicts of bureaucrats supersedes the judgment of individuals.
If Houston wants to create an “innovation district,” it should leave that mission to the innovators rather than the bureaucrats.