HoustonChronicle.com: Mission Bend faces city problems without city powers
Houston could find itself ringed by blighted communities if counties, utility districts and homeowners associations cannot find a way to manage them long term.
By Jayme Fraser
October 5, 2014
When Mike Martin bought his first home nearly four decades ago in Mission Bend, the manhole covers and storm sewer grates were stamped, “City of Houston,” reflecting expectations that the fledgling suburb west of Alief would be annexed by the city within a few years. That never materialized, and he has watched as curbs have crumbled into the street and local leaders have been unable to manage new development.
More than a decade after Texas lawmakers made it harder for cities to expand, the effects are being felt in places like Mission Bend. As these rapidly urbanizing communities in unincorporated parts of counties age and grow, they face city-like problems without the tools of cities to address them. Read more: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Rapidly-urbanizing-areas-struggle-to-fix-roads-5780537.php#/0