The City in Texas: A History by David G. McComb (review)

To understand contemporary Texas, David McComb argues that one must comprehend the Lone Star State’s urban history. In this work of synthesis, McComb uses the concept of population concentration as his guide to discuss the creation of villages, towns, cities, metropolitan regions and, finally, the emergence of a megalopolis urban area. He agrees with Richard Wade’s contention that Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis misled generations of historians and suggests that frontier towns, not open spaces, best explain American society. Further, he accepts Lewis Mumford’s assertion that a culture’s highest achievements resulted from the urbanization of that civilization.

The book opens with a narrative sketch of Texas villages, beginning with the arrival of Native Americans and continuing through the Texas Revolution. During the era of the Texas Republic through the end of Reconstruction the development of settlements was associated with trade, such as river and port towns, cities produced by the arrival of railroads and, finally, East Texas lumber towns. McComb then examines how cities responded to major events, including the famous Galveston storm, the discovery of oil, the Great Depression, the two world wars, the arrival of the automobile, and the City Beautiful movement.

McComb concludes his book with a collective portrait of the major cities in Texas, discusses the recent suburbanization of the state, and highlights specific events that shaped the development of modern urban Texas, such as the civil rights and Chicano movements. In this section he notes both the highs and lows of Texas cities. For example, he analyzes the creation of Sharpstown in 1954. Located in southwestern Houston, the middle-class community became a model for the nation. By the early 1990s, however, the suburban area reflected a lamentable self-selected segregation. On the other hand, under the title of “Urban Excellence,” McComb comments upon the arts districts in the cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston as well as the continued popularity of Austin with young Texans. He concludes by noting that cities attract the creative classes but that Texas politicians blame the state’s cities for poverty, racism, and budget problems. McComb points out that the legislature should be held as responsible as the cities, if not more, for these problems, rather than being the source of criticism and accusations.

Finally, as a result of the urbanization of Texas over the last twenty-five years, McComb claims that Texans are beginning to reject the over-the-top myth of Texas exceptionalism as a product of the frontier that created an independent go-to spirit that cannot be harnessed, especially by government. Unfortunately, the recent election cycle provides little evidence to support the claim.