# Keynote Case Study: Texas Municipal League: Cities Had To Find The Next Mainline Of Growth.
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At the Texas Municipal League’s 100th Annual Conference in Grapevine, I addressed more than 1,500 mayors, council members and civic administrators, arguing that towns positioned on the mainline of the next economic trends would find the greatest success, just as communities once benefited from railways and interstate highways. The keynote, “The Future of Cities and Towns,” made the stakes clear. Cities had to find the next mainline of growth. Cities faced infrastructure pressure, economic competition, demographic change and rising public expectations, all converging on local government at once. Six trends are shaping that shift. Smart Infrastructure. Connected roads, water systems and utilities are becoming the operating layer of modern cities. Digital Citizen Services. People expect public services to be as responsive and digital as the best private sector experiences. Mobility Reinvention. Transit, electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and new logistics models are reshaping how cities move. Workforce & Talent. Future growth depends on skills, attraction strategies and the ability to build opportunity for new workers. Climate & Resilience. Water, heat, storms and resilience planning are becoming core civic leadership issues. Growth Corridors. The communities positioned on the next mainline of economic change will capture the greatest opportunity. The future belongs to cities that think like platforms for growth. Local government is one of the more overlooked audiences for this material, and one of the most receptive. You can browse more of that work in the case studies collection here.

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Source: https://jimcarroll.com/2011/11/texas-municipal-league-cities-had-to-find-the-next-mainline-of-growth/