Former Oklahoma City mayor to share how Houston can learn from midsize cities

Rice University
Office of Public Affairs / News & Media Relations

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Amy McCaig
713-348-6777
amym@rice.edu

Former Oklahoma City mayor to share how Houston can learn from midsize cities

HOUSTON – (April 3, 2019) – What do Charleston, Des Moines, Indianapolis and Oklahoma City have in common?

Mick Cornett. Submitted photo.

According to Mick Cornett, former four-term mayor of Oklahoma City and author of “The Next American City: The Big Promise of Our Midsize Metros,” they are prime examples of cities with outsized accomplishments, powered by can-do spirits that value compromise over confrontation and progress over political victory. Larger cities such as Houston, Cornett believes, can learn from their successes.

“These are the cities leading America, and they’re not waiting for Washington’s help,” Cornett said.

During an April 22 talk hosted by Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Cornett will discuss lessons learned from Oklahoma City’s success, Houston’s opportunity zones and the way forward for America’s midsize metropolitan areas. The event will take place at 7 p.m. at Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston, located at 3400 Main St.

Who: Former Oklahoma City mayor and author Mick Cornett.

What: Urban Reads: Mick Cornett.

When: 7 p.m. April 22 (registration and light bites at 6:15 p.m., book signing at 8 p.m.).

Where: Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston, 3400 Main St.

Cornett was Oklahoma City’s longest-serving mayor, serving in office from 2004 to 2018. During his tenure, Newsweek called him one of the five most innovative mayors in the country and he was named No. 25 on Fortune magazine’s “World’s Greatest Leaders” list. London-based World Mayor ranked him as the No. 2 mayor in the world in 2010, and Governing magazine named him the 2010 Public Official of the Year.

Best known for helping Oklahoma City attract the NBA’s Thunder franchise and putting the city “on a diet” to lose a collective 1 million pounds, Cornett also led the charge to pass MAPS 3, an innovative $800 million civic infrastructure investment in parks, urban transit, wellness centers and downtown amenities that have dramatically reshaped the city.

His book outlines his approach to orchestrating the renaissance of Oklahoma City and highlights changes in American urban life. Cornett translates the success of Oklahoma City and cities like it into a vision for the future of the country.

For more information, contact Amy McCaig, senior media relations specialist at Rice, at 713-348-6777 or amym@rice.edu.

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Related materials:

Event website: https://kinder.rice.edu/events/urban-reads-mick-cornett

Photo link: https://news.rice.edu/files/2019/04/MickCornett-2g5d2fy.jpg

Photo credit: Submitted photo.

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