When it comes to emergency preparation, Houston buildings need to focus on communication and compliance, says this expert

Guest column

Houston buildings — old and new — need to think about their emergency communication compliance. Photo by Zview/Getty Images

Like most of us, I remember where I was when I learned that terrorists had crashed hijacked planes into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

In addition to the high cost of civilian life, 412 firefighters, EMTs and police officers lost their lives — many the result of not receiving an order to evacuate. Many just did not get the order because the existing first responder radio system and private cellular services were too jammed with calls as a result of the emergency and as a result of damage to the buildings. We also saw the same lack of decent communications with law enforcement in the Mandalay Bay mass shooting in Las Vegas.

The lessons of the Twin Towers were not lost on the city of Houston and Harris County which require all new buildings to have a specially designed emergency responder radio system, or ERRS, installed which passes a rigorous testing procedure. Buildings over three stories, without a basement or over 50,000 square feet are not exempt but do not have to submit plans to the city. If the system is not designed properly, The city and county will not issue a certificate of occupancy. Repeated violations of an order to install an ERRS can result not only in fines and city tickets, but also in a referral to the district attorney's office to consider whether a felony level crime has occurred. It is not a trivial building code provision obviously.

Unfortunately, this ordinance is either not known or is not known well yet. I serve as the chairman of the Houston Tower Commission, am a former Houston council member and chairman of the Regulatory Affairs Committee, an attorney for almost 28 years, a law professor in legislation, and the owner of a professional design/build company involved in wireless electrical engineering and installation.

While I can't issue a formal advisory opinion on behalf of the city, on an industry level this is what businesses and commercial builders need to know:

  • Every building is different, and the systems are not off the shelf or cheap.
  • The publicly broadcast FirstNet signal, if being received throughout your building, does not exempt a building owner from compliance.
  • Compliance is not entirely based on the equipment installed, but primarily on results. Each floor of a covered building is divided in to 20 grids and each grid is tested to see if the signal strength is 95 dBm. If more than two consecutive grids fail, then the floor is divided into 40 grids and if four consecutive grids fail, the system must be redesigned.
  • The systems must be designed by an engineer utilizing iBwave software that should be submitted with your permit package. Again, these are not off the shelf products.
  • Because the systems are designed to work when a building is on fire, most cabling must be done with a fire resistant conduit, fiber or even fireproof antennas in certain jurisdictions.
  • Existing buildings are not required by code to install an ERRS unless they undergo a major renovation. However, a building owner can install one of the systems voluntarily.

It is the nature of the evolving world of wireless technology that our "smart buildings" of the future will be required to install technology of all sorts that allows for modern communications. Certain cities are already requiring new buildings to also install private wireless systems that allow you to use your private cell phone throughout your building. The correlation is clearly with sprinkler systems, the requirement for which is found in the same section of the fire code which requires an ERRS. Sprinkler systems were invented in 1872 but were not required by code until the 1960s. Amazingly, there are many cities that have not modernized their codes to require an ERRS in new buildings, including Dallas.

------

Rob Todd is the founder of Amplified Solutions and chair of the Tower Permit Commission for the city of Houston.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Texas is the 7th hardest working state in America for 2026, says report

Labor Day Report

Texans pride themselves on being industrious, and a new report has confirmed Texas as one of the 10 most hardworking states in America in 2026.

The Lone Star State claimed the No. 7 spot this year in a slight dip from its 2025 ranking, where it appeared in the top five. Texas last ranked 7th in 2024, but the state has consistently appeared among the top 10 for nearly a decade.

WalletHub determined the rankings after analyzing 10 "direct" and "indirect" work factors across all 50 states, and then graded each metric on a 100-point scale, where a score of 100 signified the "hardest working." Analysts then examined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

There was only a 10.32-point difference between Texas and South Dakota, who claimed the top spot as America's hardest working state in 2026 with a score of 64.59 out of a possible 100 points.

Texas ranked 6th nationally in the "direct" work factors category, which examined the following six metrics:

  • The state's average workweek hours.
  • Employment rates.
  • The share of households where no adults work.
  • The share of workers leaving vacation time unused.
  • The share of "engaged" workers — those that are "involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace," as defined by Gallup.
  • The rate of "idle youth" — individuals aged 18-24 who are not currently enrolled in school, not working, and have no degree beyond a high school diploma or GED.

Texas ties with Louisiana for the second highest average workweek hours nationwide, with Alaska topping the list with the No. 1 longest workweeks in America. Alaska is the only state where workers clock in more than 40 hours per week at their jobs, with WalletHub reporting Alaskans work 41.4 hours on average weekly.

In the "indirect" work factors category — which encompassed workers' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, annual volunteer hours per resident, and the average leisure time spent per day — Texas ranked 36th nationwide.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Texas in three individual metrics:

  • No. 10 – Average commute times
  • No. 20 – Average leisure time spent per day
  • No. 30 – Employment rates

According to the World Economic Forum, Americans clock in about 1,800 hours at work per year on average, which is 468 more hours per year than workers in Germany. And many are leaving vacation time on the table, WalletHub says.

"Even when given the chance to take time off, many Americans won’t, as nearly half of workers don't expect to use all of their allotted vacation days," the report said. "It is possible to work hard without overdoing it, though. Hard work is key to success, and the residents of some states understand that better than others."

Hardest-Working States in America


The top 10 hardest working states in America in 2026 are:

  • No. 1 – South Dakota
  • No. 2 – North Dakota
  • No. 3 – Alaska
  • No. 4 – Hawaii
  • No. 5 – Wyoming
  • No. 6 – Nebraska
  • No. 7 – Texas
  • No. 8 – New Hampshire
  • No. 9 – Tennessee
  • No. 10 – Georgia
---

This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Houston ranks No. 3 among rising coding markets in U.S.

city code

When you think of coders—the wizards who design, write and test programming languages for software and mobile apps—tech hotbeds like Silicon Valley and Austin might pop into your head.

But Houston has earned a spot on the coding map.

A new study puts the Houston area in third place among the fastest-growing metros for coding in the U.S.

The study, published by coding platform Coddy Tech, ranks Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the top on-the-rise market for coding. San Antonio sits in second place.

Houston earned a “momentum score” of 77 out of 100. The momentum category measured job growth for developers, rising interest in coding as measured by online searches, and growth in hackathon activity.

Here are the 10 fastest-rising U.S. metros for coding:

  • No. 1 Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • No. 2 San Antonio
  • No. 3 Houston
  • No. 4 Jacksonville, Florida
  • No. 5 Cape Coral, Florida
  • No. 6 Columbia, South Carolina
  • No. 7 New York City
  • No. 8 Salt Lake City
  • No. 9 North Port, Florida
  • No. 10 Tampa, Florida

The study analyzed the country’s 75 largest metros “to map where coding has taken hold and where it’s catching fire.” It took into account learning searches, GitHub developer density, job growth, interest in bootcamps and hackathon activity. Only 64 metros were eligible for the ranking of fastest-growing markets.

Austin tops ranking of coding capitals

Coddy crowned Austin the coding capital of the country, with Houston landing at No. 24 in the ranking of the most established coding hubs. San Antonio appeared at No. 16 and Dallas at No. 22.

Here are the top 10 coding hubs:
  • No. 1 Austin
  • No. 2 San Jose, California
  • No. 3 Seattle
  • No. 4 San Francisco
  • No. 5 New York City
  • No. 6 Salt Lake City
  • No. 7 Denver
  • No. 8 San Diego
  • No. 9 Los Angeles
  • No. 10 Raleigh, North Carolina

Why do coders matter?

Without coders, cellphones, laptops, smart TVs and other devices might not work well — or at all. Coding allows people to communicate with these devices, according to ComputerScience.org.

“Since computers do not communicate like humans, coding acts as a translator,” ComputerScience.org explains. “Code converts human input into numerical sequences that computers understand.”

NASA awards Texas Space Commission role in $10M aerospace workforce initiative

space hub

The Texas Space Commission is one of seven organizations tapped by NASA to lead the space agency's new state and regional Skilled Technical Workforce Hubs.

The $10.5 million initiative aims to help foster the next generation of skilled workers in the aerospace industry.

Through the new program, the hubs will work together over the next three years to meet growing industry needs by aligning “industry employers, community colleges, high school career and technical education programs, and workforce systems,” according to a news release from NASA.

It aims to create clear pathways for workers in technical jobs, like welding, electrical work and machining, plus other jobs that require advanced STEM knowledge but do not require a bachelor’s degree.

“The need for technical talent is already urgent and will only continue to grow as we return humanity to the Moon and set our sights on Mars and beyond,” Elaine Ho, associate administrator for the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA, said in the release. “NASA is uniquely positioned to be the catalyst and convener that accelerates America’s aerospace workforce development and fosters the next generation of technicians.”

As part of the initiative, the TSC plans to launch the statewide network known as the Texas Space STEM Alliance (TSSA). According to a TSC release, the TSSA will link up schools, colleges, workforce groups and aerospace companies to build a pipeline for space-industry workers.

Additionally, the TSC is developing the Texas Aerospace Pathways Plus (TAP+) portal to consolidate information on training programs, internships, apprenticeships, employment opportunities and scholarships, while also identifying regional gaps in workforce opportunities.

Other state and regional organizations to receive the award include:

  • Antelope Valley Community College District in Lancaster, California
  • Georgia Tech Research Corporation
  • Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
  • Southern Utah University
  • Space Florida
  • State Board for Community Colleges and Occupation Education, Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colorado

The Houston area is home to more than 43,000 aerospace and aviation professionals, according to the Greater Houston Partnership. The Texas Space Commission has been awarded $150 million for 24 projects since being established to increase the state’s space economy in 2023.

The funding for the NASA state hubs comes from NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement through its Next Gen STEM Project.

View All Listings