Texas Triangle

Geography

The megaregion is defined in work by America 2050 initiative and others. Dr. Robert Lang of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech characterized Dallas–Fort Worth as one of the earliest recognized megapolitans. Although each city is distinct, Dallas and Fort Worth developed closely enough to form the urban area widely known as the Metroplex.

The 60000 sqmi region contains most of the state's largest cities and metropolitan areas, and in 2008 had a total of 17 million people and by 2020 had grown to nearly 21 million, nearly 75% of Texas's total population. The region is comparable to Florida in population and comparable to Georgia in area, but the Texas Triangle comprises less than a quarter of Texas's total land area.

According to the University of Texas at Austin Center for Sustainable Development, "the Texas Triangle has three sides measuring 271, 198, and 241 miles in ground distance."

Metropolitan areas

• Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan statistical area
• Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area
• Bryan–College Station metropolitan statistical area
• Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area
• Killeen–Temple (also incl.–Fort Hood) metropolitan statistical area
• Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area
• San Antonio–New Braunfels metropolitan statistical area
• Sherman–Denison metropolitan area
• Waco metropolitan statistical area

Micropolitan areas

• Brenham Micropolitan Statistical Area
• Corsicana Micropolitan Statistical Area
• Huntsville Micropolitan Statistical Area

Triangle counties

The Texas Triangle contains 65 counties. They are Anderson, Atascosa, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Bosque, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Chambers, Collin, Colorado, Comal, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, DeWitt, Ellis, Falls, Fayette, Fort Bend, Freestone, Galveston, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Harris, Hays, Henderson, Hill, Hunt, Houston, Jackson, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, McLennan, Medina, Milam, Montgomery, Navarro, Rockwall, Robertson, San Jacinto, Tarrant, Travis, Trinity, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Washington, Wharton, Williamson, and Wilson.

Politics

The Texas Triangle can be considered one of the more politically left-wing areas in Texas due to the anchoring cities of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, and Fort Worth. All of these cities, and their respective counties of Harris, Bexar, Dallas, Travis, and Tarrant, moved towards Joe Biden in 2020, with Biden flipping Tarrant County, which had gone for Donald Trump in 2016. However in 2024, Trump flipped Tarrant county again, when he carried the state with a double-digit margin.

Prior to 2008, with the exception of Austin/Travis and San Antonio/Bexar (the latter a former bellwether/swing county and the former a liberal stronghold), all of these cities/counties were conservative strongholds, having voted for Republican presidential candidates from the 1960s through 2004.

This culminated with Barack Obama flipping Dallas, Harris, and Bexar counties to the Democratic party in 2008. Despite the five biggest cities in Texas being within the Triangle, there are also a great number of rural, conservative counties in the Triangle. It is in these counties that Republicans poll their best.

Transportation

The Texas triangle has also been the subject of rail feasibility studies in particular for high speed rail.

References

References

1. "GDP by State". Bureau of Economic Analysis.
2. "What is the Texas Triangle? Exploring the State's Urban Megaregion".
3. "The Simple Economics of the Texas Triangle - Houston Business, Jan. 2004 - FRB Dallas".
4. "Growth Challenges and Opportunities in the Texas Triangle {{!}} TNE".
5. "Reinventing The Texas Triangle - UTexas CSD - 2009". utexas.edu.
6. "Triangle Census – Megas, Metros & Micros".
7. (August 4, 2009). "MegaRegions +MetroProsperity". Houston Tomorrow and America 2050.
8. "REINVENTING THE TEXAS TRIANGLE Solutions for Growing Challenges". The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture Center for Sustainable Development.
9. (September 2011). "Megaregion Freight Movements: A Case Study of the Texas Triangle". Center for Transportation Research University of Texas at Austin (Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)).
10. (May 2008). "TEXAS URBAN TRIANGLE Framework for future growth". Texas Transportation Institute Texas A&M University System College Station, Texas 77843-3135.
11. (April 4, 2007). "Connecting the Texas Triangle: Economic Integration and Transportation Coordination". The Healdsburg Research Seminar on MegaRegions.
12. Neuman, Michael. (May 2008). "Texas Urban Triangle: Framework for Future Growth". Texas A&M University System.
13. Kent Butler. (2009). "Defining The Region". Center for Sustainable Development, School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin.
14. "Obama campaign lends a hand to Texas Democrats".
15. "DEMAND FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL IN THE TEXAS TRIANGLE & BEYOND".
16. (May 2007). "Maglev high speed ground transportation for the Texas Triangle : a technology assessment".
17. "Texas triangle high speed rail study".