Cities: The Air-Conditioned Metropolis

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With their undentable optimism. Houstonians are proud of their city's growth, convinced that it will keep on growing. Just since the 1960 census, Houstonians never tire of saying, Houston has passed Baltimore in population to become the sixth biggest city in the country. And in the next decade or so. predicts Mayor Lewis Cutrer, "Houston will be one of the four largest cities in America." To make room for growth. Houston has more than doubled its incorporated area over the past six years. With 350 sq. mi., it boasts of being second only to Los Angeles in area. And that is only a beginning: Houston has taken legal steps toward annexing all the remaining unincorporated land in Harris County—another 1,150 sq. mi. That move would make the city of Houston substantially bigger than the state of Rhode Island.