The Third Coast

Table of Contents A quarterly magazine of urban affairs, published by the Manhattan Institute,edited by Brian C. Anderson. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

JOEL KOTKIN The Third Coast From Brownsville to Tampa Bay, an economic powerhouse emerges. RICHARD CARSON/REUTERS/LANDOV Houston’s bustling port is now America’s most lucrative. In the wilds of Louisiana’s St. James Parish, amid the alligators and sugar plantations, Lester Hart is building the $750 million steel plant of his dreams. Over the past decade, Hart has constructed plants for steel producer Nucor everywhere from Trinidad to North Carolina. Today, he says, Nucor sees its big opportunities here, along the banks of the Mississippi River, roughly an hour west of New Orleans by car. “The political climate here is conducive to growth,” Hart explains as he steers his truck up to the edge of a steep levee. “We are here because so much is going on in this state and this region. With the growth of the petrochemical and industrial sectors, this is the place to be.”  Click to Read the Article city-journal.org