Stephen Klineberg and the Prophetic City

In this evening discussion, Stephen Klineberg will give us the benefit of his accumulated wisdom and perspective about Houston before he moves away from the city he has studied with insight and acuity for the past 40 years.

In the annual “Kinder Houston Area Survey”, conducted since 1982, Professor Klineberg has tracked the shifts in economic outlooks, demographic patterns, life experiences, attitudes, and beliefs among successive representative samples of Harris County residents. His 2020 book Prophetic City: Houston on the Cusp of a Changing America goes even deeper, fleshing out the annual survey numbers with anecdotes about the people who have made Houston what it is today and the motivations behind the numbers. Professor Klineberg’s stories are riveting, and his insights provide a key to a real understanding of Houston. He helps us to interpret the past, appreciate the present, and anticipate the future, not only for Houston but for the rest of the country as well.