Editing The Woodlands, Texas (section)

==History==
===Early history===
The area that is now The Woodlands was used by the [[Akokisa]] and [[Bidai]] peoples, who relied on the fresh water of [[Spring Creek (Harris County, Texas)|Spring Creek]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Montgomery |first=Robin Navarro |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1532412 |title=The history of Montgomery County |date=1975 |publisher=Jenkins Pub. Co |isbn=0-8363-0129-3 |location=Austin, Tex. |oclc=1532412}}</ref> In 1984, construction in the Indian Springs neighborhood near the creek discovered Bidai artifacts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indian Springs in The Woodlands |url=https://www.thewoodlandstx.com/indiansprings/ |access-date=2022-05-20 |website=www.thewoodlandstx.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Foundation and growth ===
The Woodlands was conceived after the oil industry investor [[George P. Mitchell]] attended a symposium by the [[Rouse Company]] subsidiary American City Corporation and developer of [[Columbia, Maryland]], on how to develop new towns using the [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development|HUD]] [[National Urban Policy and New Community Development Act of 1970|Title VII]] program.<ref>{{cite book|title=New City Upon a Hill|author=Joseph Rocco Mitchell, David L. Stebenne|page=95}}</ref> It was dedicated by George P. Mitchell in 1974 and managed by The Woodlands Corporation as an extension of Mitchell Energy & Development.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Woodlands|url=http://livinghudson.com/properties/the-woodlands/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314175447/http://livinghudson.com/properties/the-woodlands/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 14, 2018|website=Living Hudson|publisher=Hudson Housing|access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref> Mitchell, an oil businessman, planned to establish a conference center, hotels, office parks, retail malls, schools, large distribution centers, and golf courses. Houses would range from moderately priced to expensive and large. Bill Schadewald of the ''[[Houston Business Journal]]'' said that Mitchell wanted the development to "entice city slickers looking for far-flung suburban quality of life".<ref name="Thennow3">Schadewald, Bill. "Looking back 'Then and Now' at 40 years of Houston business". ''[[Houston Business Journal]]''. Friday December 24, 2010. [http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2010/12/24/looking-back-then-and-now-at-40.html?page=3 3]. Retrieved September 13, 2011.</ref> Schadewald said that local sources stated that the [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development|HUD]] [[National Urban Policy and New Community Development Act of 1970|New Town program]], a federally funded program, had a "low survival rate" and questioned whether The Woodlands would succeed.<ref name="Thennow3" />

The Woodlands Corporation was acquired on July 31, 1997, by a partnership between [[Morgan Stanley]] and Crescent Real Estate Equities.<ref name="SEC Filings 7/31/97">{{Cite web |title=SEC Info - Crescent Real Estate Equities Co - '10-Q/A' for 9/30/97 |url=http://www.secinfo.com/dsvrp.88U1.htm#Dates |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=www.secinfo.com}}</ref> In December 2003, [[The Rouse Company|Rouse Company]] acquired Crescent's interest,<ref name="SEC Filings 11/12/03"> SEC Edgar document through SECinfo.com. [http://www.secinfo.com/dsvrp.2eRc.d.htm (Link from Google Cache)]</ref> and Rouse was bought by [[General Growth Properties]] on November 12, 2004. In 2011, The Woodlands was sold to the Howard Hughes Development Corporation.<ref name="WashPost">{{Cite web |title=Washington Post 200: Rouse Co./ General Growth |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/post200/2005/RSE.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref>

The land was previously occupied by the Grogan-Cochran Lumber Mill,<ref name="Texas Transportation Archive">''With Grogan at Bivins and Magnolia (Gulf Coast Lumberman, 1939)''. Texas Transportation Archive. http://www.ttarchive.com/Library/Companies/GroganAtBivins-Magnolia.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929002839/http://www.ttarchive.com/Library/Companies/GroganAtBivins-Magnolia.html |date=September 29, 2007 }}</ref> hence Grogan's Mill and Cochran's Crossing neighborhoods, called "villages". The original planning utilized many of the planning concepts and design consultants employed in other well-regarded new communities of that era such as [[Columbia, Maryland]], [[Irvine Ranch, California]], and [[Reston, Virginia]]. The original development plan included environmental design principles espoused by [[Ian McHarg]], a distinguished landscape architect, teacher and author of the seminal work ''Design With Nature''.

In 2012, the [[U.S. Census Bureau]] designated the area around The Woodlands and [[Conroe, Texas|Conroe]] as a "large urbanized transit area", defined as having over 200,000 residents, making it eligible to receive federal transportation funds.<ref>Lee, Renée C. [http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Growth-transforms-rural-areas-north-of-Houston-to-3925086.php "Growth transforms rural areas north of Houston to urban centers"]. ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. Saturday October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.</ref>

===Incorporation as a city===
Mitchell's original plan was for The Woodlands to be annexed by the city of Houston. However, as the community developed and grew, there was little support for that idea. In the middle part of the 2000s, some residents organized to prevent any annexation, as had happened to the [[Kingwood, Houston|Kingwood]] development almost a decade before. To counteract any possible move by the city, a movement began to create an independent city government.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} However, the formation of an independent government would require authorization by the State of Texas and the City of Houston, as Houston held extraterritorial jurisdiction over the area.<ref>{{cite web |title=FAQs: When will The Woodlands become a city? Why are we not a city now? |url=https://www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=64 |publisher=The Woodlands Township |access-date=26 October 2020}}</ref>

In 2007, two state legislators representing The Woodlands, [[Tommy Williams (Texas politician)|Sen. Tommy Williams]] and Rep. Robert Eissler, introduced two bills that were enacted in the 2007 Legislature – House Bill 4109<ref name="HB4109">[https://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=HB4109 80th Texas Legislature, House Bill 4109]. Retrieved 26 October 2020.</ref> and Senate Bill 1012.<ref name="SB 1012">[https://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=SB1012 80th Texas Legislature, Senate Bill 1012]. Retrieved 26 October 2020.</ref> HB 4109 called for a vote to allow expansion of an existing improvement district (now The Woodlands Township) and to allow The Woodlands to collect sales tax,<ref name="Chron5">Isensee, Laura (19 June 2007). [https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands-news/article/Woodlands-governing-groups-prepare-for-November-1793411.php Woodlands governing groups prepare for November election.] ''Houston Chronicle''. Retrieved 26 October 2020.</ref> while SB 1012 allowed for the creation of regional agreements between governments. The passage of these bills allows an opportunity for The Woodlands to incorporate itself until 2057. Since 2019, there has been formal discussion of The Woodlands to become an incorporated city.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Ben |title=The Woodlands at a crossroads as study concludes in 2020 |url=https://communityimpact.com/houston/the-woodlands/government/2020/01/14/the-woodlands-at-a-crossroads-as-study-concludes-in-2020/ |website=Community Impact Newspaper |access-date=26 October 2020 |date=14 January 2020}}</ref> However, as a result of the ongoing [[COVID-19 pandemic]], these plans were put on hold and resumed in April 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holt |first1=Vanessa |title=The Woodlands incorporation study off the table in 2020 due to coronavirus emergency |url=https://communityimpact.com/houston/the-woodlands/government/2020/03/25/the-woodlands-incorporation-study-off-the-table-in-2020-due-to-coronavirus-emergency/ |website=Community Impact Newspaper |access-date=26 October 2020 |date=25 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Forward |first1=Jeff |title=The Woodlands officially restarts incorporation efforts |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/woodlands/article/The-Woodlands-officially-restarts-incorporation-16139976.php |website=Houston Chronicle |access-date=25 June 2021 |date=29 April 2021}}</ref> In 2020, residents of The Woodlands formed the TownshipFuture PAC.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Woodlands residents form new TownshipFuture PAC|url=https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands/news/article/Woodlands-residents-form-new-TownshipFuture-PAC-15238017.php|last=Forward|first=Jeff|date=2020-04-30|website=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2020-05-02}}</ref> In a referendum on November 2, 2021, residents voted against incorporation by a wide margin, keeping The Woodlands as a township for the foreseeable future.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bauman |first1=Anna |title=Voters reject proposal to incorporate The Woodlands as a city |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/article/Proposal-to-incorporate-The-Woodlands-as-a-city-16586912.php |website=[[Houston Chronicle]] |access-date=29 December 2021 |date=3 November 2021}}</ref>