"Quality Management is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural": Mini-cases of Houston and Akashi

The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise Scene From Star Wars : Revenge of the Sith

(This is part of “Walt Disney Was Right; Our Cities’ Problems Are Our Biggest Problems”)

As shown in American Singapore, Houston had the sixth-largest homeless population in the country a decade ago. According to its annual point-in-time count, about 8,500 people were identified as homeless on a given night in 2011. Looking back at Japan, we see that managing cities and towns can even do what people say is impossible. As seen in 'Miyazaki Might Be Right,' towns like Nagareyama and Nagi use some basics to revitalize their communities and increase birth rates.

Quality management principles extend beyond traditional ideas about what cities should do. This is stuff that most people would say is entirely out of scope or even “unnatural” for a city or town to accomplish

Houston's The Way Home

Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

Returning to Houston, the city’s The Way Home model has housed over 26,000 people since 2012, with 90% remaining for two or more years.

Results: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, HUD point-in-time data showed that no other central U.S. metro area had matched Houston's success in addressing homelessness over the past decade. The greater Houston area saw a 53% decrease in its homeless population between 2011 and 2020. During that time, the homeless population in the city and county of Los Angeles grew by 84%, New York City by 52%, and Dallas by 26%.

Houston leaders and others working to address homelessness in the city cite three factors in Houston's success. (Remember that Demings' definition of quality is meeting or exceeding expectations)

1. Housing comes first. The city employs a housing-first model that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness as quickly as possible with no barriers to entry.

   1. Baseline needs and expectations are met straight out of the box. The person gets a home and a period of stability; the stated progressive goal of quality, stable housing and the conservative goal of keeping the homeless off the streets are met.

   2. The city then provides wraparound support services to ensure they remain housed. Those services include assigned case managers, food assistance, mental health counseling, and detox and substance abuse treatments. The stability and certainty of having a home multiply the effectiveness of wraparound services.

2. The region operates as a single continuum of care with a steering committee that distributes all funding. Houston, its surrounding counties, and a host of agencies and service providers in the homeless space, including soup kitchens, all function under a single federal Continuum of Care program called The Way Home in Greater Houston. 

   1. Houston's The Way Home continuum is managed by the Coalition for the Homeless, which includes the city, counties, and various partners working together toward a common goal.

   2. The Way Home's steering committee arranges all funding, including federal, state, and county funds, grants to individual agencies, and philanthropic contributions.

   3. It makes it easier to manage funding and the requirements attached to it while limiting the ability of others to use said requirements to gum up the work.

3. The steering committee uses data and feedback to drive its decision-making regarding funding distribution, resource allocation, and program selection.

   1. It makes it easier to mop up the low-hanging fruits of policy improvements.

   2. Planning for the long term and adjusting when needed is more straightforward.

Bottomline: Okay, so everyone should be focused on homelessness! But here's the thing - many programs meant to help fail. Why? Sometimes, it's because people's goals need to line up. Other times, it's just messy organization. And sometimes, some folks don't care about fixing the problem; they want to indulge in their worst impulses.

Priority Management & Akashi City

By Tomomarusan - This is the creation of Tomomarusan, CC BY 2.5,

Their success highlights the power of simple yet effective strategies—such as community engagement and local family policy —to create welcoming environments that naturally encourage population growth. Rather than revisiting Nagareyama and Nagi, as we did with Houston, we will bring another case study: Akashi City in Hyogo.

A decade ago, Akashi City in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, faced a population decline, a financial deficit, and a declining urban center. When Mayor Fusaho Izumi took office in 2011, the city needed help to bring back growth; rather than trying the regular toolbox of building more roads and other clichés, Izumi chose to focus on what people, especially families, expected and what they wanted from Akashi. 

Results: Akashi City has achieved population growth for over a decade. The birth rate in 2020 was 1.62, significantly higher than the national average of 1.33. Akashi went from deficits in 2011 to regular budget surpluses in 2014 until the COVID Crisis. 

Akashi leaders cite three factors in the city's success (aligned with Demings' definition of quality as meeting or exceeding expectations):

1. Priotorization of Resources:

   1. The government rather than spending money on commuter infrastructure projects (like more roads), Izumi decided that the city needed to attract families, especially young families. 

   2. The city wants these families to spend, and Izumi thought the best way is to reduce the financial and time burden on families.

   3. This approach created a virtuous cycle: Supporting families increased business for local businesses, generated more support for Izumi’s family policies, and generated more tax revenue for the city.

   4. The economic benefits extended beyond just families, turning opponents into supporters from businesses because of the increased business and elderly residents seeing people move back into their city.

2. Izumi’s "5 Free Services" Model to exceed families’ expectations of a city:

   1. The city implemented a "5 Free Services" model, covering medical care, childcare fees, diapers, school lunches, and play areas.

   2. This model immediately meets baseline needs and expectations. Families receive financial relief and stability, meeting both the progressive goal of supporting kids and the conservative goal of economic growth.

   3. The city provides these services without means testing and ensuring broad accessibility.

3. A Commitment Towards Continuous, Long-Term Support Over One-Time Benefits:

   1. Akashi City focuses on providing ongoing support rather than one-time cash benefits.

   2. This approach creates a sense of security and stability for families, encouraging them to have more children and remain in the city.

   3. The city views itself as a "large family," providing support in various aspects of child-rearing, including emergency childcare.

Challenges: Despite its success, Akashi City faces challenges due to rapid population growth, including increased demand for childcare and schools, traffic congestion, and rising real estate prices. This highlights the need for continual adaptation and scaling of services to meet growing demands.

Bottomline: Akashi City's local family policy, along with those of Nagareyama, Nagai, etc., showcases something about quality management in local governance. You may be shocked at how much you can do, even when others expect it to be out of scope, and how focusing on providing quality services and benefits brings in more than you expect.