History of civil aviation in Houston, 1910--1937

The purpose of this study is to create a view of the development of civil aviation in Houston to provide insight into the broader context of how aviation and business intertwined in the history of the city. Few realize the close alliance that existed between civic and business leaders to establish Houston as a major center for civil aviation. This study shows how civil aviation developed alongside the aviation gospel and asserts that civil aviation developed in Houston in the broader context of both the urban system and the popular culture.;This thesis may be useful to urban historians seeking to understand the subsequent growth of the Sunbelt cities from the 1940s by providing insight into the early planning and development of the civil aviation infrastructure of Houston as an integral part of the transport networks envisioned by city officials and business leaders to support the phenomenal growth of Houston into the twenty-first century.