GO Perspectives / Places & possibility
How close is
close enough?
A radius can start a conversation. Evidence determines the next step.
Data-center announcements can prompt new questions about nearby communities, infrastructure, and housing. Before connecting an industrial investment to a community opportunity, first establish what is there, what is proposed, and what people actually need.
This planning map starts at RELLIS Campus and lets you explore communities within 10, 20, 30, and 40 miles of a selected data-center reference point. Use it to find places for further investigation. A nearby marker does not establish employment, housing demand, available land, utility capacity, or permission to build.
Start with the place. Then test the idea.
The inventory brings together USGS GNIS community references and all Census 2025 Texas places. It includes cities, neighborhoods, and unincorporated communities with no population cutoff. Those references are useful starting points; names and point locations do not define community boundaries or tell the whole local story.
Explore the map, identify a place, and bring local knowledge into the discussion. Check the current status of any project. Compare actual routes and travel times. Talk with the relevant community, service providers, and potential delivery partners.
Explore the relationships.
The map opens at RELLIS. Selecting a data center moves all four rings and recalculates nearby community counts. The list is off by default; turn it on for nearby results or all Texas references.
Map data are snapshots, not a verified real-time feed. Data-center records retain their October 18, 2026 source date. Reference points may overlap. Distances are straight-line comparisons.
A 100-point evidence checklist.
Score the evidence, not enthusiasm. Each category earns zero points when evidence is absent, half its weight for partial evidence, and its full weight when documented. This is a working discussion tool—not a validated feasibility model or a development recommendation. A high total cannot resolve a critical unanswered question.
Working planning worksheet
/ 100 points
0 of 10 categories assessed.
| Evidence category | Weight | Evidence | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure capacity Written utility capacity, timing, and connection evidence for the proposed use. | 15 | 0 | |
| Water and wastewater Documented service availability, capacity, cost, and constraints. | 15 | 0 | |
| Site and environmental evidence Site control, flood exposure, environmental conditions, and buildable-area evidence. | 15 | 0 | |
| Housing need and market evidence Local evidence of demand, incomes, tenure, pricing, and existing supply. | 10 | 0 | |
| Access and travel time Actual road routes, travel times, transport choices, and daily access to work and services. | 10 | 0 | |
| Entitlements and local alignment A documented approval pathway and early discussion with the relevant jurisdictions. | 10 | 0 | |
| Delivery and financial feasibility An evidence-based budget, funding plan, sequencing, and accountable delivery partners. | 10 | 0 | |
| Schools and community services Evidence on access to schools, health care, public safety, and everyday services. | 5 | 0 | |
| Community participation A process for listening to residents and addressing documented concerns. | 5 | 0 | |
| Long-term stewardship Clear responsibilities for maintenance, resilience, and community outcomes. | 5 | 0 |
Selections are saved only in this browser. Record the documents and conversations behind each score separately. A missing critical dependency deserves attention regardless of the total.
Turn a screen into a useful next conversation.
Use the strongest evidence to define a next step, an accountable person, and a deadline. Where evidence is missing, make gathering it the task. GO’s role starts with asking better questions and bringing the right expertise around the opportunity.
Explore the GO Formula · Current Projects & Initiatives
Sources and method
- USGS GNIS: Texas Populated Places, excluding explicitly historical names.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer: all 1,863 Texas places.
- Cleanview Texas data-center tracker: the existing site’s October 18, 2026 research snapshot; operating and planned categories.
- Inventory method and provenance: 9,214 non-historical GNIS records plus 222 unmatched Census places, with all 1,863 Census places represented.