As San Antonio and Austin — and all points in between — experience growth and development, efforts are taking hold for municipalities to plan and work together as a region.
Civic and business leaders are creating a regional organization intended to give the rapidly growing Austin-San Antonio corridor a stronger voice on infrastructure, economic development and quality-of-life issues.
The nonprofit Central Texas Alliance encompasses a 13-county “megaregion” with more than 120 municipalities. Rather than serving as a new layer of government, the organization plans to convene municipal, business, academic, economic-development and community leaders around shared priorities.
A.J. Rodriguez has been appointed the Alliance’s first CEO. He is transitioning from his position as executive vice president of Texas 2036, a nonpartisan public-policy organization. Rodriguez previously served as a San Antonio deputy city manager and held leadership positions with local business groups.
The region has about 5.3 million residents and is projected to add roughly 3 million more by 2050. That growth is expected to intensify pressure on Interstate 35, housing, water supplies, energy systems and public services.
The Alliance has identified seven areas of focus: transportation, water, housing, workforce development, energy resilience, health care, and land stewardship and planning. It also plans to research regional needs and advocate before state and federal policymakers.
Former San Antonio Mayor and U.S. Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros founded the organization. It is co-chaired by Austin business leader Gary Farmer and Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, a USAA executive and former head of the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council.
The Alliance is not the corridor’s first regional organization. The Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council has worked for decades on transportation and development issues. Rodriguez said the new group is intended to provide a broader, comprehensive coalition similar to regional business organizations in Houston and North Texas.
Questions remain about its funding, governance and how smaller communities will be represented. A board is expected to be formed after a Sept. 18 gathering at Texas State University, where regional leaders will begin developing priorities for the 2027 Texas legislative session.
Guest:
A.J. Rodriguez is CEO of the Central Texas Alliance.
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This interview will be recorded live on Wednesday September 2, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.
