America's fastest growing metropolis isn't pretty — but it's thriving

[KevinFromTexas]

Yeah. When Republicans talk about securing our border, I think of those guys - a couple of those aren't actually from Texas.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Yeah. When Republicans talk about securing our border, I think of those guys - a couple of those aren't actually from Texas.

Who?

[chris08876]

I haven't responded to this thread yet, but to add a positive note to it, Houston is great. Making great strides in improving its urban fabric. Lots of top notch projects, and we have to give it a chance. Change takes time. As the city grows, it will improve. It seems to be doing things right from what I gather.

One of the things thats kinda good is that it probably has sprawled out to the max. One comment previously mentioned how in terms of land, it can't really annex anymore as it will bump into other cities/towns, but this is good as hopefully the density increases as the size of the city land wise stays the same.

The days of crappy urban growth stemming from the 50's to lets say 1990's or so are over. Cities all over the U.S. in the 21st century are seeing a improved effort on becoming true urban experiences; from Seattle to Dallas to Houston to Austin and so on. Essentially most of these cities have sprawled and consumed most of the land already, so now that the ugly sprawl really can't grow at a super rapid level, diversifying neighborhoods will occur at a rapid pace.

[Barbarossa]

Maybe this is just what modern day cities look like today. Houston didn't become a major city until after WWII. The McMansion and tract home may just be the contemporary equivalent of what brownstone tenements were to prewar cities.

[dc_denizen]

Plenty of cities have managed to be both aesthetically appealing and new. Age doesn't excuse Houston's lack of planning. What is disappointing about Houston is not the chaotic built environment but the extent of the haphazard sprawl. The infill is great and there is tons of it but too much growth is miles away. With his boom, Houston should be building subways, transit, rebuilding the entire north side of town. Instead we get infill and zillions golf course communities literally 40 miles from downtown

[chris08876]

Given the large size, what will happen is that most of the developments will be in the 4-6 story range. The types with some retail in the base, and these will become the new norm. High rises will go up an usual, but Houston will not be a highrise city. Instead, what we will see, and is occurring are smaller medium density developments which are better than the single tract homes. Such infill is good in the long run. Houston seems to be following a quasi-city/suburb civil plan. Some of the infill in similar to what goes on in suburban areas that are dense such as the D.C. suburbs, but at the same time, key areas are experiencing high rises and the types of developments that you can find within the core areas of major U.S. city. A mix of suburban and downtown type developments with the developments resembling more of what you see going up in the suburbs near major rail corridors (DC or Northeast Corridor for example).

Likewise, this is occurring in many U.S. metros as a whole. Even here in NJ, we can see plenty of these 4-6 story developments springing up in the suburbs. I've seen them in Pennsylvania, Delaware suburbs, Florida, and in Massachusetts.

Point being that the sprawl will become denser, and hopefully if planned right, it can somewhat alleviate the damage done. Some towns will be hopeless, but the ones with nice main streets and if preferable, near some sort of rail will and are becoming more "cityish".

Given the appallingly slow rate of transit projects going up in the U.S., transit will not improve dramatically for these areas. Light rail will be the future, but I do not expect subway for Southern Cities on the level of DC or SF. The appetite is just not there, the funding would be a nightmare, and it would take decades knowing how long it takes transit projects to get going in the U.S..

Unless our government takes a big priority and budget on infrastructure, currently, we will continue to be highly reliant on automobiles, even in the cities with subways bar our densest cities like SF, NYC, Boston, and DC.

[rellott]

I'd like to start off with my occupation. I went to school to study geography, urban/community studies, and GIS (geographic information systems) to work as an urban planner of a sort. However, guess what was hiring? Oil and Gas. Energy. It still took 3 months after I graduated but I landed a job with an extremely successful company downtown in compliance. Yes, I'm the GOOD guy. People I work with in the department take their jobs very seriously and always have the public's safety at the top of their list. We keep the guys at the top of the company in check. Now, I don't get paid 100k and neither do my coworkers that have been there for 3 years or so. Granted, I'm a contractor and when oil went down the contractors did first; then the ones that were fixin to retire. Sorry for the tangent but I had to shed some light on the good side of the industry. We aren't all evil, Earth killin bastards.

This thread started from an article based on biased opinion. Debate is great, but there's no need to attack each other's opinion. We all are free to our own.

That being said, I think Houston is gorgeous and hideous like every other American city. No person is perfect and neither is a single city.

The juxtaposition throughout the city, I feel, gives it a unique kind of charm and beauty. Knowing that the city is as successful as it is, it amazes me how businesses, residents, and industry and live around one another and prosper. That alone is beautiful. Differences working together to succeed. No, we don't have the hills of Austin, the mountains of LA, the bay of SanFran, but we cant change that. We work with what we have and make due. The Sahara can be deemed as beautiful as a Swiss village in the Alps, but they each have their own unique form of beauty.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

Who?

Ted Cruz was famously born in Calgary, and George Bush was born in Connecticut of all places.

Ted Cruz - Calgary, Canada
George Bush - New Haven, Connecticut
Dick Armey - Cando, North Dakota
Rick Perry - Paint Creek, Texas
Tom Delay - Laredo, Texas
Louis Gohmert - Pittsburg, Texas

And except for Laredo, I have no idea where those Texas towns are.

[TexasPlaya]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Plenty of cities have managed to be both aesthetically appealing and new. Age doesn't excuse Houston's lack of planning. What is disappointing about Houston is not the chaotic built environment but the extent of the haphazard sprawl. The infill is great and there is tons of it but too much growth is miles away. With his boom, Houston should be building subways, transit, rebuilding the entire north side of town. Instead we get infill and zillions golf course communities literally 40 miles from downtown

Does Houston sprawl any worse than Dallas, Atlanta, Austin, or Phoenix?

[KevinFromTexas]

I think it sprawls more. Does it sprawl worse? I doubt it. Sprawl is sprawl. While cities might have their own unique twist on it, it's more or less all the same. The problem of course is the lack of sustainability with it. The hardships it creates on the environment and making it hard to get around without a car. And the fact that it isn't unique. That it has no cultural uniqueness that jives with the city it surrounds. Suburbs give me a strange feeling. I've been in some suburban neighborhoods that were MILES - like 30 miles from another, and they looked exactly the same right down to the lamp posts. It's really strange. Americans cringe at the commie blocks of China and say they'd hate to be squished into an apartment or highrise. But then they go for the suburbs with mediocre houses and tiny yards that still need to be maintained. So they buy a mower and other lawn supplies, which they either cram into a small storage shed which takes up even more space in their small yard, or they cram that into their garage with all their other junk leaving no room for their car which has to sit in a tiny driveway - one so short that their vehicles block the sidewalk. Garages strike me as one of the least useful things you could have at your house. Instead of a room, which isn't bug proof or weather proof and is full of junk, I'd rather allocate that space to having an actual room. As far as needing a room for your car, I've never understood that idea. Unless you have a classic, a garage is a huge waste of space on your property.

[Dariusb]

Originally Posted by Ryanrule

well, first off, people from texas are pretty much ALWAYS going to tell you how good they are first. best at everything. so that needs to be shut down.


second, the worse off the state is, the less money and power resides there, and the less then can pollute the planet with fuckhead politicians and regressive policies.

Correction, maybe the people from Texas you've encountered had that attitude but certainly not all. I won't argue with you concerning some of our politicians because yeah...

[Dariusb]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Ted Cruz was famously born in Calgary, and George Bush was born in Connecticut of all places.

Ted Cruz - Calgary, Canada
George Bush - New Haven, Connecticut
Dick Armey - Cando, North Dakota
Rick Perry - Paint Creek, Texas
Tom Delay - Laredo, Texas
Louis Gohmert - Pittsburg, Texas

And except for Laredo, I have no idea where those Texas towns are.

I've never heard of Paint Creek, Tx but Pittsburgh is home of the famous Pittsburg Hotlinks which is a few miles south of Mt. Pleasant, Tx. Don't know if you're familiar with it either.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Ted Cruz was famously born in Calgary, and George Bush was born in Connecticut of all places.

Ted Cruz - Calgary, Canada
George Bush - New Haven, Connecticut
Dick Armey - Cando, North Dakota
Rick Perry - Paint Creek, Texas
Tom Delay - Laredo, Texas
Louis Gohmert - Pittsburg, Texas

And except for Laredo, I have no idea where those Texas towns are.

Yeah... born elsewhere but Cruz and Bush grew up in Texas and made their lives there... and Armey served for 2 decades as a congressman from Texas and was a hack professor at Texas schools for 2 decades before that. They're Texans... the absolute worst kind.

I've been to Paint Creek... it's very close to Stamford -- home of the Texas Cowboy Reunion. I worked in the area for a couple weeks back in the late 90s.

[Trae]

Ah, Tom Delay. The man who basically single handily (along with buddy John Culberson) killed Houston's rail expansion plans and caused Metro to go with the half assed route.

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I think it sprawls more. Does it sprawl worse? I doubt it. Sprawl is sprawl. While cities might have their own unique twist on it, it's more or less all the same. The problem of course is the lack of sustainability with it. The hardships it creates on the environment and making it hard to get around without a car. And the fact that it isn't unique. That it has no cultural uniqueness that jives with the city it surrounds. Suburbs give me a strange feeling. I've been in some suburban neighborhoods that were MILES - like 30 miles from another, and they looked exactly the same right down to the lamp posts. It's really strange. Americans cringe at the commie blocks of China and say they'd hate to be squished into an apartment or highrise. But then they go for the suburbs with mediocre houses and tiny yards that still need to be maintained. So they buy a mower and other lawn supplies, which they either cram into a small storage shed which takes up even more space in their small yard, or they cram that into their garage with all their other junk leaving no room for their car which has to sit in a tiny driveway - one so short that their vehicles block the sidewalk. Garages strike me as one of the least useful things you could have at your house. Instead of a room, which isn't bug proof or weather proof and is full of junk, I'd rather allocate that space to having an actual room. As far as needing a room for your car, I've never understood that idea. Unless you have a classic, a garage is a huge waste of space on your property.

Houston sprawls less than all those cities (DFW, Atlanta, and Austin), except for Phoenix. It may have large city limits but its urban area is smaller and denser.

[dc_denizen]

IMO Houston sprawls more (Woodlands/Katy etc), but there is a ton more infill than in Atlanta or Phoenix.

[Austinlee]

I just want to say, as a northerner who has never been to Texas yet I am greatly intrigued by Houston. I can't say its natural setting is what interests me at all but the incredibly robust economy and the international immigration makes me think it must be a very dynamic and interesting city somewhat similar to LA but without the music and entertainment industry. (I was very impressed with the young, energetic vibe of LA)

If I had to move to Texas I would probably go to Houston. Austin would be second but I hear it's getting expensive and crowded. Don't know how true that it. Dallas seems too Bush centric although that is another huge city so it must have some good parts and I heard good things about San Antonio but I don't know if I would like that city.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

... makes me think it must be a very dynamic and interesting city somewhat similar to LA but without the music and entertainment industry. (I was very impressed with the young, energetic vibe of LA)

... and without the beach (well, kind of) and mountains... and a few other things...

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

... and without the beach (well, kind of) and mountains... and a few other things...

I know it's a very rough comparison but I kinda meant more the vibe of the people. A growing city, that is huge, sprawling yet vibrant.

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by TexasPlaya

Does Houston sprawl any worse than Dallas, Atlanta, Austin, or Phoenix?

I would put an asterisk next to Phoenix. Phoenix sprawl is confined due to Indian reservations, National Forest lands, mountain ranges and access to water.

Development there hits a wall and suddenly stops. It still has hundreds of Sq miles to develop though.

[dollaztx]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Ted Cruz was famously born in Calgary, and George Bush was born in Connecticut of all places.

Ted Cruz - Calgary, Canada
George Bush - New Haven, Connecticut
Dick Armey - Cando, North Dakota
Rick Perry - Paint Creek, Texas
Tom Delay - Laredo, Texas
Louis Gohmert - Pittsburg, Texas

And except for Laredo, I have no idea where those Texas towns are.

It's not surprising that none of them are from any major city in Texas. The last Texas governor from one of the major cities to take office was Bill Clemens in 1987. Texas' size is just too overwhelming. I guess it would be like DC, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta being all in one state and the cities getting all the slack because of it. It's both a blessing and a curse at times.