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I think you make a pretty good point, a place can be urban without vibrancy, true in every city in America.
But I also think in the traditional sense a city should have that (vibrancy), especially at the core, that next level down in vibrancy feels very suburban to me and is so indistinguishable from everyplace else, which in many ways much of Houston (even in the city) feels like. So this leads to many people calling/associating Houston with being suburban, because it looks and feels like what many people associate as suburban, not in total but most of what is considered the city based on the borders. And I guess why I know personally I feel like I have trouble finding the urban part of houston, even areas with tall buildings that exist in many areas of the city, I still feel like I am in the burbs or a perimeter city, thus it feels that next level down in urbanity or suburban. And this is not everywhere, but it feels disjointed and lacks the cohesiveness that add to vibrancy. And again this is not to say there are no urban areas in Houston, they just seem so pocketed and that again to me feels suburban, that is similar to the suburban makeup that I am used to, pockets of urbanity sorrounded by suburbia just on a larger scale with taller buildings, this is the general vibe I get, and why I think urban does not jump to mind with a city of this type of makeup.
And again this is not to say there are no urban areas, because there are, and honestly the downtown would never be mistaken for not being urban, lacking continuous vibrancy, maybe but even that is getting better
maybe it is my flaw where I equate vibrancy with urbanity, or I was just conditioned as a child based on the 3 cities I knew best NYC, Philly and DC, dunno
Houston's problem is sprawl. The geographical boundaries (water on 2 sides) that confine Seattle add to its density. that and a solid residential core within downtown keep it rocking.
When asked about urban city I would never think Houston.
If one was to ask "strip mall" then Houston comes to mind.
Sorry Houston, your love of the auto and all that land (sprawl) makes for a unattractive city.
But hey, you got some big towers...be proud.
Dead? Hardly...ever heard of Houston's underground tunnels? The heat & humidity make it almost unbearable most of the year to walk around downtown so Houston built underground pedestrian tunnels which connect every major building in downtown. The tunnel is about 7 miles total in length & has everything from your local barber shop to eye glass store down there.
There are exceptions you know. You make it seem that downtown is completely void of activity, which overall may seem like, but there are various spots with pedestrian activity. There are 3 parks downtown that draw over 500,000 visitors each: Sam Houston Park, Tranquility Park, and Discovery Green. There are 2 major sports venues: Toyota Center, home to the Rockets(NBA) and Aeros(AHL), and Minute Maid Park, home to the Astros(MLB). Major retailers downtown are anchored by the stores located in the Houston Pavillions,The Shops at Houston Center, and the storefronts at the Main St. Square. Yes, stores are located downtown,I'd approximate 100-200 of actual retail stores, not including restaurants. Not exactly great, thats more than most people believe. All the major performing arts venues are located downtown. Entertainment options like Lucky Strike Lanes, Angelika Film Center, House of Blues, the Verizon Wireless Theater, Hard Rock Cafe, Pete's Dueling Piano Bar, in addition to dozens and dozens of other bars, pubs, and clubs.
Dead? Hardly...ever heard of Houston's underground tunnels? The heat & humidity make it almost unbearable most of the year to walk around downtown so Houston built underground pedestrian tunnels which connect every major building in downtown. The tunnel is about 7 miles total in length & has everything from your local barber shop to eye glass store down there.
Ummm seriously. When the major department store downtown closes at 6pm that ought to tell you something.
After 6pm, downtown Houston is dead. Sure there are places to eat, but stores all close and compared to many major cities, in this case Seattle, it is indeed dead, tunnels notwithstanding.
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