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This is the perspective why people have trouble viewing these cities (or Houston in this thread) similar to other cities that may trail in population. The perspective to gain respect is not from a car. It has to establish itself as place, a destination, not a collection of disparate driving destinations. Yes it is getting better but as a place it has so far to go to be top of mind with places like Boston or SF let alone Chicago. The view at 60 mph and from a distance will not give it the credibility it yearns. I know many will fight me and others will agree. But remember it is not people from Dallas or Houston or Atlanta that this credibility is needed to earn, it is everyone else. That is the essense of being the 3rd largest city let alone 4th, it is gaining that undoubting understanding of place and prominance. I know I am making a gross generalization but to dismiss is more inaccurate than accurate. Yes TX is great for business and yes it is great at attracting people. Where it trails and yearns is making a place. All the concrete and fancy buildings in the world do nothing until the city realizes that it needs to create the place and destination, one foot, and hand, and mouth at a time. Not another concrete place or huge park, or Disney West, the place where people just are drawn but dont know why, the place that people know and understand. Art galleries and tall buildings are fine but it is everything that fills and sorrounds this space that is the essence of place. When Houston delivers on this, the place the feel, the vibrance then it can be known, not ask to be known as the city it wants to be...
This is the perspective why people have trouble viewing these cities (or Houston in this thread) similar to other cities that may trail in population. The perspective to gain respect is not from a car. It has to establish itself as place, a destination, not a collection of disparate driving destinations. Yes it is getting better but as a place it has so far to go to be top of mind with places like Boston or SF let alone Chicago. The view at 60 mph and from a distance will not give it the credibility it yearns. I know many will fight me and others will agree. But remember it is not people from Dallas or Houston or Atlanta that this credibility is needed to earn, it is everyone else. That is the essense of being the 3rd largest city let alone 4th, it is gaining that undoubting understanding of place and prominance. I know I am making a gross generalization but to dismiss is more inaccurate than accurate. Yes TX is great for business and yes it is great at attracting people. Where it trails and yearns is making a place. All the concrete and fancy buildings in the world do nothing until the city realizes that it needs to create the place and destination, one foot, and hand, and mouth at a time. Not another concrete place or huge park, or Disney West, the place where people just are drawn but dont know why, the place that people know and understand. Art galleries and tall buildings are fine but it is everything that fills and sorrounds this space that is the essence of place. When Houston delivers on this, the place the feel, the vibrance then it can be known, not ask to be known as the city it wants to be...
Great post but I wasn't really saying that people gain experience from a car. I was just using that as an example as to making more notable landmarks, sort of like Dallas's reunion tower and their new signature bridges. Perhaps it wasn't the best example. Houston has plans for the Buffalo Bayou restoration and just announced plans to for a hiking and biking trail just west of downtown to add more green space. There's also plans to build more pedestrian bridges over each of the crossovers. There were also plans to restore restaurant fronts off the Bayou in downtown such as the Old Coffee Building but those plans have been quiet lately.
Your generalization of TX is mostly spot on, but you should've excluded San Antonio in your post. That place is probably the main place that has established a sense of place in TX. Downtown S/A is one foot, one hand and a mouth at time as you so put it. You could spend the entire day downtown and along the Riverwalk, RC Mall, the Alamo, and viewing the Tower of Americas and learn about some interesting TX history and enjoying 3-D rides, along with all the tourist museums, restaurants and shops off the downtown streets. San Antonio rightfully deserves at least that much credit.
Houston has plans for the Buffalo Bayou restoration and just announced plans to for a hiking and biking trail just west of downtown to add more green space. There's also plans to build more pedestrian bridges over each of the crossovers. There were also plans to restore restaurant fronts off the Bayou in downtown such as the Old Coffee Building but those plans have been quiet lately.
Your generalization of TX is mostly spot on, but you should've excluded San Antonio in your post. That place is probably the main place that has established a sense of place in TX. Downtown S/A is one foot, one hand and a mouth at time as you so put it. You could spend the entire day downtown and along the Riverwalk, RC Mall, the Alamo, and viewing the Tower of Americas and learn about some interesting TX history and enjoying 3-D rides, along with all the tourist museums, restaurants and shops off the downtown streets. San Antonio rightfully deserves at least that much credit.
The bike trails already exists. What they are doing is going them. The one near me already goes from 45 south almost all the way to highway 6. there is another from Brays bayou almost to downtown. There is another that goes from downtown, through the heights, passed river oaks and on to 610.
It is hard to build restaurants on the bayou, especially Buffalo bayou because it carries so much water.
I don't know if you know this but the riverwalk in San Antonio is no longer a navigable water way. It is basically a pond. The downtown area used to flood constantly so there were plans to just pave over the river, however they ultimately decided to cut off the section through downtown at the entrance and the exist and have it as a pond instead.
But I am surprised that you like downtown SA so much. I lived there for 4 years and thought it was the crappiest, avoid at all cost big city downtown I have visited.
The bike trails already exists. What they are doing is going them. The one near me already goes from 45 south almost all the way to highway 6. there is another from Brays bayou almost to downtown. There is another that goes from downtown, through the heights, passed river oaks and on to 610.
It is hard to build restaurants on the bayou, especially Buffalo bayou because it carries so much water.
I don't know if you know this but the riverwalk in San Antonio is no longer a navigable water way. It is basically a pond. The downtown area used to flood constantly so there were plans to just pave over the river, however they ultimately decided to cut off the section through downtown at the entrance and the exist and have it as a pond instead.
But I am surprised that you like downtown SA so much. I lived there for 4 years and thought it was the crappiest, avoid at all cost big city downtown I have visited.
You got a chance to see everything you didn't like about the city because you lived there. Living in S/A is not the same as visiting there. You simply can't deny the fact that downtown S/A is the busiest, liveliest urban center in Texas. That, you can't take away from it, in spite of the fact they may not have the downtown residential population and other amenities throughout the city to match up.
Idk if this has been said before but if it has not been, here it goes.
Chicago has about 3 million people living on only 227 square miles.
Houston has about 2.2 million people living on 601 square miles.
Pretty unfair, i'd say. So you got Chicago.....looks and feels like a big city and you got Houston which has alot of unpopulated land and feels like a suburb. Back to the question, will Houston pass Chicago in population by 2020? ........no, becuase people forget that Chicago is also growing.
Chicago Metro-10 million
Houston Metro-5.8 million
You got a chance to see everything you didn't like about the city because you lived there. Living in S/A is not the same as visiting there. You simply can't deny the fact that downtown S/A is the busiest, liveliest urban center in Texas. That, you can't take away from it, in spite of the fact they may not have the downtown residential population and other amenities throughout the city to match up.
not saying that lots of tourists go downtown, was saying that I am surprised that you like it so much to sing its praises.
Didn't find it so fantastic. something to see once or twice in your lifetime but that is about it. you made it sound like it was imperative that houston get their downtown like that.
Houston is a business town, now a sit down next to a smelly river and get pissed drunk all day kinda town
Idk if this has been said before but if it has not been, here it goes.
Chicago has about 3 million people living on only 227 square miles.
Houston has about 2.2 million people living on 601 square miles.
Pretty unfair, i'd say. So you got Chicago.....looks and feels like a big city and you got Houston which has alot of unpopulated land and feels like a suburb. Back to the question, will Houston pass Chicago in population by 2020? ........no, becuase people forget that Chicago is also growing.
Chicago Metro-10 million
Houston Metro-5.8 million
said , done and overdone to the extreme.
whats unfair about having more land??? Are you jealous that people in Houston enjoy houses with bigger lots? not everyone likes to be sandwiched you know
Idk if this has been said before but if it has not been, here it goes.
Chicago has about 3 million people living on only 227 square miles.
Houston has about 2.2 million people living on 601 square miles.
Pretty unfair, i'd say. So you got Chicago.....looks and feels like a big city and you got Houston which has alot of unpopulated land and feels like a suburb. Back to the question, will Houston pass Chicago in population by 2020? ........no, becuase people forget that Chicago is also growing.
Chicago Metro-10 million
Houston Metro-5.8 million
Everything you said is how I feel. Houston is just a huge county that is a unified city imo. It's like one huge suburb. 3,800 people per sq mile is so spread out it's not even a joke. REAL city like Chicago.
I could careless if Houston takes over in population. How about Chicago annexes another 400 sq miles and gains another 3 million people (maybe more)? LOL then they will be equal land size.
I mean 601 square miles? Man, my county of 1.3 million is only 400 sq miles.
why didn't Chicago have th forethought to do that then? It is not Houston's fault they had the brain to think ahead
I think the point is because area size is so inconsistent on city size that population comparisons sometimes are worthless. Is Boston as a city 1/5th the size of Houston? Well the population would suggest that but is covers a land area (city proper) 1/14th that of Houston.
Another example the urban area (UA) population of Houston is 4.4 Million versus the UA of Chicago at 8.5 million
Pheonix is larger in population than Philly, does that mean it is a bigger city?
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