Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know it has incredible density, Manhattan could sink into the ocean and NYC would still be the most impressive city in the U.S. MY point is that density drops off from the CBD, you don't go to Suffolk County NY and see an area denser than the city center. Houston you go to Katy and you go to Mission Bend and you see areas as Dense as West University Place within a few miles of Downtown. You go to SW Houston and the entire area is denser than the area within 5 miles of Downtown.
NYC is not near as dense as Houston. Don't let these haters get you down.
As a former resident of Los Angeles and someone who has some familiarity with Houston, I have noticed how a lot of Northeasterners tend to get VERY confused about those two cities because it flies in the face of their narrowly defined definitions of what constitutes a "city." Due to the lack of land in LA and the population growth, the city has had to densify considerably in the last 30 years or so, but people still think of it as Phoenix by the Ocean, which couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, it's sprawling, yes you have to drive a car to get from one part to another, but it's a very dense, crowded sprawl, more like Tokyo or Mexico City than NYC. AND it's a multipolar metro area, so there is more than one major employment center, more than one locus for entertainment. Northeasterners who are accustomed to going to "The City" for their entertainment are immediately confused when going to Los Angeles. When I lived in Atlanta, I noticed the northeasterners were usually confused by its layout and sprawl as well since most of the city of Atlanta doesn't really look urban outside of the Downtown/Midtown/Buckhead corridor (and Buckhead is NOT that urban).
I noticed Midwesterners didn't seem to get as flummoxed by LA's layout as Northeasterners did. I think that's because much of the LA Basin was designed by midwesterners to be similar to cities on the Great Plains and Great Lakes. Although Chicago has a huge urban center with the Loop and River North, the city sprawls out in multiple directions and there are multipolar nodes. Also, outside that area, Chicagoland has a very similar layout to Los Angeles in terms of grid street patterns and has a lot of SFH's and small apartment complexes (Dingbats in SoCal = Two and Three Flats in Chicago) with retail corridors a lot like Los Angeles. Metro Detroit has a similar layout to the Los Angeles Basin and had multipolar nodes of employment (both cities have were massive manufacturing bases in their heydays). A lot of midwesterners moved to Southern California in the mid-20th century as well, so they seem to "get it" more.
Basically, Los Angeles functions as a collection of multiple cities that all grew into each other, and I pretty much treated it as such to really gain an understanding of the city when I lived there. It's entirely too large to really gain a feel for it because each part of the city is very different in vibe/development/form. I lived in the South Bay region and pretty much relegated myself to that area unless I had a compelling reason to go to the Westside, Downtown, or The Valley. The area is designed to a degree where just about everything you need is in your immediate area for the most part, even going to the beaches along the South Bay was a lot more convenient for me than traipsing up to Venice, Malibu, or Santa Monica. My relatives who have lived out there most of their lives treat LA the same way and remarked how I was really venturing out to explore areas they hadn't been to for years. That's why mass transit is so difficult there, because of the multipolar nature of the city and the auto-oriented development.
Houston does not have the land limitations of Los Angeles (which is hemmed in by an Ocean, Mountains, and Desert) and has had more room to sprawl out and feels a lot more suburban in nature overall than the City of Los Angeles - especially outside the 610 Loop. However, the Inner Loop is about as dense as you can get for a Southern City and it also has multipolar nodes. It's funny to me when people mistake Uptown/West Loop for Downtown. The lack of zoning does give it a unique vibe that is not easily replicated. Also, unlike a lot of the suburban neighborhoods in the Northeastern cities, even developments and Master-Planned communities built relatively far from the city center are fairly dense and houses are built pretty close together. This often flies in the face of people who think that the cities in Texas all offer wide-open spaces in residential areas in relatively close proximity to the city centers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker
NYC is not near as dense as Houston. Don't let these haters get you down.
I hope you mean the NYC metro area and not the city itself. Because Suffolk and Nassau Counties are not part of NYC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gunion Powder
No, but it is a fine example.
Yes, because Houston is so dense, urbane, and well-planned in comparison Houston is denser than ATL in general, but people in sprawling sunbelt houses shouldn't be throwing stones.
I know it has incredible density, Manhattan could sink into the ocean and NYC would still be the most impressive city in the U.S. MY point is that density drops off from the CBD, you don't go to Suffolk County NY and see an area denser than the city center. Houston you go to Katy and you go to Mission Bend and you see areas as Dense as West University Place within a few miles of Downtown. You go to SW Houston and the entire area is denser than the area within 5 miles of Downtown.
I'm not familiar with the Houston metro, but on google maps it just looks like those places are all just fairly densely packed single family homes. So I don't really get the point.
I was expecting more of the DC suburb style with the small dense highrise downtown area.
I'm not familiar with the Houston metro, but on google maps it just looks like those places are all just fairly densely packed single family homes. So I don't really get the point.
I was expecting more of the DC suburb style with the small dense highrise downtown area.
That’s because Houston’s burbs follow the western model of suburbia by building development in smaller lots. It’s still low rise low intense density. The inner loop in Houston will eventually become the most densely populated part of Houston in the near future. The current zip code with the highest density in Houston is mostly post world war 2 sprawling garden style apartments. Very unimpressive to say the least.
Los Angeles and Houston: The Rise of the Unreadable City
According to an article written on the LA Times, Los Angeles and Houston both are "unreadable cities." These types of cities are described as being too complex for people to comprehend in their entireties.
Not sure what drugs they are on, but Houston is completely understandable to me. There's no mystery or confusion to it. Most in the city would feel likewise.
Sounds like someone was desperate for a story, and pulled this idea out of their @ss.
By the way, we don't have to accept and believe every idea and concept that comes along in a news media publication or online site (wink).
Not sure what drugs they are on, but Houston is completely understandable to me. There's no mystery or confusion to it. Most in the city would feel likewise.
Sounds like someone was desperate for a story, and pulled this idea out of their @ss.
The writer got his knickers in a twist because the NYT took a swipe at his city. So he’s made up some conceit that sunbelt cities are too complex and “unreadable” to those from places such as the northeast, as if they are jewels dropped in front of an ape. Please. They are simply cities that sprawl. What’s not to understand?
As a former resident of Los Angeles and someone who has some familiarity with Houston, I have noticed how a lot of Northeasterners tend to get VERY confused about those two cities because it flies in the face of their narrowly defined definitions of what constitutes a "city." Due to the lack of land in LA and the population growth, the city has had to densify considerably in the last 30 years or so, but people still think of it as Phoenix by the Ocean, which couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, it's sprawling, yes you have to drive a car to get from one part to another, but it's a very dense, crowded sprawl, more like Tokyo or Mexico City than NYC. AND it's a multipolar metro area, so there is more than one major employment center, more than one locus for entertainment. Northeasterners who are accustomed to going to "The City" for their entertainment are immediately confused when going to Los Angeles. When I lived in Atlanta, I noticed the northeasterners were usually confused by its layout and sprawl as well since most of the city of Atlanta doesn't really look urban outside of the Downtown/Midtown/Buckhead corridor (and Buckhead is NOT that urban).
Mexico City resembles Brooklyn at street level (as the closest comparison), and Tokyo is a different ballgame. All are far denser than LA, and have different urban forms I'm not sure why they're being compared. LA resembles any generic sunbelt American city in terms of urban form than it resembles either of those.
Quote:
I noticed Midwesterners didn't seem to get as flummoxed by LA's layout as Northeasterners did. I think that's because much of the LA Basin was designed by midwesterners to be similar to cities on the Great Plains and Great Lakes. Although Chicago has a huge urban center with the Loop and River North, the city sprawls out in multiple directions and there are multipolar nodes. Also, outside that area, Chicagoland has a very similar layout to Los Angeles in terms of grid street patterns and has a lot of SFH's and small apartment complexes (Dingbats in SoCal = Two and Three Flats in Chicago) with retail corridors a lot like Los Angeles. Metro Detroit has a similar layout to the Los Angeles Basin and had multipolar nodes of employment (both cities have were massive manufacturing bases in their heydays). A lot of midwesterners moved to Southern California in the mid-20th century as well, so they seem to "get it" more.
I'm a midwesterner (Detroit) that moved to Los Angeles, and honestly Los Angeles reminds me more of Detroit than it reminds me of say NYC, or even San Francisco (to use an example in the same state). Yes, LA is both larger and denser than Detroit but the urban form is the same. In Detroit metropolitan areas, you have numerous mini cities with their own commercial districts surrounded by houses. You have a downtown with many tall buildings, and some 'urban' neighborhoods nearby but beyond this, everything is suburban. Exactly like LA. So while denser and larger they have the same urban forms.
Houston does not have the land limitations of Los Angeles (which is hemmed in by an Ocean, Mountains, and Desert) and has had more room to sprawl out and feels a lot more suburban in nature overall than the City of Los Angeles - especially outside the 610 Loop.
It's also fair to point out that LA is an older big city than Houston is thus having a much larger urban grid in place.
Quote:
Yes, because Houston is so dense, urbane, and well-planned in comparison
I have always said LA is the most difficult city to understand and totally appreciate, this kind of makes sense Houston may have some similarities on a smaller scale
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Houston is denser than ATL in general, but people in sprawling sunbelt houses shouldn't be throwing stones.
