Urban areas running out of land (Houston, Spring: houses, neighborhood, gated)

[RCH99]

This film was made by the Urban Land Institute in 1959, and reveals the fact that there was great concern over 50 years ago that we were fixing to run out of land. The population was expected to reach *200 million* soon, and that was going to lead to big problems......

Anyway, it is very interesting to see that many of the very issues that get discussed here about Houston, have been discussed and contemplated for many decades.


1959 Film from ULI and National Association of Homebuilders Warns of Urban Sprawl - YouTube

[deckhanddavy]

Awesome video. Love that sort of stuff. I used to have a 16mm film projector and bought quite a few educational reels such as this off of ebay about 10 years ago or so.

I have this book on my Amazon wish list. It's a really interesting topic
Amazon.com: City: Urbanism and Its End (The Institution for Social and Policy St) eBook: Professor Douglas W. Rae: Kindle Store

[Lost_In_Translation]

Haha, Houston has all of those they suggest.

[wclanton423]

We're running out of land and trees. I can't stand when new subdivisions are built and they cut all the trees down. The same when someone levels out a house in a mature neighborhood and cuts down everything to put some huge house with no backyard.

[modster]

Originally Posted by wclanton423

We're running out of land and trees. I can't stand when new subdivisions are built and they cut all the trees down. The same when someone levels out a house in a mature neighborhood and cuts down everything to put some huge house with no backyard.

It's always sort of ironic to me how once an area gets successful, developers tend to kill whatever the "golden goose" was that initially drew people there in the first place. In some of the Klein and Spring areas for example, it was the wooded terrain that was a major part of its initial draw when it was first being developed in the 70's. If a tract wasn't wooded, it was usually relegated to being developed as much less expensive tract housing, while the wooded parcels were developed with the larger, more expensive houses. Now they just bulldoze all the trees so it doesn't matter.

In the Heights you had a similar trend where people went back in because they liked the charming bungalows with the front porches and giant mature trees. The old historic feel and housing was a big part of the initial draw that caused the Heights to gentrify. Then once it became a "hot" area again, in came the builders that wanted to wipe out the bungalows for the lot-liner hummer houses where there was no room left on that 5,000 sq ft lot for that 80 year old oak, so out it goes too.