Why do so many people not like Houston? (Dallas, Galveston: lofts, condo)

[bu2]

Originally Posted by nana053

Did you actually look at the numbers of kids?

Take age 8 - in the NYC metro there are 231,839 kids, in the Houston metro there are 91,427 kids
Take age 15 - in the NYC metro area there are 253,610 kids, in the Houston metro there are 89,879 kids.

Regardless of the proportion, we are looking at lots of parents who CHOOSE the NYC metro. Admittedly, it is more expensive to live there, but people who live there love living there and raising there family there just as people who live here love their area.

I have friends in Brooklyn who love it partly because they can walk to museums and parks and zoos or take the subway. I would not want to live where they live, but they love it and it is a great place for them.

There are 4 times the number of people in NYC metro. The % of people with kids is much, much smaller. You don't have to look to hard to find comments about people moving out of LA because they don't want to be there with kids. And actually, more Americans are moving out of California than moving in. The only reason they aren't losing people is immigrants.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

This zoning argument seems like a red herring to me. What exactly would zoning accomplish ? Are you going to zone all businesses off of the feeder roads and if you do where are those businesses going to move... deeper into our neighborhoods ? Are you going to create a red light district so you wont have strip clubs in different parts of town. Houston does have de-facto zoning now through building codes and distance requirements for businesses that serve or sell alcohol . Lastly has Houston's so called lack of zoning made Houston develop differently in any significant way than any other sunbelt auto dependent metropolis ?

I think the vitriol towards Houston probably has more to do with perceptions of the Oil & gas industry and the relationship it has with the national media which will nitpick Houston on any minute issue as part of their bias towards what Houston stands for in their eyes. Yes I know the trolls that infect this forum probably are not thinking about the big picture but they are encouraged and influenced by what they hear and see in the media and use that to grind their own little axes....

That is a factor. The national media also tends to dislike Texas in general because it is a Republican state in the south that has been very successful.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Gunion Powder

Well, I pretty much feel the same way about your oil & gas theory. Most of the complaints and negative comments I hear about Houston are about its weather and the way it looks. I hear nothing about its industry.

Let's forget about "zoning" itself for a second. What about planning, architecture and landscaping? You don't see how Houston might be considered inferior to virtually all other major cities when it comes to these things?

Are you kidding me ? Some of the best architecture (in the sunbelt anyway) is in Houston. There is a story in todays Chronicle about Gerald Hines turning 90 and all the contributions he has made to Houston such as Pennzoil Place, Transco Tower (now Williams Tower) Some of the best Architects in the country have designed buildings in Houston. The best Architectural Schools in Texas are Rice and U of H.

To directly answer your question though YES I am for even better Architectural and Landscaping design, but how would zoning improve that aspect of Houstons aesthetics ?

Originally Posted by theone33

Ive never heard oil and gas being talked negatively about from outsiders. I can see it being an easy excuse to add to their list though "oil is bad for the planet! That city sucks and is full of trashy oil workers!"

I stated in an earlier post that most of the Trolls that dis Houston don't think about big picture issues like global warming but they are influenced and encouraged by any negative attention they hear or see about Houston. I think that issue is also a red herring for many of Houston's distractors but it appears to be the big issue that is used in the national media who subtly connect Houston with that issue.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Gunion Powder

Well, I pretty much feel the same way about your oil & gas theory. Most of the complaints and negative comments I hear about Houston are about its weather and the way it looks. I hear nothing about its industry.

Let's forget about "zoning" itself for a second. What about planning, architecture and landscaping? You don't see how Houston might be considered inferior to virtually all other major cities when it comes to these things?

I can see why. I can also see why it would be considered superior to virtually all other major cities when it comes to these things.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by jerbear30

"Their view" is correct from a scientific perspective. Maybe one day we'll all wake up to find that scientific evidence is wrong and the oil industry is vindicated but that's not likely. At this point, it just looks silly to claim otherwise. That does trouble people. I think it's natural.

If you understand what they base it on, its really silly to claim skepticism is silly. There was a National Geographic article and the most intelligent people were the most likely to be skeptical. They found the biggest correlation with people's beliefs was how they felt about the oil & gas industry.

[Gunion Powder]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

Are you kidding me ? Some of the best architecture (in the sunbelt anyway) is in Houston. There is a story in todays Chronicle about Gerald Hines turning 90 and all the contributions he has made to Houston such as Pennzoil Place, Transco Tower (now Williams Tower) Some of the best Architects in the country have designed buildings in Houston. The best Architectural Schools in Texas are Rice and U of H.

I didn't say this was necessarily my opinion. I'm saying it's the opinion some may have. And truth be told, in an average discussion of great American architecture, I'm not so sure Houston would be commonly recognized.

To directly answer your question though YES I am for even better Architectural and Landscaping design, but how would zoning improve that aspect of Houstons aesthetics ?

Who said it would? On the other hand, form based codes dictate what developments look like, and this works for the uniformity of a street or neighborhood. This would definitely help improve the look of the city..

[Gunion Powder]

Originally Posted by bu2

I can see why. I can also see why it would be considered superior to virtually all other major cities when it comes to these things.

It is all subjective, but I think you'd have a difficult time convincing most people of that.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Gunion Powder

I didn't say this was necessarily my opinion. I'm saying it's the opinion some may have. And truth be told, in an average discussion of great American architecture, I'm not so sure Houston would be commonly recognized.

What sunbelt cities would be in that conversation ? That discussion would be dominated by New York , Chicago and perhaps San Francisco...

Originally Posted by Gunion Powder

Who said it would? On the other hand, form based codes dictate what developments look like, and this works for the uniformity of a street or neighborhood. This would definitely help improve the look of the city..

Now you're talking about a whole new level of zoning. When I think of zoning I think of a very rudimentary level that basically zones this section commercial and that one residential another industrial. The type of centralized control you are suggesting might very well be effective if Houston could attract the top notch Urban Planners in the country or even the world. On the other hand it would be a disaster if you put that kind of power into the hands of incompetents.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Gunion Powder

It is all subjective, but I think you'd have a difficult time convincing most people of that.

People who bash Houston architecture and other nitpicking tactics, IMO usually have ulterior motives and are actually motivated by other biases such as political or regional preferences...

[Gunion Powder]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

What sunbelt cities would be in that conversation ? That discussion would be dominated by New York , Chicago and perhaps San Francisco...

I'd argue that both Dallas and Atlanta have more notable skyscraper architecture than Houston does. New Orleans is far more impressive at street level. Miami is perhaps the all around best. You wouldn't mistake it for any other city in the world.