Why does nobody walk around in this city? (Houston, Galveston: renters, townhouses)

[arrow_keys]

The lack of zoning in Houston is actually now being seen by city planners as a good thing. Except for the most extreme example of a factory next to a house or a strip club next to a day care, it really doesn't matter what kinds of land uses are next to one another as long as the impacts are mitigated in the form of more screening, landscaping, etc. Zoning segregates land uses and often prevents a mixed use environment that encourages walking. Planners, developers and designers are now paying more attention to the building and how it relates to the street and other public areas, rather than worrying about whether its ok for a coffee shop to be next to a florist or not.

[TexasTheKid]

Originally Posted by arrow_keys

The lack of zoning in Houston is actually now being seen by city planners as a good thing. Except for the most extreme example of a factory next to a house or a strip club next to a day care, it really doesn't matter what kinds of land uses are next to one another as long as the impacts are mitigated in the form of more screening, landscaping, etc. Zoning segregates land uses and often prevents a mixed use environment that encourages walking. Planners, developers and designers are now paying more attention to the building and how it relates to the street and other public areas, rather than worrying about whether its ok for a coffee shop to be next to a florist or not.

That's exactly right. I just don't get the zoning zealots. Zoning creates the antithesis of mixed-use, pedestrian friendly communities! Why don't people understand this? The farthest flung 'burbs have the equivalent of zoning in the form of deed restrictions. How are those areas walkable? And concepts like the the Woodlands city center isn't walkable if you must drive there in the first place. Walkable is Montrose and other neighborhoods like it. I can (and do) walk from my apartment to the grocery store, to downtown, to my bank, to the bar, to Hermann Park and out to eat regularly. And, I do all those without ever getting in my car. I don't drive, park my car, walk around a few shops, get back in my car, drive to the next destination, get out and walk around, get back in my car and drive to the next destination, etc. Zoning makes the car culture mandatory.

[EEstudent]

Originally Posted by TexasTheKid

That's exactly right. I just don't get the zoning zealots. Zoning creates the antithesis of mixed-use, pedestrian friendly communities! Why don't people understand this? The farthest flung 'burbs have the equivalent of zoning in the form of deed restrictions. How are those areas walkable? And concepts like the the Woodlands city center isn't walkable if you must drive there in the first place. Walkable is Montrose and other neighborhoods like it. I can (and do) walk from my apartment to the grocery store, to downtown, to my bank, to the bar, to Hermann Park and out to eat regularly. And, I do all those without ever getting in my car. I don't drive, park my car, walk around a few shops, get back in my car, drive to the next destination, get out and walk around, get back in my car and drive to the next destination, etc. Zoning makes the car culture mandatory.

Thank you.. wish I had thought of that...

You cant call some place a great "walkable" area... if you had to drive over there to do walk around
lol

[WillysB]

We only have one car and were planning for one of us to use public transports but it would seem like a crazy idea according to the few locals we spoke to.

Well, you do admit to moving there from SanFrancisco. Having done so you should already know that it doesn't really matter what a few locals think. As far as using public transport just exercise some judgment as to where you take and the time of day.

Now, if you had been around when I lived there you might have seen me walking to the grocery or riding my bicycle about the Montrose. And as a poster above notes... 'hot and humid'.

[crbcrbrgv]

We are dependent on our cars, plain and simple. Everyone always gives the "It's too hot the majority of the year" excuse. That is not the case at all. We have about 8 months out of the year total where the weather is great for walking. Houston is not built for walking. It's built for car dependency.

[jfre81]

One of the other problems is the way that Houston, in place of traditional zoning, regulates growth. The city forces developers to provide parking, which means in most cases big parking lots. That doesn't do anything to encourage walking. "No zoning" could still yield pedestrian friendly development if there was a demand for it, but they would still have to play by the city's rules on development which are more extensive than people may realize. This city has done things that force sprawl and auto dependency, just like a bad zoning plan might. Yes, there's such a thing as bad zoning.

[arrow_keys]

Originally Posted by jfre81

One of the other problems is the way that Houston, in place of traditional zoning, regulates growth. The city forces developers to provide parking, which means in most cases big parking lots. That doesn't do anything to encourage walking. "No zoning" could still yield pedestrian friendly development if there was a demand for it, but they would still have to play by the city's rules on development which are more extensive than people may realize. This city has done things that force sprawl and auto dependency, just like a bad zoning plan might. Yes, there's such a thing as bad zoning.

Yes. People talk about Houston not having zoning, but it does have development standards - parking, signs, landscaping, access and exterior building materials. Deed restrictions are also a popular form of private development regulation in Houston (as someone else said). Ideally, off-street parking would be market-driven in most cases, instead of being based on regulations that are written so that the parking lot can fit the cars of all the shoppers on the day after Thanksgiving. And then be half empty the rest of the year.

[EasilyAmused]

BUt then you look at the places that are new and UBER ZONED. They have area's for retail that you have to drive 5 miles to get to. Walkability scores of 15. They started with a blank slate and they are actually far worse than City of HOuston and it's non-zoning.

[DaveV]

Funny thread.. SO.. if you can't walk anywhere, how do u go out drinking? And how the heck did this place get to be the 4th largest metro area??

[CanTex]

Originally Posted by robertobaggio

I just got the impression that more people walk around in Miami than in Houston, although only South Beach and few other areas are really like San Francisco or NYC in terms of people walking.

Those are all tourists. Go down to Galveston and you'll see some of those walking along the seawall.