Some seem to think Houston doesn't take pride in its appearance. Thoughts? (Dallas: HOA, co-op)

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by finnisher

It would be nice. A city doesn't have to be boring because things actually look nice. The thing is, most cities are planned based on tried-and-true methods. Houston has attempted to reinvent the wheel and why is that when, by most accounts, the result hasn't been pretty? Houston hides its pretty parts and shows off its ugly side without compunction. Most cities do the opposite. Why is that?? is what I'd like to know.

And about the freeways, Houston has them criss-crossing in all directions so that, by design, they're the way most people traverse the city, so how is it possible to discuss Houston's appearance without mentioning them? My observations weren't based solely on freeways. I saw the same problems driving around on surface streets and throughout neighborhoods. My inner loop neighborhood had bars, restaurants, and other small businesses in strip centers that may have looked okay individually, but looked odd and out of place because they didn't fit into any larger scheme. It also had 400K homes, but guess what? They were next to falling-down shacks that needed painting, with broken or missing sidewalks, dilapidated stores, abandoned buildings and warehouses, empty lots with weeds growing through the cracks and litter strewn about, and industrial areas within walking distance. My observations were based on what I saw every day leaving home as well, not just freeways.

You must have lived in a pretty trendy neighborhood then. When I lived in Wicker Park in Chicago back in the early 90's we had prostitutes, drug dealing, homeless people all over the park and a ghetto ass liquor store on the corner. We also had nice restaurants, good bars and expensive homes. A lot of the best urban neighborhoods are similar to how you have described where you used to live. There are many neighborhoods around Chicago that used to be rough which have turned around. The common denominator is their proximity to the center of the city.

The inner-loop will continue to thrive. Of course, some areas will go back down the path of dilapidated stores and litter strewn about as opposed to nice. That's what I love about Houston. It's either going to become the greatest city in the country or the biggest ****hole. Only time will tell.

[houstoner]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

You must have lived in a pretty trendy neighborhood then. When I lived in Wicker Park in Chicago back in the early 90's we had prostitutes, drug dealing, homeless people all over the park and a ghetto ass liquor store on the corner. We also had nice restaurants, good bars and expensive homes. A lot of the best urban neighborhoods are similar to how you have described where you used to live. There are many neighborhoods around Chicago that used to be rough which have turned around. The common denominator is their proximity to the center of the city.

The inner-loop will continue to thrive. Of course, some areas will go back down the path of dilapidated stores and litter strewn about as opposed to nice. That's what I love about Houston. It's either going to become the greatest city in the country or the biggest ****hole. Only time will tell.

Hmm, yeah, no, not even close, because I'm not describing the people, but the built environment. Wicker Park and anywhere in Houston... not even close.

[dv1033]

Originally Posted by finnisher

It would be nice. A city doesn't have to be boring because things actually look nice. The thing is, most cities are planned based on tried-and-true methods. Houston has attempted to reinvent the wheel and why is that when, by most accounts, the result hasn't been pretty? Houston hides its pretty parts and shows off its ugly side without compunction. Most cities do the opposite. Why is that?? is what I'd like to know.

And about the freeways, Houston has them criss-crossing in all directions so that, by design, they're the way most people traverse the city, so how is it possible to discuss Houston's appearance without mentioning them? My observations weren't based solely on freeways. I saw the same problems driving around on surface streets and throughout neighborhoods. My inner loop neighborhood had bars, restaurants, and other small businesses in strip centers that may have looked okay individually, but looked odd and out of place because they didn't fit into any larger scheme. It also had 400K homes, but guess what? They were next to falling-down shacks that needed painting, with broken or missing sidewalks, dilapidated stores, abandoned buildings and warehouses, empty lots with weeds growing through the cracks and litter strewn about, and industrial areas within walking distance. My observations were based on what I saw every day leaving home as well, not just freeways.

Reinvent the wheel? Are you serious? What part of Houston did you live? East End?

The biggest thing I have noticed on this forum is that people describe one part of Houston and then assume and extrapolate that the area is how all of Houston looks.

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by finnisher

Hmm, yeah, no, not even close, because I'm not describing the people, but the built environment. Wicker Park and anywhere in Houston... not even close.

Oh, well no then it's not. No place in Houston will ever have the built environment Wicker Park has. I was speaking more in terms of the evolution of a neighborhood. If the neighborhood you speak of becomes more upscale, the crappy parts will eventually get torn down.

[stoneclaw]

Originally Posted by dv1033

Reinvent the wheel? Are you serious? What part of Houston did you live? East End?

The biggest thing I have noticed on this forum is that people describe one part of Houston and then assume and extrapolate that the area is how all of Houston looks.

You know that was the defense i would use to describe Houston. I would say that it shouldn't be assumed that Houston is all one way because of some ugly sides it may have. But let's face it, there's too much ugly. The entire east side, southeast side, northside, and most of the southwest side far outnumbers anything nice about the west side, downtown/midtown and the rest of the innerloop. And let's not forget there's even sprinkles of ghetto in those nicer areas too.

Since the city limits are so big where most major cities' political boundaries are the size of the 610 loop (or smaller). The city should devide itself into different quadrants, which they could work on beautifying certain sectors. The fact that the city has so many square miles, makes it harder to manage than alot of other cities. That would a plan to lead to some sort of cohesiveness like finnisher was talking about.

[DDDD24DDDD]

I haven't had the time to read this whole thread, but wanted to just throw my 2 cents out there. I think Houston has some really nice areas, and many not so nice areas. The problem I've noticed is that the nice areas (within the loop) are really expensive and made up of mostly houses (like River Oaks or West U.). There aren't nice urban areas for 20 or 30-somethings without kids. A place where you can walk to grab a beer, some food or pick up groceries (and feel safe doing it). I'm not exactly sure why, probably a combination of a lot of factors, but there just isn't a nice urban area, which I think would make Houston a better city. But still, it has a lot going for it, so might as well enjoy the positives.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by finnisher

It would be nice. A city doesn't have to be boring because things actually look nice.

I totally agree.

Originally Posted by finnisher

Houston hides its pretty parts and shows off its ugly side without compunction. Most cities do the opposite. Why is that?? is what I'd like to know.

This is a peeve of mine as well.

[dv1033]

Originally Posted by C2H (ComingtoHouston)

You know that was the defense i would use to describe Houston. I would say that it shouldn't be assumed that Houston is all one way because of some ugly sides it may have. But let's face it, there's too much ugly. The entire east side, southeast side, northside, and most of the southwest side far outnumbers anything nice about the west side, downtown/midtown and the rest of the innerloop. And let's not forget there's even sprinkles of ghetto in those nicer areas too.

Since the city limits are so big where most major cities' political boundaries are the size of the 610 loop (or smaller). The city should devide itself into different quadrants, which they could work on beautifying certain sectors. The fact that the city has so many square miles, makes it harder to manage than alot of other cities. That would a plan to lead to some sort of cohesiveness like finnisher was talking about.

The entire East side? Have you actually been through any of the neighborhoods? There's a lot of older bungalows that are actually well maintained. Again there's too much generalization that goes on here. I find it hard to believe you have actually traveled through those areas you mentioned, I would wager you have seen about 5% of those respective areas. I live on SW side and agree that from 59S most of it looks pretty bad but what you see from freeways and along strip centers is only a small fraction.

I don't see how Houston's size makes it less cohesive? Instead of having one large city (area wise) you have a city like Dallas and ATL where you have small and medium suburbs competing with the main city and each other. I think any lack of cohesiveness in Houston comes from the sprawl, which is by no means Houston specific.

[houstoner]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

Oh, well no then it's not. No place in Houston will ever have the built environment Wicker Park has. I was speaking more in terms of the evolution of a neighborhood. If the neighborhood you speak of becomes more upscale, the crappy parts will eventually get torn down.

No, I don't think so. I wanted to believe that, but I lived there long enough to know that just isn't true. You already have expensive homes with public figures living there, and then you have halfway houses and stores that are eyesores and have been closed for decades just down the street. This is the very Houston problem I was trying to point out. The Inner Loop isn't all nice-looking. The Heights area (which I have to say because neighborhoods are ill-defined-- who outside of area residents and a few real estate agents know the actual boundaries of the Heights proper and the nabes surrounding it? But I digress) outside of a small residential section is spotty. This is obvious driving down Yale, Shepherd, Airline, 19th or 20th, etc. from one end to the other. Driving down Washington is another good example of how there is a lack of cohesiveness in how things look. Westheimer, Richmond uptown. Even around Afton and River Oaks areas, things look much nicer in comparison to most of the rest of the city, but again still lacking being filled with strip centers with big parking lots, and you'll still find the empty lots and gaps. Almeda is another street like this. Unlike most cities, and I think this is what C2H was initially referring to in returning to Houston from Las Vegas, there are no areas in Houston dedicated to just shopping, or just industrial, just residential, and so on. Instead, everything is everywhere, which leads to an uneasy feeling in visitors to the city that something just ain't quite right. As another poster said, there's no one urban, tourist area to take visitors. They're stuck having to navigate the city by themselves, and these are the impressions they come away with. It is what it is, but I think what I've been describing in the built environment are some of the things that they usually can't put their finger on, but contribute to the feeling that the city looks weird or odd, which I've heard a few times, or just plain ugly.

[SacalaitWhisperer]

I have traveled quite a lot in my life. I am old.

Houston is by far the ugliest city I have EVER seen... and that includes travels into the third world.
Really, get a grip Texans. Do something about that uglyarse place for Christs sake!

I thought Texans were prideful? That town makes Texans look like uncaring spoiled greedy losers.
Sorry, but that is what it looks like. You should be ashamed.