DFW is so divided. Houston isn't. (Dallas, Fort Worth: home, assess, nicest)
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I feel like when i'm in the Dallas area, i actually leave out of Dallas and go to another city. Like the O/P stated, its prevalent in the different police cars, street signs, and the more sparse developments outside of Dallas. Each city lets you know who's territory you're in. It's like a collection of different cities that Dallas just feels to be apart of, rather than the actually city its suburbs completely revolve around.
On the other hand, although the entire DFW area doesn't give me the same pulse and variety that the Houston area has, i can appreciate the more organized and better kept look of the overall area. Some people call it "sweeping the trash under the rug", but to me, if it works, then i'm all for it.
Houston has tried to hide its grimey areas by planting more trees alongside of the freeways. I personally don't think this is enough. The only place i think this has been succesful is off 288 coming into downtown. They also did well by planting those trees in front of the sound barrier wall off the Katy Freeway. But on the southeast side, parts of the eastside, and in North Houston, some of the trees just look like they're growing all over the place without any form and looks like weed city.
Having more unified city limits can be both a good and a bad thing. It seems like its really an advantage inside the loop/west of 288 by giving the city a more urban, unifited, and dense feel. And as we know, it keeps more money in the city, However, as i mentioned in my previous post, too many other areas are being neglected which cover a pretty large chunk of the city limits.
Which means you secretly favor DFW's layout and you wish Houston would have did the same...ok now I get it...you have my endorsement...carry on
No, but there are some qualities that I like, like the sidewalks. I just wished some of these unincorporated areas were in cities. But management districts are taking the place of that..
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Originally Posted by R1070
This is a reason the way DFW developed is better. Like I said before having incorporated cities handle their own areas lends to better quality control, etc.
There's areas in inner Houston that don't have sidewalks. I've partied in Montrose and we had to walk in the street. We actually had to move our car one night because we realized we parked in a ditch rather than along a typical city curb. Houston just has a more untamed feel about it.
There are areas in inner Dallas without sidewalks also. I wouldnt say DFW is developed better. South Katy, for example, is all unincorporated, but it is filled with many master planned communities, so things like sidewalks are everywhere. Same with The Woodlands, except it is one master planned community. Only thing is, you don't live in an actual city. And Houston does have a good number of suburbs that are actual cities.
This is a reason the way DFW developed is better. Like I said before having incorporated cities handle their own areas lends to better quality control, etc.
There's areas in inner Houston that don't have sidewalks. I've partied in Montrose and we had to walk in the street. We actually had to move our car one night because we realized we parked in a ditch rather than along a typical city curb. Houston just has a more untamed feel about it.
I agree with what you said above and think that's why Houston looks so dirty and Dallas looks a lot cleaner and more welcoming. Houstonians try to deny this by claiming that "Dallas is just 'notorious' for hiding their trash and making everything gleam on the surface," and that it makes Dallas look and feel like "Any City, USA." But hell, even if that is the case, why WOULDN'T you want your city to look clean and inviting rather than letting prime areas of your city look neglected and like trash? That's just common sense. Don't try to knock Dallas for having and using common sense when it comes to planning and presentation, just to try to prop Houston up.
I agree with what you said above and think that's why Houston looks so dirty and Dallas looks a lot cleaner and more welcoming. Houstonians try to deny this by claiming that "Dallas is just 'notorious' for hiding their trash and making everything gleam on the surface," and that it makes Dallas look and feel like "Any City, USA." But hell, even if that is the case, why WOULDN'T you want your city to look clean and inviting rather than letting prime areas of your city look neglected and like trash? That's just common sense. Don't try to knock Dallas for having and using common sense when it comes to planning and presentation, just to try to prop Houston up.
Going back to the Oak Lawn argument that dallasboi mentioned, there are plenty of areas there with missing chunks of sidewalk and crumbling portions. There are portions of Oak Lawn that look neglected and like trash just as there are parts of Montrose that do. And you will never hear me claim that Dallas tries to hide the ugly, just fly into DAL and you will see.
Going back to the Oak Lawn argument that dallasboi mentioned, there are plenty of areas there with missing chunks of sidewalk and crumbling portions. There are portions of Oak Lawn that look neglected and like trash just as there are parts of Montrose that do. And you will never hear me claim that Dallas tries to hide the ugly, just fly into DAL and you will see.
Please name the intersection!!!!...This is a flat out lie!!..The cedar Springs strip alone is better than montrose to me...Monstrose's clubs and bars ar too spread out....Cedar Springs/Oaklawn intersection gives you the centerpoint of a vibrant community...where is this in Montrose
For your information, Houston doesn't annex everything in sight! The Houston area has more than 2 million residents in UNINCORPORATED areas, meaning outside ANY city limits that Houston has not touched and probably won't ever touch. There are plenty of suburbs in the Houston area that have annexed other areas to grow their city limits. Rosenburg is a PRIME recent example. Baytown, Pearland, Conroe, Pasadena (back before it was completely surrounded by suburbs), League City, Sugar Land, Missouri City are all other examples too. Unlike DFW, a vast majority of residents here do not like living in any city limits which is why they prefer the unincorporated areas (lower taxes). Also, towns (particularly in the northern suburbs of Dallas) QUICKLY incorporated into their own cities in fear of being gobbled up by the city of Dallas and paying higher taxes! Go back and look at the history of the growth of the DFW metro area. Houston area residents don't really fear being gobbled up by Houston because Houston is about as big as it can handle and really has no other plans of annexation except for industrial areas in east Houston in 2015 and possibly the Exxon campus in unincorporated northern Harris County in 2014 (strictly for the tax revenue). Go check out the city of Houston annexation plan on their webpage... www.houstontx.gov
The Houston area and DFW area are extremely different from each other because both were exposed to completely separate variables which caused their present metro areas to grow the way they did. You really can't say one is wrong from the other. Is it so wrong that Houston is 656 square miles? Is it Houston's fault that Dallas was only able to annex 385 square miles? It is purely business... the more people and businesses you add in your city limits, the higher your city income is. Dallas did miss the boat when it came to annexing because they just waited too long. However, Dallas did go through an extensive annexation period in their history, but for some reason slowed then stopped. Unfortunately, this has capped their population from ever experiencing another population boom unless their growth patterns turn in a southerly direction and fast within the city limits. Odds of that happening are probably less than getting struck by lightening holding a winning powerball ticket on an odd numbered thursday.
Okay.
Really, I lived in Houston for 39 years. I'm not of these DFW natives who (seemingly to Houstonians) think their area is perfect. I didn't state that anything is "wrong" about Houston. I stated that I like those things about DFW. You know, my opinion. That's generally what we post here.
Really, if you like Houston, it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks-including people from DFW.
Please name the intersection!!!!...This is a flat out lie!!..The cedar Springs strip alone is better than montrose to me...Monstrose's clubs and bars ar too spread out....Cedar Springs/Oaklawn intersection gives you the centerpoint of a vibrant community...where is this in Montrose
Take a drive down Maple in Oak Lawn. You think Oak Lawn is better because the bars are all contained in a couple of strip malls next to each other? That's the basis of your argument?? The best bar in Oak Lawn isn't walking distance to the main bars even...(The Grapevine.) The majority of the bars in Montrose are just as walkable.
I'm from DFW and spent most of my adult life living in Dallas so I have love for it but I also know when somebody is fluffing the issue. The Houston folks do it too so I know it goes both ways. Uptown Dallas kicks Uptown Houston in the teeth and Montrose does the same to Oak Lawn. That is my opinion though, just like you have one of your own and I respect that.
The cities don't look all that different to me. Houston looks a little more cluttered but I think the main reason that people perceive it as dirtier than Dallas is that the attractions in the city are either in areas that aren't as nice as similar attractions in Dallas, and you generally have to drive through the less desirable areas of the city to get there as well. Other than the Dallas Zoo, all (and I do mean ALL) of the area's major attractions are within or north of Downtown. That is also the nicest area of the city. In Houston, the west side is larger than North Dallas and at least equally nice. However, attractions in the city are all over the place and many visitors to Houston don't even see that side of town.
So honestly, I don't really call it Dallas "sweeping anything under the rug" so to speak - the city is just laid out differently. In Houston there are nice areas, but the freeway views don't do them justice and you can catch random pockets of "bad", whereas in Dallas, the majority of the city (south, west, and east of the CBD) isn't great but most visitors never have a reason to go there (as well as many residents) so you get a more skewed opinion.
As far as the character thing goes I think Houston is an infinitely more interesting city and has a landscape that is more varied overall, but nothing in Houston compares to the lakes in DFW. I'm also a big fan of that cool little forest leaving Fort Worth, it's interesting how it springs out of nowhere.
As far as the division goes, I think that there are pros and cons of having one large city vs. a city and many smaller suburbs. Some are overstating the governmental benefits in my opinion - though there are definitely advantages to having more, smaller governments, taxpayers are still paying for duplicate mayors, police chiefs, city managers and other high level positions - the salaries of which make up a larger amount of smaller city budgets. Of course, on the other hand, this also often translates to better city services as others have alluded to.
Take a drive down Maple in Oak Lawn. You think Oak Lawn is better because the bars are all contained in a couple of strip malls next to each other? That's the basis of your argument?? The best bar in Oak Lawn isn't walking distance to the main bars even...(The Grapevine.) The majority of the bars in Montrose are just as walkable.
I'm from DFW and spent most of my adult life living in Dallas so I have love for it but I also know when somebody is fluffing the issue. The Houston folks do it too so I know it goes both ways. Uptown Dallas kicks Uptown Houston in the teeth and Montrose does the same to Oak Lawn. That is my opinion though, just like you have one of your own and I respect that.
Okay well name the ways montrose is better than Cedar Springs/Oaklawn area??.....I really cant think of any...
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...you have my endorsement...carry on
..The cedar Springs strip alone is better than montrose to me...Monstrose's clubs and bars ar too spread out....Cedar Springs/Oaklawn intersection gives you the centerpoint of a vibrant community...where is this in Montrose
