Are there any no car needed cities in Texas? (Houston: townhouse, buying)

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by Gunion Powder

All of the major cities in Texas have a public transit system in place that allows one to meet all of their personal NEEDS without the use of a personal vehicle. Is this the ideal situation? No, but I don't think that's the case in any American city except for New York and San Francisco, where having a car is seen as more of an unnecessary luxury.

Riding the bus can be a real hassle, but it also offers a unique, pedestrian experience not offered to those who insist that you have to drive everywhere in Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.

So the "need" for a car is little more than a first world problem felt by those who most likely never had to do without much their whole life.

True, Texas cities lack the infrastructure to support a walkable lifestyle, and thus, getting around on foot isn't regarded as safe. But the last time I checked, getting behind the wheel of a car isn't safe either.

Yea, gonna have to call baloney on that one, pardner. I dunno about buses in Texas, but when I lived in Miami and went to college there, I had to take the bus (except on Saturdays when I borrowed my mom's car of if I could ever catch a ride) and "unique experience"? Waiting for the late buses in the heat/pouring rain, watching crazy Cuban ladies complain about how Obama is going to turn America into a communist nation just like how Cuba is now, bus bunching, unnecessary delays, motion sickness, and buttcracks galore. "Unique pedestrian experience." That's yuppie talk!

[AguaDulce]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

Yea, gonna have to call baloney on that one, pardner. I dunno about buses in Texas, but when I lived in Miami and went to college there, I had to take the bus (except on Saturdays when I borrowed my mom's car of if I could ever catch a ride) and "unique experience"? Waiting for the late buses in the heat/pouring rain, watching crazy Cuban ladies complain about how Obama is going to turn America into a communist nation just like how Cuba is now, bus bunching, unnecessary delays, motion sickness, and buttcracks galore. "Unique pedestrian experience." That's yuppie talk!

Some people either can't or choose not to spend 20-30% of their income on maintaining a personal vehicle, and consider public transit to be a necessity. Many of them have found a way to sit back and enjoy it.

No baloney in that.

[f4shionablecha0s]

People who choose to live out in the suburbs and choose to drive everywhere love to lecture people about how it's "impossible" to live without a car in Dallas.

Meanwhile, I've been happily biking between my Deep Ellum residence to my office in the CBD and taking my bike on the train to get to class at SMU for over a year now... I've yet to die and have yet to have anyone explain to me why my lifestyle is so impossible. Hell, it's not even difficult.

Dallas has reached the point where you don't need a car. Of course, you can't work out at an office park in the suburbs and you can't live in a cul-de-sac in Forney. BUT THAT'S TRUE OF EVERYWHERE. Just like how in Chicago you can't work in Hoffman Estates if you want to take transit.

[Yn0hTnA]

Originally Posted by ndcairngorm

The words "walkable" and "Texas" are mutually exclusive.

Typical old-timer nonsense. The Texas cities are getting more and more walkable by the day.

Originally Posted by ChristieP

It's too hot here in the summer (mid June through Labor Day) to walk anywhere!

You could possibly get away with it in a small portion of uptown Dallas...but you'd still have to rely on cabs/Uber occasionally since large parts of the metro area are not served by public transportation.

Singapore, Hong Kong, and Buenos Aires get just as hot as many Texas cities during the summer (Singapore, being tropical, keeps its heat and humidity year-round), and it doesn't stop them from having pedestrian activity rivaling New York. You Americans need to travel more.

Originally Posted by Dopo

Typical lame excuse

It's too hot here because conservatives are always whining about "Tree huggers planting too many trees"
And yes, I have heard that from a conservative friend

I agree. I hate to say this, but a lot of what is negative about Houston, and other Texas cities (especially in terms of the built environment), comes from conservative policies. There is no such thing as a great conservative city.

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Trees have nothing to do with the summer temperatures here. In July and August, the normal high temp is in the mid 90s, and the low often doesn't even get down to 78. It's just HOT! And this isn't a recent change. It's always been hot in Texas during the summer!

Actually, the reduction of trees, and other natural vegetation around Texas cities in the advent of their urban sprawl actually increases summer temps in the cities; all the concrete free-ways and roads (as well as skyscrapers to a lesser extent) trap and hold heat in a way natural vegetation doesn't. Exhaust from automobiles adds to the problem. You then have a phenomenon known as the Urban Heat Island effect, or UHI, where city temps are artificially hotter than they otherwise would be naturally.

Originally Posted by dallasboi

Its soooo many people in Dallas without cars......Why do people use HEAT as an excuse all the time??...Of course its hot in the summer....Its summer...But the rest of the year is not hot and its counts as way more time of the year than summer. Why discount Dallas as walkable because of three or four months of heat? The question is do Dallas have the infrastructure in place to live without cars .....YES!!!

Most of those excuse makers are Americans who haven't stepped foot outside this country, and seen the great urbanity seen in cities around other parts of the world that get just as hot, even hotter. One trip to Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, etc would change their mind. They don't even have to leave the US; New Orleans and Charleston both have great urban environments, without being hindered by heat.

Originally Posted by f4shionablecha0s

People who choose to live out in the suburbs and choose to drive everywhere love to lecture people about how it's "impossible" to live without a car in Dallas.

Meanwhile, I've been happily biking between my Deep Ellum residence to my office in the CBD and taking my bike on the train to get to class at SMU for over a year now... I've yet to die and have yet to have anyone explain to me why my lifestyle is so impossible. Hell, it's not even difficult.

Dallas has reached the point where you don't need a car. Of course, you can't work out at an office park in the suburbs and you can't live in a cul-de-sac in Forney. BUT THAT'S TRUE OF EVERYWHERE. Just like how in Chicago you can't work in Hoffman Estates if you want to take transit.

Good post. People shouldn't listen to those old-timers out in the suburbs anymore; the Texas cities are changing, and for the better.

[kidicarus89]

The idea that its 'too hot' to walk somewhere is ludicrous. How did human survive before cars in these climates? Did they stay indoors all day?

The problem of pedestrian access to nearby grocery stores, sidewalks, and general preference for car travel are the real problem that holds a lot of people back from walking/biking, even many who would like to have the option. It's going to take decades to reverse the terrible 1960s model of American cities.

[kidicarus89]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

The good cities for walking are also OLD when compared to DFW. We are just car- centric here because we have the luxury of available land!

That's just an excuse for American cities' awful planning. All of our freeway-centric development has only taken place in the last 50+ years, and can be reversed with the right mix of zoning and incentives.

Look at areas of Dallas/El Paso/San Antonio pre-WWII. Yeah, they're not ultra-dense high rises like you'd find in New York, but the lots are smaller, the city blocks more walkable, and they had locally-owned stores and shops in most neighborhoods.

The fact that a city is newer isn't an excuse for bad development, which sprawl is.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by kidicarus89

That's just an excuse for American cities' awful planning. All of our freeway-centric development has only taken place in the last 50+ years, and can be reversed with the right mix of zoning and incentives. Look at areas of Dallas/El Paso/San Antonio pre-WWII. Yeah, they're not ultra-dense high rises like you'd find in New York, but the lots are smaller, the city blocks more walkable, and they had locally-owned stores and shops in most neighborhoods.
The fact that a city is newer isn't an excuse for bad development, which sprawl is.

The population of said cities has also increased exponentially since WW2. Heck, when I was a kid in Dallas in the early 1970s, 635 ran through cotton fields out in the country and Plano was a farming community! I remember when DFW population hit 1 MILLION and we were all just amazed!

Sadly, the sprawl has mostly been caused by population growth, and the fact that unlike in other parts of the world, Texans don't want to live in high-density housing.

[dihappy]

Originally Posted by Yn0hTnA

Typical old-timer nonsense. The Texas cities are getting more and more walkable by the day.



Singapore, Hong Kong, and Buenos Aires get just as hot as many Texas cities during the summer (Singapore, being tropical, keeps its heat and humidity year-round), and it doesn't stop them from having pedestrian activity rivaling New York. You Americans need to travel more.

Those cities dont have room for cars, its more of a hassle to own one downtown.

I agree. I hate to say this, but a lot of what is negative about Houston, and other Texas cities (especially in terms of the built environment), comes from conservative policies. There is no such thing as a great conservative city.

And theres no such thing as a thriving liberal one.


Most of those excuse makers are Americans who haven't stepped foot outside this country, and seen the great urbanity seen in cities around other parts of the world that get just as hot, even hotter. One trip to Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, etc would change their mind. They don't even have to leave the US; New Orleans and Charleston both have great urban environments, without being hindered by heat.

FYI-Not everyone enjoys the noise and air pollution of "urban environments", shuffling along with hundreds of other pedestrians, sharing tight spaces on buses, trolleys, and subways (and illnesses too).

Good post. People shouldn't listen to those old-timers out in the suburbs anymore; the Texas cities are changing, and for the better.

Seriously? "old-timers' my father and grandparents would walk circles around you for all the walking they had to do during their life. It was necessity, not "lifestyle".

...

[DSL_PWR]

Everywhere is walkable if you have time.

Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio are walkable but it's going to be a long walk.

[kidicarus89]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Sadly, the sprawl has mostly been caused by population growth, and the fact that unlike in other parts of the world, Texans don't want to live in high-density housing.

I wouldn't want to live in high-density housing either, and I think a lot of people don't. I'd just like a middle-ground neighborhood with detached homes/townhouses: everyone has a lawn, but you can take a quick 5 minute walk to a corner grocery store, butcher, coffee shop, etc.

Housing built in the 1910s-1940s is what I'm thinking of.