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I went once for a field trip then another time to visit family that lives in Katy.
A field trip? And Katy? Did you even explore the city while you were there. If you're basing Houston off of Katy, then you lose all credibility. BTW, that so called country town of Houston has made far noise in hip hop than DC has.
And as someone said earlier Houston has a habit of throwing most of its highrises along or near freeways, which is by the way the only reason why Houston to some people seems like such a large city when they drive through it.
Uptown is suburban in nature, large parking lots and wide streets don't promote walking. The same is true for Upper Kirby. Further into the city is a better grid that makes it easily walkable, it's not Manhattan but you can walk and ride the rail through Mid-Town. Houstons zoning is fairly free or something because skyscrapers can be built anywhere and transportation routes bring development.
And that's not the only reason, it is a huge city no matter where the skyscrapers are...
No but that can be anywhere USA and those places are not suppose to be walkable. But this is hardly the Houston of anywhere inside beltway 8, much less loop 610. I give kudos to the galleria and inner Houston trying to change and even more now that they are building rail transit. Too bad the city is ran by clueless developers at time such as the onea thats building that suburban walmart in the middle of an urban area.
^^^ It doesn't matter how many of those Houston builds that fact that its PT is a complete joke, lack of sidewalks, overwhelming hot humid weather, and streets as wide as expressways, Houston will never be a true walkable/urban city in our lifetimes nor in our grandchildrens lifetimes; to me it seems Houston is trying to walk before it crawls.
Have you ever been to Manila...or many of the crowded "barangays" in the Philippines which are mini-urban?
Those places are extremely dense, very pedestrian-oriented compared to US East Cities and Chicago...and you know what? Those extremely crowded places I mention in the Philippines are not "walkable." Many sections do not have wide sidewalks, or even actual sidewalks. Yet people walk the heck out of everywhere, sharing space with powerered tricycles and jeepneys.
In Houston...on some nights after work that I decide to use METRO 25 going back home westbound, I will actually get off at the Richmond/Fondren stop and simply walk down Richmond Avenue to get home in Westchase.
That is a MOST REFRESHING walk down the sidewalks of Richmond Avenue. I can skip my usual cardio session for that night.
I think really hard when they say that Houston isn't "walkable" because IT IS. Houston city limits has sidewalks all over the place and as long as there is pavement where I don't have to get my shoes mushy...the city IS WALKABLE.
Oh, that's right, to those prissy, snobby Uptight Anal Urbanists...if the sidewalks aren't the width of two elepants...and the buildings do not feature a cute cluster of boutiques and upscale cafes in a "connective" tight scale flush to those sidewalks, then it's not "walkable."
In Houston, lots of people walk along Ranchester to New Chinatown. A surprising number of people walk S. Hillcroft. S. Gessner. Many points across Westheimer. For such a lower-density (compared to the old urban areas), high sprawl city...I'm actually amazed at the number of pedestrians I see on quite a few of Houston's major sidewalks.
(But that's right. Those areas aren't of the cute makeup that the Uptight Anal Urbanists would like to see on a color brochure, so those don't count.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by dtownboogie
^^^ Houston will never be a true walkable/urban city in our lifetimes nor in our grandchildrens lifetimes; to me it seems Houston is trying to walk before it crawls.
Not even true in the literal sense, but anyway that is not the reason we live here...and that doesn't stop people from moving here IN DROVES. We get it...but you Uptight Anal Urbanists cannot.
Houston has more urban amenities than many so-called "truly walkable/urban" cities can hope to have, anyway.
I prefer to have certain areas of Houston where we can walk: downtown, Rice Village, Kemah, Galveston, Old Town Spring, Midtown, Montrose, Hershey Park, Buffalo Bayou, Arthur Storey Park, etc...
So what if the Houston metro is not that hugely "connective" Habitrail that the Uptight Anal Urbanists always preen over?
I get my errands done faster via strip centers and parking lots. Everyday life in a car-oriented city, that's the actual reality here. If I want my urban walkability fix, I can go to Midtown or downtown or the Med Center.
I think people dismiss Houston because it can have its cake and eat it too, however imperfectly. If I can have a more spacious living range in Westchase...yet choose to walk along a urban pedestrian sidewalks such as those of Washington Avenue, grab a bite at El Rey then walk down to Pearl Bar...that is a great thing. Have a coffee at Minuti downtown then walk the big city sidewalks of downtown Houston, via Travis/Texas to the new bars at Bayou Place, that is a great thing.
"Houston's not walkable." Whatever. Only to those prissy Uptight Anal Urbanists who only accept old East Coast formats...
Last edited by worldlyman; 06-20-2011 at 09:19 PM..
That's going to be in Midtown, on the back end of the Post Square development, you'll see the lot for it on W. Gray as you head westbound.
One problem is that I see a lone shotgun home remaining on it. That will be an issue I think. I understand an older woman lives in it...but she may be bought out in due time.
But, yes, that continuation of the Post Square development in that direction will give greater texture to that section of Midtown. It is sure to be a great addition there.
Uptown is suburban in nature, large parking lots and wide streets don't promote walking. The same is true for Upper Kirby. Further into the city is a better grid that makes it easily walkable, it's not Manhattan but you can walk and ride the rail through Mid-Town. Houstons zoning is fairly free or something because skyscrapers can be built anywhere and transportation routes bring development.
And that's not the only reason, it is a huge city no matter where the skyscrapers are...
Shhh dont tell HTown he has argued on many occasions how urban it is...
Have you ever been to Manila...or many of the crowded "barangays" in the Philippines which are mini-urban?
Those places are extremely dense, very pedestrian-oriented compared to US East Cities and Chicago...and you know what? Those extremely crowded places I mention in the Philippines are not "walkable." Many sections do not have wide sidewalks, or even actual sidewalks. Yet people walk the heck out of everywhere, sharing space with powerered tricycles and jeepneys.
In Houston...on some nights after work that I decide to use METRO 25 going back home westbound, I will actually get off at the Richmond/Fondren stop and simply walk down Richmond Avenue to get home in Westchase.
That is a MOST REFRESHING walk down the sidewalks of Richmond Avenue. I can skip my usual cardio session for that night.
I think really hard when they say that Houston isn't "walkable" because IT IS. Houston city limits has sidewalks all over the place and as long as there is pavement where I don't have to get my shoes mushy...the city IS WALKABLE.
Oh, that's right, to those prissy, snobby Uptight Anal Urbanists...if the sidewalks aren't the width of two elepants...and the buildings do not feature a cute cluster of boutiques and upscale cafes in a "connective" tight scale flush to those sidewalks, then it's not "walkable."
In Houston, lots of people walk along Ranchester to New Chinatown. A surprising number of people walk S. Hillcroft. S. Gessner. Many points across Westheimer. For such a lower-density (compared to the old urban areas), high sprawl city...I'm actually amazed at the number of pedestrians I see on quite a few of Houston's major sidewalks.
(But that's right. Those areas aren't of the cute makeup that the Uptight Anal Urbanists would like to see on a color brochure, so those don't count.)
Not even true in the literal sense, but anyway that is not the reason we live here...and that doesn't stop people from moving here IN DROVES. We get it...but you Uptight Anal Urbanists cannot.
Houston has more urban amenities than many so-called "truly walkable/urban" cities can hope to have, anyway.
I prefer to have certain areas of Houston where we can walk: downtown, Rice Village, Kemah, Galveston, Old Town Spring, Midtown, Montrose, Hershey Park, Buffalo Bayou, Arthur Storey Park, etc...
So what if the Houston metro is not that hugely "connective" Habitrail that the Uptight Anal Urbanists always preen over?
I get my errands done faster via strip centers and parking lots. Everyday life in a car-oriented city, that's the actual reality here. If I want my urban walkability fix, I can go to Midtown or downtown or the Med Center.
I think people dismiss Houston because it can have its cake and eat it too, however imperfectly. If I can have a more spacious living range in Westchase...yet choose to walk along a urban pedestrian sidewalks such as those of Washington Avenue, grab a bite at El Rey then walk down to Pearl Bar...that is a great thing. Have a coffee at Minuti downtown then walk the big city sidewalks of downtown Houston, via Travis/Texas to the new bars at Bayou Place, that is a great thing.
"Houston's not walkable." Whatever. Only to those prissy Uptight Anal Urbanists who only accept old East Coast formats...
And honestly I dont doubt there are areas where you can walk but are there neighborhoods where 20+% walk to work or 50+% walk/take PT (rail PT is likely a better proxy but will stick to PT for purposes here). Can you walk comfortably in minutes from one neighborhood to the next. Are they cohesive? These are the types of questions I would think about when considering how walkable a place is. Plus May to Sept are just god awful to be outside for more than 10 minutes during the summer in houston, honestly the day in and day out is far worse than winter, at least from my perspective.
Last edited by kidphilly; 06-20-2011 at 09:43 PM..
Shhh dont tell HTown he has argued on many occasions how urban it is...
Mhm, Uptown could've been more dense. I won't get started on the "urban" thing. The smaller roads are more inviting to walk and really aren't that hot because of lots of tree and building cover. It's main arteries like Westheimer and Post Oak aren't very pedestrian friendly but there's always people at each corner and each bus stop. The gated apartment complexes and inclusive residential developments don't help the smaller streets better there pedestrian experience. Most of the stores and shops have huge, hot parking lots, which is intimidating to a pedestrian.
Like the earlier post said, I see people walk around many parts of suburban Houston, largely in the Westchase area.
And honestly I dont doubt there are areas where you can walk but are there neighborhoods where 20+% walk to work or 50+% walk/take PT (rail PT is likely a better proxy but will stick to PT for purposes here). Can you walk comfortably in minutes from one neighborhood to the next. Are they cohesive? These are the types of questions I would think about when considering how walkable a place is. Plus May to Sept are just god awful to be outside for more than 10 minutes during the summer in houston, honestly the day in and day out is far worse than winter, at least from my perspective.
I hate Winter. At least when it's hot you can escape to Galveston or any-other beaches. But winter anywhere is miserable. Except maybe Hawaii.
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