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https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Dalla...,,0,-5.02&z=15 - West Village, Dallas which is about 1.5-2 miles outside of the CBD is even urban. I'm impressed with Dallas actually. Houston doesn't have any like this when I street viewed their immediate area around the CBD.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Dalla...,,0,-5.02&z=15 - West Village, Dallas which is about 1.5-2 miles outside of the CBD is even urban. I'm impressed with Dallas actually. Houston doesn't have any like this when I street viewed their immediate area around the CBD.
I agree with most of your points but in all honesty Houston and the other three all feel like a work in progress. I concede Atlanta truly has the most active downtown core of the four and by a very good margin, it's something great to be proud of.
Houston on the other hand has it's stretches along Upper Kirby, Montrose, Washington, Binz, Elgin, West Gray, Greenway, so on that are happening much more (infinitely more so) than downtown and they're more preserved towards the "old Houston" before 1950's era development.
Houston's still coming together rapidly and it's infilling at a faster rate than the other three (via multfamily permits) and the Inner Loop is coming together quite nicely. In 10-15 years it'll be a whole different type of place as people leave behind their cars more for mixed use lifestyles, it certainly has more to gain than the other four and all of which in my opinion in the areas around downtown have a more happening set. Houston's is further out and in stretches along the west loop.
I think of it as a good thing that all of them are becoming more active areas and rectifying their sprawling mistakes from the past and it's best to just cherish what they will be than to reminisce what they were or are, because these cities change at a pace above national average.
I think Dallas is doing more around it's core then Houston is. Sorry to say. Did you not see those google streetviews of neighborhoods around the CBD? I checked everywhere I can around Houston and couldn't find anything as cohesive as I could in Dallas or even Atlanta. Even some Houston residents think that Houston is still developing too spread out and not developing in cohesion with it's core. I'd rather see Houston develop urban environment around their core so it's all cohesive and one can walk 2 miles outside of it's core with little to no breaks in the streetwall. That's how you get an active core going...not developing 3-4 miles outside of the core with random projects. Build from downtown outward. That's what Atlanta and Dallas is doing. That's why Midtown is now a significant urban neighborhood, or even CBD in Atlanta. It connects with Downtown almost flawlessly(the connector is kind of annoying, but still easily walkable). In between Midtown and Downtown, you have the fabulous fox theatre historic district which is still very walkable.
And obviously, you haven't seen the beltline for Atlanta yet, which is probably the most revolutionary project out of all of the 4 cities atm in regards to trying to build walkable, dense environments. I hardly think Houston is the one doing the most atm out of the four. With such a large economy, why isn't Houston's urban core more active and larger then Atlanta?
The thing atm that sets ATL apart from the rest is it's transit and that's why IMO had the most potential for an urban, dense city. It's hard to beat a transit system that is heavy-rail and turns into a subway underneath the city itself while connecting to major nodes through the city and even directly to the airport itself. Streetcar system has now started and will connect major points from Downtown to the up and coming Sweet Auburn/Old Fourth Ward neighborhood just outside of Downtown.
Why Midtown has grown so much is because of the transit. This is why Atlanta has developed in such a linear, dense fashion. 3 underground stations in Midtown allow for you to take the train up to Lenox/Buckhead or Perimeter Center or take it back down towards downtown or the airport. Houston and Dallas doesn't have this. Miami has limited heavy rail.
This is also why Downtown Atlanta is the most active CBD out of the 3-4 cities we're mentioning. It's because of it's transit system in the first place.
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Atlanta's skyline is also the best imo in the south. You can walk from one side of that picture to the other.
Last edited by Ant131531; 03-16-2013 at 12:07 AM..
I think Dallas is doing more around it's core then Houston is. Sorry to say. Did you not see those google streetviews of neighborhoods around the CBD? I checked everywhere I can around Houston and couldn't find anything as cohesive as I could in Dallas or even Atlanta. Even some Houston residents think that Houston is still developing too spread out and not developing in cohesion with it's core. I'd rather see Houston develop urban environment around their core so it's all cohesive and one can walk 2 miles outside of it's core with little to no breaks in the streetwall. That's how you get an active core going...not developing 3-4 miles outside of the core with random projects. Build from downtown outward. That's what Atlanta and Dallas is doing. That's why Midtown is now a significant urban neighborhood, or even CBD in Atlanta. It connects with Downtown almost flawlessly(the connector is kind of annoying, but still easily walkable). In between Midtown and Downtown, you have the fabulous fox theatre historic district which is still very walkable.
And obviously, you haven't seen the beltline for Atlanta yet, which is probably the most revolutionary project out of all of the 4 cities atm in regards to trying to build walkable, dense environments. I hardly think Houston is the one doing the most atm out of the four. With such a large economy, why isn't Houston's urban core more active and larger then Atlanta?
The thing atm that sets ATL apart from the rest is it's transit and that's why IMO had the most potential for an urban, dense city. It's hard to beat a transit system that is heavy-rail and turns into a subway underneath the city itself while connecting to major nodes through the city and even directly to the airport itself. Streetcar system has now started and will connect major points from Downtown to the up and coming Sweet Auburn/Old Fourth Ward neighborhood just outside of Downtown.
Why Midtown has grown so much is because of the transit. This is why Atlanta has developed in such a linear, dense fashion. 3 underground stations in Midtown allow for you to take the train up to Lenox/Buckhead or Perimeter Center or take it back down towards downtown or the airport. Houston and Dallas doesn't have this. Miami has limited heavy rail.
This is also why Downtown Atlanta is the most active CBD out of the 3-4 cities we're mentioning. It's because of it's transit system in the first place.
Actually I'm familiar with the Belt Line project of Atlanta. It's a good green belt project and a nice introduction of light rail too, I believe America's most ambitious urban renewal project proposed.
As for Houston doing work in it's core. Like I said, work in progress. It takes one day at a time to build something and I agree that it's downtown is the least impressive of the four because of the surface lots all over however I also think you're underestimating the projects especially mixed use ones going up in Inner Loop. Yes not all in one central area but rather all over the west loop from River Oaks District on Westheimer, Regent Square along Allen Parkway, to the gentrification and loft conversions and new multifamily projects in Midtown and EaDo. I also agree Midtown isn't that stellar at the moment but it's been ripe with development since 2010 and it gets better each passing year, yes lots of holes around but that's just Houston infill for you. It wont make sense until they cohesively attach and that will come over time.
As for inner loop Houston infill, it's more of a combination of it's own style of infill, with lots of multifamily projects going up all over literally, along with residential towers, and sidewalk improvements with roads being narrowed (example Westheimer in Upper Kirby). Still has it's gaps and holes and not next to downtown but will eventually connect when filled out, whenever that time will be.
Yes, Miami, Houston, and Dallas can take pointers from Atlanta's Midtown, Downtown, and transit. I don't think we disagree with that at all, all three have downtown's that are relatively dead and all have subpar transit compared to Atlanta.
Ok I'm not going to have a long crazy post noting what is going on in Houston. But To me, Houston skyline>Atlanta skyline. I do like how Houston is developing. Houston needs better pedestrian and transit connections. It's core is denser than Dallas and Atlanta.
That skyline shot is like 20 miles out in the sea.... I think Miami's central core has a nice skyline though...very Chicago-esque...I think it and Atlanta and probably tied in the south IMO because I do love the architectural variety in ATL's skyline.
Ok I'm not going to have a long crazy post noting what is going on in Houston. But To me, Houston skyline>Atlanta skyline. I do like how Houston is developing. Houston needs better pedestrian and transit connections. It's core is denser than Dallas and Atlanta.
How can it's core be denser then Dallas and Atlanta's if it's core is barely downtown? I mean, if you're talking strictly downtown, then I agree, it structurally more dense, but if we are talking areas outside of the core, Dallas would easily beat it and Midtown Atlanta destroys anything Houston has to offer.
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