Houston: The Most Overlooked Big City in America... (smog, living, best)
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Location: East Central Pennsylvania/ Chicago for 6yrs.
2,535 posts, read 3,289,462 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Lance
I'm not really singling out Chicago or any other city. I am just showing that in just about every list showing top visitor, and tourist destination cites, Houston shows up, many times in the top 10, and almost always in the top 20. So any notion that Houston is this unheard of singular destination seems to me to have been proven inaccurate.
Understood. But my comments in a Houston thread. Started with threads on Houston overtaking Chicago Proper in population in a few years to decade or more. Houstonians were ELATED to possibly CLAIM 3rd city status coming. The case for not close in Prestige and Influence and if it will not anytime soon fight? Was on.
So the comparisons to Chicago to bring it in was on, and why in many factors Houston seems to fall short on?
--Houston should have held planning higher.
--Zoning sets a Standard all developers attain, crushed a few times in history.
--A Subway system allowed to be crushed in the 70s.
--Included the city's part in making sure the developers built in a standard set-back from streets and sidewalks.
--Did its part to keep up with them building streets with curbs.
It has its share of Corruption. As Moody's credit rating agency WARNED Houston trying to ON THE BOOKS... Hide its REAL Pension Debt.
So all is not perfect in FAST GROWING HOUSTON. Surpassing Detroit's Debt. Houston
Because even though it's decades old, Dallas DID at least at SOME POINT do enough marketing of the city and its image to have a lasting effect to the point where many people around the nation and the world still connect certain images and brands---like the TV show and the Cowboys----to the city when they see or hear about it, even though that show ended years ago and the Cowboys haven't won a Superbowl in about as long. When has Houston---at ANY point in its history---ever marketed itself to outsiders or created a unique brand or image that people could connect to Houston?
Not to Millennials. Unless they watched re-runs on SoapNet, they have no idea about that nighttime soap opera. "Who Shot J.R.?" is a lost pun to the younger ones. The recent revival didn't have much of a following.
There was a soap opera about Houston called "Texas".
Cowboys are being overshadowed by The Steelers right now. I don't even want to see the backlash from Dallasites if Arian Foster came out as an Atheist as a Cowboy instead of as a Texan. After all, it is the centre of the Bible Belt and home to the Southern Baptists' regional seminary.
Houston is more catholic than evangelical, so there was no backlash since catholic ethics emphasize conscience over conformity. After all, the city has a cardinal as the archbishop and the largest Episcopal parish in the world with a few famous Houstonians as parishioners.
Everybody remembers the "wardrobe malfunction" that happened here. To answer your last question, Houston was synonymous with space in the '60s. Most people equate NASA with Houston still to this day with all the shuttle launches and astronauts living and training in Clear Lake.
Not to Millennials. Unless they watched re-runs on SoapNet, they have no idea about that nighttime soap opera. "Who Shot J.R.?" is a lost pun to the younger ones. The recent revival didn't have much of a following.
There was a soap opera about Houston called "Texas".
The Dallas TV show is one of those things that has permeated pop culture so much that many people all over the world---regardless of age---still think of or know about it when they hear or think Dallas. It's just like how millennials weren't around when Elvis was alive either, but everybody still thinks "Elvis" when they think of Memphis. You can teenagers what images, people, or things they associate with Memphis and I guarantee you Elvis will make most of their lists, probably as one of the first things. Dallas is the same way with its classic TV show. And wasn't the soap opera "Texas" a bootleg response to the success of the Dallas TV show?!? Come on, man! Nobody remembers that!!! LOL, that doesn't even count. I don't think that show even lasted a full two seasons before it got cancelled...lol.
Cowboys are being overshadowed by The Steelers right now.
Huh?!? What red blooded American doesn't know that the Cowboys have been considered and even marketed as "America's Team" (See? GREAT marketing!!!) for decades now?!? I'm a Steelers fan and even I know and admit that...
Well every city actually doesn't offer what Philly offers when it comes to several specific things. When it comes to Philly's place in the history of the U.S., no other city can say it is the actual birthplace of the U.S., the very first capital of the U.S., where our two most important national documents were drafted, where our flag originated, and still has the historical sites intact that testify to this. Philadelphia also served as the epicenter of the abolitionist movement like no other city did, and again, it still has the historic sites that testify to this. These are its real claims to fame, and the other stuff (parks, neighborhoods, etc.) is the icing on the cake. So it's the combination of this history with other assets that make Philly what it is. This simply isn't the same as Houston.
Well, just like Philly has its own unique brand of history that makes it special, the history, and amenities that are seen in Houston have their own unique brand found only in Houston, and nowhere else.
So it still stands that the argument for Houston "not being unique because other cities have what it has," is bogus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77
You act as though Houston is actually located IN space, LOL. I agree that Houston could capitalize on that better but again, it doesn't so very few people go to Houston just to see NASA stuff, except perhaps schoolchildren on field trips.
Fair enough.
[quote=Mutiny77;40954924]LOL, these two cities are similar but are hardly clones of each other but I won't get into that here. The two don't offer the exact same sort of experience.
Just like Houston doesn't offer the same sort of experience as "30 or 40 other cities," to quote.
Now are you starting to see why the arguments for Houston not being unique are bogus?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77
Boy please, there's absolutely nothing wrong with my logical reasoning. To question WHY so many people visit San Francisco and Los Angeles is just ludicrous.
Alcatraz, Golden Gate, Financial district, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, etc are all attractions San Francisco has; but, at basic, they are basically, in order, a prison, a bridge, a district, a wharf, and an enclave. Lots of cities have each of those basic things. However, the allure for San Francisco's areas come from the imagery, brand, vibe, and experience associated with them, not necessarily for the concrete areas themselves.
Houston already has a decent number of areas where the unique vibe, brand, imagery, and experience associated with the city play out. You will not find Houston's specific Discovery Green, Theater District, Nasa space center, historical aspects, urban neighborhoods, etc in any other city in the country. What I did was reveal the REAL reason for Houston's overlook; not because it lacks anything unique, contrary to popular belief, but because the public isn't thoroughly exposed to the unique brand of the city.
The Dallas TV show is one of those things that has permeated pop culture so much that many people all over the world, regardless of age, think of or know about it when they hear or think Dallas. It's just like how millennials weren't around when Elvis was alive either, but everybody still thinks "Elvis" when they think of Memphis. You can ask a teenager what images, people, or things that associate when Memphis and I gaurantee you Elvis will make their list, probably as one of the first things. Dallas is the same way with its classic TV show. And wasn't the soap opera "Texas" a bootleg response to the success of the Dallas TV show?!? Come on, man! Nobody remembers that!!! LOL, that doesn't even count. I don't think that show even last a full two seasons before it got cancelled...lol.
I always associate Elvis in Tennessee with Nashville because it's the country music epicenter. But he was in L.A. as an actor in the '60s and in his final years, performing in Las Vegas.
More people associate Elvis with Vegas due to the bumper crop of impersonators on the sidewalks and the nostalgia of the less expensive Vegas of the '70s compared to the bland corporatists that renovated Vegas back in the '90s of today. Who wants to pay $25 for the buffet at Caesars' Palace? What happened to the $5-10 stuff?
But as the years have gone on, Elvis becomes ancient history as successive generations replenish humanity. The millennials would never know of his true love of gospel and blues music that permeated his rock style. People want to keep the image of comeback '70s Elvis in their minds forever and the younger '50s Elvis with the few hits that became standards, and the popular view has stayed that way.
Well, just like Philly has its own unique brand of history that makes it special, the history, and amenities that are seen in Houston have their own unique brand found only in Houston, and nowhere else.
So it still stands that the argument for Houston "not being unique because other cities have what it has," is bogus.
Well I, for one, never made that argument. But even though its brand of history doesn't have the broad appeal of Philly, it just hasn't capitalized on that. As I said earlier, if the San Jacinto Monument were built downtown on a mall with other attractions surrounding it, that would be awesome. You said that the Alamo and SJM were similar from a historic perspective, but location makes all the difference in terms of how well-known and visited the Alamo is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77
LOL, these two cities are similar but are hardly clones of each other but I won't get into that here. The two don't offer the exact same sort of experience.
Just like Houston doesn't offer the same sort of experience as "30 or 40 other cities," to quote.
Now are you starting to see why the arguments for Houston not being unique are bogus?
My mention of "30 or 40 other cities" had to do with architecture, urban environment, parks, etc.--characteristics that you mentioned. In this respect, the only thing really unique about Houston is its lack of zoning but even then, city leaders could think outside of the box to create something quirky towards that end.
Quote:
Alcatraz, Golden Gate, Financial district, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, etc are all attractions San Francisco has; but, at basic, they are basically, in order, a prison, a bridge, a district, a wharf, and an enclave. Lots of cities have each of those basic things. However, the allure for San Francisco's areas come from the imagery, brand, vibe, and experience associated with them, not necessarily for the concrete areas themselves.
I agree, and its also the vintage cable cars and its geography and the way the city is built.
Quote:
Houston already has a decent number of areas where the unique vibe, brand, imagery, and experience associated with the city play out. You will not find Houston's specific Discovery Green, Theater District, Nasa space center, historical aspects, urban neighborhoods, etc in any other city in the country. What I did was reveal the REAL reason for Houston's overlook; not because it lacks anything unique, contrary to popular belief, but because the public isn't thoroughly exposed to the unique brand of the city.
What's even more important than the attractions themselves is the way in which they are "stitched" together, so to speak. That's why the most urban cities hold the appeal that they do.
Cowboys are being overshadowed by The Steelers right now. I don't even want to see the backlash from Dallasites if Arian Foster came out as an Atheist as a Cowboy instead of as a Texan. After all, it is the centre of the Bible Belt and home to the Southern Baptists' regional seminary.
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