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There are differences between them all but generally speaking -
Uptown Dallas = Midtown Houston (mainly the N/NW sides of it)
Bishop Arts/Jefferson = Central Heights
Knox-Henderson = Rice Village
Lower Greenville = Upper Kirby
Mockingbird Station = River Oaks District
The discrepancy lies within the fact that the ones I've mentioned have a superior street presence. It might be because places like Knox, Greenville, and Bishop Arts have better bones to build upon. They all are increasing in density, just like their counterparts in Houston.
Heights has more fragmentation in its structures than Oak Cliff does. The new developments there is more hit/miss. Upper Kirby looks more like Upper Greenville. Mockingbird Station doesn't look like River Oaks District, nor do they serve the same objective (one being a TOD). River Oaks looks more like Preston Hollow Village or like HPV. I can see the Rice Village and Knox Henderson comparison!
To be fair (ironically), Uptown is a tricky one because there are sections that I wouldn't consider pedestrian-friendly too. It is still, nonetheless, more built and integrated with downtown Dallas than Midtown is to the CBD. Also, it's making as much of a push to become more street-activating as similar districts Houston and Atlanta are to their respective cores.
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Could you share which proposals you're talking about and how they differ from what has gone up in Dallas? There is a huge Houston development thread on another forum that has most current projects, and the pedestrian experience has been one of the things most people have been happy about with the newest projects.
Okay, I agree that the projects are nice. Maybe it's me being unfamiliar with the areas that may have mistaken certain parts of the city with the inner core area. Dallas and Houston are pretty much the same in this department.
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I wouldn't say Uptown is atrocious anymore. Maybe in 2004, but not now. It's gotten way better and all of the new developments have taken the ground level experience into account. The TMC is not really a live-work-play district, but even it has gotten better.
Uptown Houston has already laid its foundation as one of the more car-centric neighborhoods. I don't see it change in the foreseeable future.
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Well before you get to Hermann Park, you need to also go through the Museum District which has been going through its own transformations. If you carve Midtown Houston into smaller parts to be the same size as Uptown Dallas, you can get an area (bordered by Main St., Alabama St., Bagby/Spur 527, and I-45) that has similar walkability to Uptown Dallas...
I don't believe so. It still needs to develop and build some more continuity for Midtown to be in the same conversation as Uptown. Not saying that Midtown is not developing some impressive projects. I like the direction Houston is going with this.
The main thing that stands apart from the trails in Dallas vs the Beltline is how the Beltline integrates vasts amounts of neighborhoods and parks bringing them into synergy within the circumference of the core. Dallas definitely has nice trails but the difference is, they aren't exactly functional as a unit but more less operate very independently in comparison.
I like Dallas but the Beltline is on another level when it comes its category.
I’m seriously not trying to just be argumentative with this topic. I just don’t see how the KT doesn’t integrate neighborhoods, vast amounts of parks and provides walkable access to transit, retail, businesses and restaurants just like the Beltline. The KT does all of that as well and connects to other trail systems. Comparing it to Path400 doesn’t make any sense as that’s a suburban type trail system like what’s seen around several areas throughout DFW. I do think the Beltline has done a great job at connecting Intown Atlanta and gentrifying areas. The Central Dallas neighborhoods didn’t really need the same type of help in terms of gentrification.
Uptown Houston has already laid its foundation as one of the more car-centric neighborhoods. I don't see it change in the foreseeable future.
If implemented correctly, the Uptown BRT should make it a lot easier to get around that corridor as it will work much like a streetcar. This area will be much denser than it already is by the end of the 2020s imo.
I don't believe so. It still needs to develop and build some more continuity for Midtown to be in the same conversation as Uptown. Not saying that Midtown is not developing some impressive projects. I like the direction Houston is going with this.
Midtown and downtown will grow together when the Pierce Elevated is removed in a few years. That will allow them to grow together nicely.
They are also planning on capping the new 45/59/69 corridor through downtown and putting a park on top of that to connect to the east side.
I'm one of those people that falls in the camp that both Dallas and Atlanta may do somewhat of a better job of providing a better "urban" experience than Houston (Atlanta moreso than Dallas), but Houston definitely has the most room to grow in improving urbanity its core. Since its core is a lot bigger, its going to come together a little slower but once it does, it should eventually be the most cohesive of the three with the biggest population.
I’m seriously not trying to just be argumentative with this topic. I just don’t see how the KT doesn’t integrate neighborhoods, vast amounts of parks and provides walkable access to transit, retail, businesses and restaurants just like the Beltline. The KT does all of that as well and connects to other trail systems. Comparing it to Path400 doesn’t make any sense as that’s a suburban type trail system like what’s seen around several areas throughout DFW. I do think the Beltline has done a great job at connecting Intown Atlanta and gentrifying areas. The Central Dallas neighborhoods didn’t really need the same type of help in terms of gentrification.
Another point of comparison between PATH400 and the Katy Trail is that they serve primarily recreational purposes within heavily developed and affluent parts of the city. Like any good urban trail, both have attracted and will attract some new development but it primarily tends to be the high-end residential type that's already being built elsewhere in their respective parts of the city. in other words, neither trail is significantly altering the development trajectory of their affluent, development-rich neighborhoods but simply enhancing them.
The Beltline, on the other hand, was intentionally created to promote development, along with establishing transit and providing the standard opportunity for recreation. Due to its sheer size and scope and the success it has had in terms of attracting development, it has been called the city's economic engine and Atlanta Beltline Inc. even has its own real estate and economic development teams because the Beltline's stated purpose is to positively affect those aspects of the city. Commercial development, to include office and retail/restaurant projects, has come to neighborhoods that most likely would've never quite seen such development of that scale otherwise. It is a transformative project for Atlanta overall, and we haven't even yet seen how it will impact the more middle- and working-class west (new trail) and south (future trail) sides of the city yet.
Can you or anyone name places in Houston that are the equivalent to neighborhoods such as Deep Ellum, Uptown, Bishop Arts/Jefferson Ave, Knox-Henderson, Lower Greenville, Mockingbird Station, etc?
Houston can build as many towers as it wants, but it's making the same mistakes as the '80s. I've seen the list of projects (some are nice, btw). Look at Uptown Houston for example. Impressive skyline, but atrocious on the pedestrian level. The same goes for TMC.
Midtown is going to be cool since it's going to connect the CBD with the Herman Park area. As is the East End of downtown. But both still have a way to go for it to have what Dallas currently has (assuming Dallas completely stops construction).
Houston is going in the complete opposite direction of the 80s. When’s the last time you’ve been to Houston? Uptown Houston has been under construction for quite sometime now to make the area more pedestrian friendly adding sidewalks, adding more green space, building more residential hi-rises, Whole Foods. The Boulevard off Post Oak is another project that’s added more vibrancy in the area as of late. Your really underselling the progress Houston has made in the past 5 years. And things are noticeably different in the cities core. You stated you’ve seen the list of projects which I assume means you haven’t actually seen the street level improvements in person as of late?
Houston is going in the complete opposite direction of the 80s. When’s the last time you’ve been to Houston? Uptown Houston has been under construction for quite sometime now to make the area more pedestrian friendly adding sidewalks, adding more green space, building more residential hi-rises, Whole Foods. The Boulevard off Post Oak is another project that’s added more vibrancy in the area as of late. Your really underselling the progress Houston has made in the past 5 years. And things are noticeably different in the cities core. You stated you’ve seen the list of projects which I assume means you haven’t actually seen the street level improvements in person as of late?
I was confused about the building tower statement he made because Houston hasn’t even been building as many towers these days as it has in years past. From what I’ve been observing the city has been focusing on infill. Midtown Houston has a lot of similarities with Fort Worth West & 7th.
I've done several of these side by side comparisons. The one neighborhood that can not be compared to anything else is The Texas Medical Center. Otherwise they are very similar Dallas is smaller and more manicured in a smaller area and Houston is larger and has no zoning and has more vegetation to manage.
Both are going through a lot of growth right now with a lot of new development. I haven't seen this much progress since the 1980's. Both cities are transforming as we speak.It's fun to watch. I like both cities.
Heights has more fragmentation in its structures than Oak Cliff does. The new developments there is more hit/miss. Upper Kirby looks more like Upper Greenville. Mockingbird Station doesn't look like River Oaks District, nor do they serve the same objective (one being a TOD). River Oaks looks more like Preston Hollow Village or like HPV. I can see the Rice Village and Knox Henderson comparison!
To be fair (ironically), Uptown is a tricky one because there are sections that I wouldn't consider pedestrian-friendly too. It is still, nonetheless, more built and integrated with downtown Dallas than Midtown is to the CBD. Also, it's making as much of a push to become more street-activating as similar districts Houston and Atlanta are to their respective cores.
Okay, I agree that the projects are nice. Maybe it's me being unfamiliar with the areas that may have mistaken certain parts of the city with the inner core area. Dallas and Houston are pretty much the same in this department.
Uptown Houston has already laid its foundation as one of the more car-centric neighborhoods. I don't see it change in the foreseeable future.
I don't believe so. It still needs to develop and build some more continuity for Midtown to be in the same conversation as Uptown. Not saying that Midtown is not developing some impressive projects. I like the direction Houston is going with this.[/quote]
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Dal-Hou comparisons
