Houston's Mayor should follow suit

[detachable arm]

Originally Posted by gsmj

Is there a forum contest going on right now to see who can post "COL" the most in one thread?

I'll add to it.

The COL in the entire U.S. has gone up. Acting as if Houston is a special case in that regard is ignorant.

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by Matadora

Actually controlled growth is a better way to go.

Ok, who controls it? And thus the debate begins.


Look, if you want control, zoning, over-the-top planning, restrictions and more, almost every other major city has these. At least to varying degrees. Have at 'em.

Houston is well-known for its freestyle city planning, and lack of zoning. And it's worked for 150 years. Is it perfect? Of course not. Is it better than the others? Up to debate. Does it work for us? Absolutely!

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by Matadora

Calm down guys...I lived in Houston for over 40 years and still have family and friends there.

You can't tell me that Houston's COL and traffic hasn't increased over the past 5 years.

IMO Houston is being ruined by too many people moving into the area. I can't imagine what Houston will be like in 25 years.

Of course traffic has increased. We've had an economic boom. That leads to people moving here, and that leads to traffic.

When people talk about some place being ruined by people moving there, that's a variant of NIMBY. And we can do without NIMBY.

[Matadora]

Originally Posted by astrohip

Of course traffic has increased. We've had an economic boom. That leads to people moving here, and that leads to traffic.

When people talk about some place being ruined by people moving there, that's a variant of NIMBY. And we can do without NIMBY.

A place certainly becomes a nightmare to live if there is an over population of people combined with poor planning and lack of insight which is exactly what Houston is experiencing right now...actually has been experiencing for some time. It has nothing to do with NIMBY mentality.

Unfortunately Houston is getting the density with none of the benefits.

Amen to out with the old and in with the new way of thinking. Things are not just going to magically fix themselves as the population increases.

“A lot of people think growth is terrible,” he says. By contrast, he believes that “the next 4 million people are what is going to let us fix our city.”

Houston's Traffic Pain Is a Slow Burn Thanks to a Lack of Vision | Houston Press

One of the toughest things to deal with besides daily traffic in Houston is the prolonged traffic nightmare faced by Houstonians over years and years and years thanks to poor planning and a lack of foresight.

It's incredible how many years I-45, 290, I-10 and 610 have been under construction...virtually my entire life.

A city the size of Houston has no excuse other than non progressive thinking and lack of vision as to why the mass transit system is constantly shunned. Have fun sitting in longer and longer commutes as the population increases. My mother who just retired said that starting in 2009 her commute to work gradually went from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours one way. This last visit I was late to every single lunch or dinner due to relying on how much time it has always taken me in the past to get to where I needed to go. Houston you have a problem and it is not going away until you fix the mass transit issues.

These against mass transit political games are longer working for you.

The strongest evidence of the division is the light-rail system itself. The city voted to build it in 1988 and, after years of political battles—in which former Congressman Tom DeLay (R-Texas) stripped the project of federal funding—the first 7.5 miles of the red line opened in 2004.

We all know what a true scandal monger Tom Delay really is...if you don't then look it up.

Will Houston's City Plan Transform this No-Zoning Mecca? Karrie Jacobs Investigates. | Architect Magazine | Urban Design, Urban Development, Transportation Projects, Community Projects, Cultural Projects, Development, Grounds, Parks and Roadside