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Honestly, to be a successful tourist city.... Houston shouldn't even try so hard to cater to them. That is, it is best just improve QOL for the residents. The tourists will follow later.
Exactly. There is no sense to cater to tourists at all. Focus should be on residents and attracting new business. Improve QOL but retain COL to some extent. Tourists will come later.
Exactly. There is no sense to cater to tourists at all. Focus should be on residents and attracting new business. Improve QOL but retain COL to some extent. Tourists will come later.
Yeah, places like NYC, LA and SF didn't become the tourist meccas they are by peddling hard to create cheesy slogans; they would have just come out as forced, "sterile," and inauthentic. Instead, they thoughtfully addressed QOL aspects of the city, then a traveler or two came in, spent some time, took in the vibe, then spread the word....
I think part of the perception problem is that summer is the time folks in cooler climates expect to get outside without bundling up and enjoy the environment, even if there are occasional miserable heat waves. In Houston, except water / lake activities, people expect to spend more time indoors June-September and enjoy the outdoors the rest of the year. And we have our mosquito issues, which seem worst than most places, on top of it all. Plus the media is centered in places where summer is more the "fun" season, so Houston seems like a fail in that regard from their perspective.
In much of the rest of the country, July 4th and Labor Day are the premier "outside" holidays; in Houston you sort of endure the outdoor activities on those holidays (again, unless you're at the lake or beach) but are in Nirvana during Thanksgiving and Spring Break, which aren't nearly as enjoyable in a large chunk of the country. So, to summarize: it's a mismatch of cultural expectations regarding the "fun" times to be outside.
The other aspect of Houston's weather that truly is worth complaining about is the frequent threat of ungodly rainfall (both tropical and non-tropical storms). I don't know if the risk of such events is really higher here, but I don't seem to hear about them happening in other places with the frequency or severity of what we get in this part of Texas. The thought that this year's mega-rains might be some sort of increasing trend for some period of years is genuinely disturbing, because the consequences are too often dire. I know we were all bummed about the 2010-2012 drought, and rightly so, but I think mega-rains are truly our climactic Achilles heel. And not limited to the summer.
I think part of the perception problem is that summer is the time folks in cooler climates expect to get outside without bundling up and enjoy the environment, even if there are occasional miserable heat waves. In Houston, except water / lake activities, people expect to spend more time indoors June-September and enjoy the outdoors the rest of the year. And we have our mosquito issues, which seem worst than most places, on top of it all. Plus the media is centered in places where summer is more the "fun" season, so Houston seems like a fail in that regard from their perspective.
In much of the rest of the country, July 4th and Labor Day are the premier "outside" holidays; in Houston you sort of endure the outdoor activities on those holidays (again, unless you're at the lake or beach) but are in Nirvana during Thanksgiving and Spring Break, which aren't nearly as enjoyable in a large chunk of the country. So, to summarize: it's a mismatch of cultural expectations regarding the "fun" times to be outside.
I agree to an extent, but if fall-spring is "activity time" in Houston, as you say, then that only opens way for a new niche for a new story to be told, if someone with vision comes to play. Also, I think earlier in this thread, it was mentioned that New Orleans also had alot of its main events during the winter (such as Mardi Gras).
Also, there actually are quite a bit of people out and about in Houston during summer, and not even just at water activities; several summer afternoons I've spent playing outdoor basketball with many. Summer days can be hot, but mornings and evenings bring cooler temps (although still muggy), and lots of restaurants/bars have people out enjoying themselves. Summer isn't exactly "shut the door" time in Houston.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LocalPlanner
The other aspect of Houston's weather that truly is worth complaining about is the frequent threat of ungodly rainfall (both tropical and non-tropical storms). I don't know if the risk of such events is really higher here, but I don't seem to hear about them happening in other places with the frequency or severity of what we get in this part of Texas. The thought that this year's mega-rains might be some sort of increasing trend for some period of years is genuinely disturbing, because the consequences are too often dire. I know we were all bummed about the 2010-2012 drought, and rightly so, but I think mega-rains are truly our climactic Achilles heel. And not limited to the summer.
Because the other places in the US that do see them (the coastal US South, far western PNW outside the rainshadow, windward Hawaii) happen to be smaller populated areas, and thus not as many people from those areas flooding social media with memes, posts, etc. Houston, along with New Orleans and Miami, are the three largest cities in the CONUS that can see these kinds of rain/flood events.
Also, the rain in and of itself wasn't so much the problem as it was the development patterns, which make it so that areas that normally stay dry end up getting flooded.
Honestly though, the green those rains bring to the landscape far outweigh the consequences (barring the loss of life, property, etc). I'd take it over drought/dry spell any day of the week, and twice on Sundays; I'd rather see dry, rainless weather in winter, and portions of fall and spring than in summer.
I agree to an extent, but if fall-spring is "activity time" in Houston, as you say, then that only opens way for a new niche for a new story to be told, if someone with vision comes to play. Also, I think earlier in this thread, it was mentioned that New Orleans also had alot of its main events during the winter (such as Mardi Gras).
Also, there actually are quite a bit of people out and about in Houston during summer, and not even just at water activities; several summer afternoons I've spent playing outdoor basketball with many. Summer days can be hot, but mornings and evenings bring cooler temps (although still muggy), and lots of restaurants/bars have people out enjoying themselves. Summer isn't exactly "shut the door" time in Houston.
I agree that the "story" of spring and fall in Houston (and Texas generally) needs to be talked up a bit more. It just has to overcome the "summer fun expectation bias" that I discussed.
I know many folks still do things outside in summer here (I'm one of them), but look at when most of our major outdoor festivals are scheduled - they're crammed into February 15 - Memorial Day (Summerfest notwithstanding, the heat is supposed to be part of the party I guess) and October 1 - December 15 for the most part. That's not by accident. The Pride Parade was moved to night time to keep the spirit of the calendar date but try to deal with the heat somehow. Dallas actually moved theirs to autumn, if I'm remembering correctly.
Honestly, to be a successful tourist city.... Houston shouldn't even try so hard to cater to them. That is, it is best just improve QOL for the residents. The tourists will follow later.
Yeah this has been going on as well with things like Disco Green downtown. I was never a fan of the cheesy slogans either. Seemed too forced. Drake did a better job promoting Houston.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wipe0ut2020
Yeah, places like NYC, LA and SF didn't become the tourist meccas they are by peddling hard to create cheesy slogans; they would have just come out as forced, "sterile," and inauthentic. Instead, they thoughtfully addressed QOL aspects of the city, then a traveler or two came in, spent some time, took in the vibe, then spread the word....
Not really. LA especially was a vacation home destination for East Coasters. Things were built here to cater to them. The best example would be Chicago. These things go hand and hand. If you make the city better for residents then it in turn will appear more attractive to the people that visit. Even though those cities bettered themselves for residents in different ways, they also have the typical cheesy tourism things that people living there can take part in if they want (talking full fledged amusement parks here).
Btw, the biggest problem with the rain was the sheer amount. Development played a part but what city would survive getting that many inches of rain in a few hours?
And it is even worse in the PNW. Those cities have recently seen frequent heatwaves of near 100F, and without A/C, it can just be unbearable.
People in Houston wonder how their city can even be walkable or more tourist friendly when it is so "hot" during summer. All they have to do is look at places in Asia, to see places with Houston's climate rival NYC in size, density, and vibrancy.
I lived in the Bay Area (San Jose) in the mid 90's in a house that didn't have A/C. There were days that were 105, but I was in my A/C office. At night, the temp would drop to the upper 50's and I would have the windows open with a fan in them, and I would go from needing a light sheet to a blanket by the morning.
On the other normal days, the nightly lows were low 50's and the daytime highs were low to mid 80's and never even thought about A/C. As long as the night is cool, the daytime doesn't matter.
Seattle is like that, dry heat and so cool at night.
However, the heat in Boston is humid, so if they have a heatwave into the 90's, the nighttime low is a muggy 75. Much harder to sleep well in that. However, having spent a lot of my childhood in the Boston area in the summer, sleeping on boats, you still get those cold fronts with highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's and occasionally the highs don't even get out of the 60's. So don't say the summer is just as bad there. Also, all the new construction up there has central A/C there, just like here.
New Orleans has all its main outdoors events planned during non-summer months: Voodoo Vest (Oct), Bayou Classic (Nov), Celebration in the Oaks (Dec), Sugar Bowl (Jan), Mardi Gras (Feb/Mar), FQ Fest (Apr), Jazz Fest (Apr/May), NO Wine/Food Experience (May)
It has events planned in the summer but they are largely indoor or combo outdoor/indoor: Essence Fest indoor Superdome (Jul), Satchmo Fest outdoor and indoor areas (Aug)
It also has some events that are quite unusual in the summer that would attract people regardless of the time of year: Red Dress Run (Jul), Southern Decadence (Gay Mardi Gras) (Labor Day/Sep)
So while Southern Decadence is at a very oppressive time of year, people that are attracted to that kind of thing will go no matter what. Red Dress Run is a take on the running of the bulls in Spain but "rollergirls" chase you, so all in fun and many go just for that.
The main thing is to setup all the major outdoor festivals Oct - May and then setup weird/unique or indoor festivals Jun-Sep.
I lived in the Bay Area (San Jose) in the mid 90's in a house that didn't have A/C. There were days that were 105, but I was in my A/C office. At night, the temp would drop to the upper 50's and I would have the windows open with a fan in them, and I would go from needing a light sheet to a blanket by the morning.
On the other normal days, the nightly lows were low 50's and the daytime highs were low to mid 80's and never even thought about A/C. As long as the night is cool, the daytime doesn't matter.
Seattle is like that, dry heat and so cool at night.
However, the heat in Boston is humid, so if they have a heatwave into the 90's, the nighttime low is a muggy 75. Much harder to sleep well in that. However, having spent a lot of my childhood in the Boston area in the summer, sleeping on boats, you still get those cold fronts with highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's and occasionally the highs don't even get out of the 60's. So don't say the summer is just as bad there. Also, all the new construction up there has central A/C there, just like here.
Never said that. But it still stands that freak heatwaves can make quite for uncomfortable conditions in those relatively cooler areas, as the building designs didn't incorporate A/C due to not normally needing to.
Yeah this has been going on as well with things like Disco Green downtown. I was never a fan of the cheesy slogans either. Seemed too forced. Drake did a better job promoting Houston.
Not really. LA especially was a vacation home destination for East Coasters. Things were built here to cater to them. The best example would be Chicago. These things go hand and hand. If you make the city better for residents then it in turn will appear more attractive to the people that visit. Even though those cities bettered themselves for residents in different ways, they also have the typical cheesy tourism things that people living there can take part in if they want (talking full fledged amusement parks here).
Btw, the biggest problem with the rain was the sheer amount. Development played a part but what city would survive getting that many inches of rain in a few hours?
I don't really consider amusement parks to be "forced, cheesy tourist devices; " a lot of them can be quite memorable if done well (especially if they happen to cater to a city's significance). Even then, they would only be a part of the whole, so to speak.
Things are only cheesy when they are done SOLELY to attract tourists, with no other respect to other important parameters (addressing of mass appeal, tying into city history, memorability, etc); "cheesy" would be the vast majority of those slogans, or just building a giant statue/structure for the hell of it (like that fire hydrant in Beaumont), but an amusement park that thoughtfully keeps detail to the city's culture/history can be quite memorable.
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