Texans tycoon plots new ultra-luxury hotel in Uptown Park !

[DavePa]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

That's an apple to oranges comparison. You just said yourself that Buckhead is Atlanta's Uptown, so why should Uptown and Downtown Houston grow together? It would have been cool but Midtown Houston is growing in it's own right and the Museum District is growing too. What hurts Houston more is not having rail transit connecting Uptown to these areas.

Who would say Uptown Houston and its downtown would grow together?

Atlanta has its Midtown NEXT TO its downtown. THEY ARE growing together. They differ in similar aspects of Uptown Houston the Atlanta Midtown in offerings and downtowns similar lacking the other has and of course what they have over the other. Point was in Atlanta.... it is lucky to have its comparable Midtown to Houston's Uptown adjacent to become ONE CORE. Houston's downtown must stand alone.

I noted bringing rail in. Elevated-rail even .... not going to happen. Takes planning and TAX DOLLARS. But would do much in the prestige department Houston craves. A Elon Musk tunnel hyper-loop Chicago is getting.

But this all drifts from this Uptown Luxury hotel .... just another downtown won't be getting.

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by dallasboi

Not if the BAD is presented as good...and presented as the reason Houston is so unique, cute and quirky....Houstonians actually brag on the oil and water.

Water brings life. Just look around the land.

Oil brings money. Just ask the Arabs.

Originally Posted by dallasboi

Yes its doing alot of stuff right...Its a great city......Its just not as attractive as it could be...and Houstonians are ok with that.

It takes nothing away from how powerful Houston is.

People on the outside know..or hear how powerful Houson is and when they visit they expect something different. Doesn't mean that its not as powerful as they thought. It just means that their trained perception misled them. And now they begin to wonder the benefits of being so powerful in a mix-match, confusing, unattractive, traffic filled misleading metropolitan area.

Being powerful does not distract people from noticing this.

There are many reasons that contribute to this circumstance. Contrary to popular belief, the lack of zoning is not one of these reasons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_Zoning_Resolution
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ilt-today.html

[DavePa]

Originally Posted by Texyn

There are many reasons that contribute to this circumstance. Contrary to popular belief, the lack of zoning is not one of these reasons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_Zoning_Resolution
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ilt-today.html

Zoning to guide your city to become what is envisioned with guideline and what can be built within a neighborhood and streets, sidewalks, curbing uniform (if any ... hint hint), lot sizes, quality of construction minimums and where you cannot build even .... and zoning for something like you can only build a minimum 3-car garage and sq/footage minimum size home. Clearly, there is a difference.

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

That's an apple to oranges comparison. You just said yourself that Buckhead is Atlanta's Uptown, so why should Uptown and Downtown Houston grow together? It would have been cool but Midtown Houston is growing in it's own right and the Museum District is growing too. What hurts Houston more is not having rail transit connecting Uptown to these areas.

The Texas fetish is strong with DavePa.

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by DavePa

Zoning to guide your city to become what is envisioned with guideline and what can be built within a neighborhood and streets, sidewalks, curbing uniform (if any ... hint hint), lot sizes, quality of construction minimums and where you cannot build even .... and zoning for something like you can only build a minimum 3-car garage and sq/footage minimum size home. Clearly, there is a difference.

Go back and read the articles, because you missed the point. Those charming, historic neighborhoods and districts that we see in our nation's oldest cities? All were built before zoning came to existence in this country.

Anyway, the lack of zoning in Houston refers specifically to euclidean zoning, which focuses on land-use separation. Lot sizes, sidewalks, curbing, parking garages, etc are all controlled by entirely different regulations.

I like Houston's lack of zoning. Keeps things flexible and organic. It just needs to work on its other regulations.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by DavePa

Who would say Uptown Houston and its downtown would grow together?

Atlanta has its Midtown NEXT TO its downtown. THEY ARE growing together. They differ in similar aspects of Uptown Houston the Atlanta Midtown in offerings and downtowns similar lacking the other has and of course what they have over the other. Point was in Atlanta.... it is lucky to have its comparable Midtown to Houston's Uptown adjacent to become ONE CORE. Houston's downtown must stand alone.

I noted bringing rail in. Elevated-rail even .... not going to happen. Takes planning and TAX DOLLARS. But would do much in the prestige department Houston craves. A Elon Musk tunnel hyper-loop Chicago is getting.

But this all drifts from this Uptown Luxury hotel .... just another downtown won't be getting.

I know what you're trying to say and it's not an equal comparison. Atlanta's "Uptown" is not its Midtown, it's Buckhead. Uptown Houston does not compare as well to Midtown Atlanta as it does Buckhead, when you look at shopping, hotels, residential towers, etc. The top luxury hotels in Atlanta are in Buckhead, not Downtown or Midtown. Besides, Houston's Midtown is growing and will be better connected to Downtown when the Pierce Elevated is demolished. Atlanta doesn't have an equivalent to the Museum District or Texas Medical Center either. All three of these areas continue to grow together and they're connected via rail.

[DavePa]

Originally Posted by Texyn

Go back and read the articles, because you missed the point. Those charming, historic neighborhoods and districts that we see in our nation's oldest cities? All were built before zoning came to existence in this country.

Anyway, the lack of zoning in Houston refers specifically to euclidean zoning, which focuses on land-use separation. Lot sizes, sidewalks, curbing, parking garages, etc are all controlled by entirely different regulations.

I like Houston's lack of zoning. Keeps things flexible and organic. It just needs to work on its other regulations.

* You forget historic Philly had the Nations first PLANNED street-grid. In the 1700s by William Penn. Subdividing streets in later centuries removed some charm and less green to no alleys and streets alley-sized (but another topic)

True Boston's had no grid. But density, quaintness, charm ..... but of course. It did not have to be planned for many or steered if the standard was already there. Once for profit developing began to rule..... cities that realized they needed GUIDELINES, a STANDARD, and UNIFORMITY if they wanted a better future for a fast booming city.

For some it took catastrophe. SF had its earthquake (surprisingly .... it almost got a grander European design and Parks. Daniel Burnham created a plan (very European) for a new SF even before the earthquake. But it was declared too expensive after the quake and not adopted.

What almost was for SF was till the quake and price was too high.
1905 San Francisco Burnham Plan

Burnham Plan 1905 - FoundSF

Chicago DID adopt a Daniel Burnham Plan to recreate a new Lakefront of Parks, beaches and harbors , islands and piers. It got most.... but only one pier that is its grand tourist haven of Navy Pier today. Got the beaches and harbors. But no islands. The riverfront did not get more f h's planning till today.

He also gave the idea of the cities boulevards mainly south got some and diagonal streets creating 6-cornered intersections mainly North side.

* Chicago's Burnham plan of 1909 much realized but fast growth probably hurt all realized in the city's grid changes.

https://designapplause.com/architect...prettyPhoto/0/

But not all got finished in his plans. The lakefront the most of course. If the city did not have VISIONARIES and PHILATHOPIST to FIGHT to keep manufacturing blemishing the lakefront and private ownership of land there? It would not be public land today.

Also planned was
- the set-backs uniform of the street-grid,
- a full alleyway system,
- uniform sidewalks and curbing to this day,
- and when electricity and a land-line hone network era came ..... alleys were chosen to run the lines down as a plan.

Building codes also came to be that developers had to abide by. For building a city less prone to a massive fire again.

These steered their city to build better. It wasn't again like sunburns zoning home-size In McMansions of a value and multi-car garages, large lot size minimums.
Cities that chose their standard lot size and divide it ..... then developers did their magic of a neighborhood.

* How about -- Washington DC and its Paris inspired city planned ....

Mark Twain writes in Life on the Mississippi (1883), “they are always rubbing the lamp, and fetching up the genii, and contriving and achieving new impossibilities.” For the occasional visitor, Twain explains, Chicago was always a “novelty,” since “she is never the Chicago you saw when you passed through the last time.” This AFTER the Great Fire.

Another Writing --- Legendary landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Well before the Plan of Chicago was published, there were also those who anticipated its assertion that in their haste Chicagoans had built all too carelessly and with insufficient planning. reflecting on the Great Chicago Fire in the Nation shortly after the conflagration occurred, was only one of several observers who attributed the extent of the damage to hurried and sloppy building.

Better a city PLAN its future over needing to redo so much after the fact and mistakes.

*** HOUSTON STILL CAN PLAN MORE AND TRANSIT ADDITIONS WOULDN'T HURT TOO.....

[Texyn]

^^ Exactly. Good planning and thoughtful design can occur in a city regardless of whether or not it is packaged as "zoning." There are well designed cities that lack zoning, as well as poorly designed cities that have it. And vice versa. So thank you for proving my point.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

The whole point of the dedicated bus lanes is to have frequent buses that don't get snarled in traffic, because they're in their own space. They'll still have to stop at traffic lights, but obviously won't be waiting in a long queue. They should be reasonably effective at doing what you describe - as long as frequent service is provided.

The whole point of bus lanes is to subsidize the transportation needs of people, especially "disadvantaged" people during rush hour. We really paid for it with the tearing out of those lovely live oaks too, and doing it without gaining lanes for everybody. I never have been in snarled traffic on Post Oak either. Does anybody really think the typical high spending shoppers and salaried workers that drive the west loop economy are going to be taking the bus to work or shop?

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by groovamos

The whole point of bus lanes is to subsidize the transportation needs of people, especially "disadvantaged" people during rush hour. We really paid for it with the tearing out of those lovely live oaks too, and doing it without gaining lanes for everybody. I never have been in snarled traffic on Post Oak either. Does anybody really think the typical high spending shoppers and salaried workers that drive the west loop economy are going to be taking the bus to work or shop?

In the Post Oak of 5-10 years from now, of course they will, once they've already parked somewhere in the area and assuming they have a transportation need somewhere else in the corridor. It will be too quick and easy not to. The point of the bus isn't going to be providing subsidized transportation for poor people. The bus is intended to provide rapid transportation up and down the Post Oak of tomorrow, which will be far denser and more walkable than the Post Oak of today.

The alternative is to do what Houston normally does - wait for the growth, look up, say "oh s*** we're in gridlock", then scramble for a poorly implemented solution that in many cases doesn't adequately address the problem.

For once, the city is attempting to be somewhat proactive and I applaud them for it.