Why do I see so few white people at Hermann Park? (Houston: apartment, neighborhood)

[clutchcity]

Why does talking about race make you all so uncomfortable? I’m not white by the way (not that it matters). Sheesh!

[clutchcity]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Menil Park (as mentioned) and Buffalo Bayou Park have a much higher % of whites as compared to Herman park. Go there if this is what you seek.

That isn’t what I seek. I’m asking why.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by clutchcity

That isn’t what I seek. I’m asking why.

I dont think there is a why to it. It was just your observation. My observation was different. There is no statistical truth behind either observation, so there is no why to be answered.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

I suppose the reason Buffalo Bayou Park and Menil Park are much higher by % is because of the adjacent neighborhoods.

Herman Park is in a heavy traffic area both for residents and visitors so it’s bound to be a more mixed crowd by design.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by clutchcity

That isn’t what I seek. I’m asking why.

That's a question that cannot be answered with the data we have.

[mkwensky]

There are plenty of white people at the McGovern Gardens, but I know what you're talking about. You can ask the same about Discovery Green. Memorial Park on the other hand is very representative of the city. Maybe the white people who live close enough to use the city parks prefer parks with plenty of space for outdoor recreation instead of stuff that are of more interest to families with young kids. Hermann Park isn't that good for jogging/cycling and parking is too much of a pain for a group of young adults to get together and play lawn sports.

[RocketSci]

I spent many years living near the park, visiting on a near-daily or weekly basis, and have always noticed the same thing, especially along the reflecting pond toward the statue. There are also few, if any, large gatherings of white people that picnic in the park during the day. It always amazed me the there was this beautiful busy park where people of every size and type of ethnicity and background there - except very few white people among them. Like maybe less than 1 out of 10, if even that many. And a good number of the white people I did see have the look of tourists from outside the area, overweight and frumpy like you might see at a waterpark, compared to most other park visitors, especially foreign looking visitors, who look as if they have dressed up for an occasion.

That said, there were still lots of white people at the zoo, or by the gardens, or at many of the shows at the amphitheater. They just tended to only congregate in those areas, or just go back and forth from their cars.

I remember thinking how crazy it was on beautiful days that the parks were empty of white people, yet the stores were packed. This includes Memorial Park, at least after the last drought when the trees were lost. It has been a couple of years since I have been there, but I remember when the park and picnic areas were always busy, yet last time I was there on a weekend it was dead (and that was pre-COVID). Maybe its picked back up, but I no longer live there to see myself.

My theory:
Most white people have now become more suburbanized, and no longer picnic in parks but in their own big backyards. Just like walking or taking a bus in Houston, picnicking in public parks has become something that only "poor minority" people do in their minds.

[Raider Scott]

How "diverse" is it...if there are not many whites?


Lets be honest...the word "diversity" is code for not white.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Raider Scott

How "diverse" is it...if there are not many whites?


Lets be honest...the word "diversity" is code for not white.

Maybe to some people. Detroit isn’t seen as a diverse city. Houston is because it actually is diverse. I know some people have this mentality but not all.

[Raider Scott]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Maybe to some people. Detroit isn’t seen as a diverse city. Houston is because it actually is diverse. I know some people have this mentality but not all.

Forgive me for not running every event in my life through the race prism.


I don't tend to go to a park or public place and take mental notes on the racial make-up. It just does not matter to me.


Seems odd that some will tell us to not pay attention to skin color, while others talk about it and bring it up constantly.


I really don't care what color you are, nor is any person going to make me feel guilty for the mistakes of someone sharing my skin color that has been dead for hundreds of years.