Why do I see so few white people at Hermann Park? (Houston: gated, to live)

[Oskar_Z28]

I was working that weekend and couldn't go to the park, also live in W Houston, so we go to Terry Hershey instead when we can. Last time we went to the Hermann Park / Zoo, couldn't find parking, so we left. We may go there week of Thanksgiving.

[Dopo]

I gotta ask this question


Is there any reason all people of one color would decide not to go to a park?

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I gotta ask this question


Is there any reason all people of one color would decide not to go to a park?

Crime, if a park caters mainly to one culture, unfamiliarity.

[detachable arm]

As mentioned, whites make up like 22% of Houston city and it's much lower if you count the estimated 575,000 illegal aliens into the total population, and then exclude the Houston city suburbs of Clear Lake & Kingwood. So now you have this even smaller portion of inner-city whites which is now maybe 15% or less. As I've said before, the Houston city demographics resemble a crumbling, corrupt Caribbean island. You've got upper-echelon whites gated off in their compounds and would never visit a city park with us filthy plebes to begin with. The remaining whites who aren't upper-echelon still have lots to lose (there are no poor whites in Houston anymore) and they are well aware of the increase in robberies, sexual harassment, aggressive panhandling, etc. And let's be frank... black & brown people's more animated mannerisms make them nervous.

So consider this when you notice an absence of whites in public parks.

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Crime, if a park caters mainly to one culture, unfamiliarity.

The first does not apply to Hermann Park. It is in the middle of a nice part of city even if one side is perceive as somewhat shady. It is also pretty well policed so there is no "valid" reasons for feeling unsafe during the day. At the night the park is not well utilized by any race so that's not part of the discussion.
The perception of crime due to a high concentration of certain races by another race could be a factor, but I doubt Asians are less skittish about becoming victims of crime than the average white suburbanite.

My own take is that the kind of white people who might appreciate a park with duck boat rental are turned off by the demographics. The kind that can tolerate a more diverse demographic do not really care for the amenities offered by Hermann Park. You find mostly families with younger kids at most of the park south of McGovern.

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

Are you sure those are not nutria, an invasive species from South America?

They were rats. I know the difference because I use to see a lot of nutria rats at some park I use to go to years ago in Champion Forest.

Originally Posted by whereiend

I mean come on, Hipster breweries is one thing, but this thread was about parks. Obviously breweries are going to mostly have the 20-40 with disposable income demographic. Go to any park and you will see non-white people everywhere. To say that the people on Town Lake or Auditorium Shores or Zilker are all white is crazy.

Anyway, not trying to hijack a thread about Houston. I only read this because I was looking at the Travis Scott thread. Carry on.

Compared to Houston you won't see that many non-White people in those parks. The times I've been to Zilker park or rented a bike at Barton Springs Bike Rental and went riding around I swear Whites outnumbered everybody else by far. Only open space in Austin's core that I seen a truly integrated crowd was the HOPE outdoor gallery.

Originally Posted by cheeva

Noticed the same thing at the Galleria last time. Sh*t you not, it was 99% black people. It's bizarre to see one group and only one group, especially when it's like 10,000 people. I was there with my kids, and at one point, we saw another white family from about 200 ft away, and made eye contact with them, and they had a look on their face like wtf??

Houston is EXTREMELY segregated, despite its "diversity" narrative. Here in Austin, it's just white people everywhere and their Asian proxies. I don't even know where to find black people here. I think they are in Pflugerville is what I've been told.

Haven't been to Galleria in a long time but I recall going there even on weekends and seeing a very international and touristy crowd more than anything. If Galleria has a predominately Black crowd nowadays it was always like that.

With that said there's plenty of other integrated spaces in the city where one shouldn't feel outnumbered. As a Black and POC you'll never fully get that in Austin. You really have to go to the Domain to experience a crowd even remotely close to what you'd get in Houston.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

That was the point. Is it because they are older, have no kids or something else?
Also most of the Asians, Middle Eastern and Hispanic folks who go to the park likely don't live in the area.

That particular neighborhood is older (and pretty wealthy).

[K LoLo]

I didn't know it was a thing to go around and say "where are all the XYZ colored people."

We go to Hermann Park when we go to the zoo, but the traffic to get there plus having to figure out parking makes us not want to go (we're a white/hispanic couple, since we're tracking races and whatnot). When we're there, I feel like I always see a good mix, but maybe I'm more focused on watching my kids and not noticing whatever else is going on. Maybe it depends on what part of the park?

And sometimes yall, white people might not go out because...well...we forgot our sunscreen!

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by K LoLo

I didn't know it was a thing to go around and say "where are all the XYZ colored people."

I only go to parks where I see a lot of people the same color as me


That's why I tell my white wife that she can't go and I only take my son that has the same color than I do.
My other kids that look like their mom, have to go to a different park.

[kwr]

Originally Posted by cheeva

Noticed the same thing at the Galleria last time. Sh*t you not, it was 99% black people. It's bizarre to see one group and only one group, especially when it's like 10,000 people. I was there with my kids, and at one point, we saw another white family from about 200 ft away, and made eye contact with them, and they had a look on their face like wtf??

Houston is EXTREMELY segregated, despite its "diversity" narrative. Here in Austin, it's just white people everywhere and their Asian proxies. I don't even know where to find black people here. I think they are in Pflugerville is what I've been told.

Houston is the exact opposite of segregated. It’s one of the LEAST segregated large cities. The lack of zoning forces people of different backgrounds and similar financial positions to live together in many instances. Maybe you should travel to Detroit, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Cincinnati or Chicago, etc. to see what segregation in 2021 looks like. Houston’s diversity isn’t a fabricated or a false narrative, it’s real.

So what you went to the Galleria at a time when it “appeared” 99% of the patrons were black and you stuck out like a sore thumb. Welcome to my world. ;-) About 35m people visit the thriving Galleria annually. Visit the mall at a different time if you must see diverse patrons or simply patrons who look like you.