With or Against Development (Houston, Dallas: apartments, condo, houses)

[EEstudent]

Its obvious; Houston is not any where near Chicago, San Francisco, or even Dallas(which has a great public transportation system).

Its pathetic really, for the amount of people that live "in" the city and surrounding areas, the fact that we have literally the smallest downtown for the amount of people is embarrassing.

But there are those suburbanites who just looove Houston! Why? because they come over into montrose,uptown, even midtown; and at the end of the day what do they do... the drive 30-40 mins home in the woodlands; katy; sugar land etc. leaving those areas to be cared for by the people that actually live within "city limits".

now i have mentioned so many times before that we need a change; we need a better skyline and a more "city" like feel. Places like South Hampton, West U., Kirby houses, bellaire, they need to get it together and realize that the fantasy days need to be over.

But there are a few who like Houston the way it is; lord knows why; but they do, now I think that all these highrises and apartments that are coming up are great; but there needs to be more commercial areas in between or your going to see a sea of highrises and condo's which will just be the same thing as S. hampton,West U., except they'll have 3-4+ stories instead of 2 stories.

Another possible hole in this argument is the fact that needs to be addressed is the fact that there are still people moving into houston; its evident just read the other posts HOWEVER if you dig a little deeper you realize that these people are only moving in because
1) Everything is cheaper when compared to where they came from
2) Oil and Gas industry is very lucrative; TMC hires a great deal of people
3) You can live like Hammer on an average Joe income if your willing to drive 10mins. more.

to me the Younger generation supports my view; but i really want someone who actually likes the way things are and have their opinion...

[AK123]

You can thank Tom Delay sending our rail funds to Dallas for that...

[Supermac34]

You seem to really dislike Houston.

[dv1033]

Originally Posted by EEstudent

Its obvious; Houston is not any where near Chicago, San Francisco, or even Dallas(which has a great public transportation system).

Its pathetic really, for the amount of people that live "in" the city and surrounding areas, the fact that we have literally the smallest downtown for the amount of people is embarrassing.

But there are those suburbanites who just looove Houston! Why? because they come over into montrose,uptown, even midtown; and at the end of the day what do they do... the drive 30-40 mins home in the woodlands; katy; sugar land etc. leaving those areas to be cared for by the people that actually live within "city limits".

now i have mentioned so many times before that we need a change; we need a better skyline and a more "city" like feel. Places like South Hampton, West U., Kirby houses, bellaire, they need to get it together and realize that the fantasy days need to be over.

But there are a few who like Houston the way it is; lord knows why; but they do, now I think that all these highrises and apartments that are coming up are great; but there needs to be more commercial areas in between or your going to see a sea of highrises and condo's which will just be the same thing as S. hampton,West U., except they'll have 3-4+ stories instead of 2 stories.

Another possible hole in this argument is the fact that needs to be addressed is the fact that there are still people moving into houston; its evident just read the other posts HOWEVER if you dig a little deeper you realize that these people are only moving in because
1) Everything is cheaper when compared to where they came from
2) Oil and Gas industry is very lucrative; TMC hires a great deal of people
3) You can live like Hammer on an average Joe income if your willing to drive 10mins. more.

to me the Younger generation supports my view; but i really want someone who actually likes the way things are and have their opinion...

You again? Get off your pedestal please. You should actually look at facts and you will realize Houston has the biggest downtown in Texas. I'm sorry but you just don't know Houston. You have a right to your opinion and not everyone is going to like where they live but you just talk like you have some kind of huge grasp of Houston and you don't. Maybe if you had better circumstances or information you could be in a better situation.

I'm sorry you don't like our skyline. I personally think it is impressive and I'm well traveled. You seem to like Dallas so you should find a job there.

[tstone]

*sigh* The angst never ends. I've said it before, but it must suck harder & harder every additional day you have to live with your parents as a university student. I think it's only a matter of time before it completely breaks off.

People generally don't move to Texas, the land of reasonably priced, wide open spaces, to live like sardines in cans stacked on top of each other. Go to San Francisco for that (hopefully one of these days I'll get the opportunity). Those who come here to try to turn Houston into something it's not, are in for disappointment. Much of what you see is here to stay.

Many people who live in the city find a spouse, get some age, have a child and find the 'urban' environment has beat them down and they want space for the next phases of life. It's no longer about the 'me, myself & I' self-gratification like it used to be.

The 'fantasy days' that 'need to be over with' won't happen as long as the sunbelt phenomenon of sprawl continues. It is what it is. If your totalitarian tone is common with the younger generation (whatever that may be), I personally don't want anything to do with your ideas.

[chris_ut]

The great thing about living in a big, diverse country like the US is you can go move to the place that you like. Ranting on this message board is not going to change anything about Houston.

[kittyhawk]

I'm not sure what you'd like Houston to be. As is the case with all Sunbelt cities, we were not developed densely a'la NY or SF. Now we are playing catch-up to try and develop some dense urban pockets and better public transportation but it doesn't occur overnight.

And yes, most people come here for work and affordable housing. However, I can tell you that housing wouldn't be nearly as affordable if we were developed like NY and SF. Those cities were developed like that, not because they had a bunch of smart urban planners, but because of constraints on the available land. The Sunbelt cities had no such constraints. Houston is what it is and I think it's good to have a variety of dense urban development along with suburban type living if that's what you want. People in Sunbelt cities all seem to complain about the "car" lifestyle now because it's the "in" thing to do. However, there are a lot of people who have "fantasies" about living in Heights or Bellaire where they can be "in town" but still have a yard. I think, as a city, you need to offer both lifestyles to be competitive. Are we going to attact the liberal elite or the middle age hipsters here? Probably not, due to our Texas roots and oily reputation. However, I can tell you that we have diversified our city offerings recently.

Also, Houston has no reason to be ashamed of it's downtown when compared to other Sunbelt cities. It offerings are equal or better than all of them now and getting better all the time.

[coog78]

Seeing as you (OP) live in Sugarland your post makes sense. Sugarland IMO is one of the most wretched places on this planet.

[EEstudent]

Originally Posted by tstone

The 'fantasy days' that 'need to be over with' won't happen as long as the sunbelt phenomenon of sprawl continues. It is what it is. If your totalitarian tone is common with the younger generation (whatever that may be), I personally don't want anything to do with your ideas.

I didnt mean to be totalitarian i was just giving my VERY STRONG opinion.

Originally Posted by dv1033

You again? Get off your pedestal please. You should actually look at facts and you will realize Houston has the biggest downtown in Texas. I'm sorry but you just don't know Houston. You have a right to your opinion and not everyone is going to like where they live but you just talk like you have some kind of huge grasp of Houston and you don't. Maybe if you had better circumstances or information you could be in a better situation.

I'm sorry you don't like our skyline. I personally think it is impressive and I'm well traveled. You seem to like Dallas so you should find a job there.

Ok obviously your denying the fact that Houston is vastly different many of the other cities and lacks many amenities (i.e. Chicago, Boston, San Fran, etc.) have;

Besides I don't mean to rant on a pedestal; i just wanted to find out an educated persons opinion on why they like Houston the way it is!

But then again you sensitive types started crying about whats possibly wrong with me rather than coming with an educated statement.

[EEstudent]

Originally Posted by kittyhawk

I'm not sure what you'd like Houston to be. As is the case with all Sunbelt cities, we were not developed densely a'la NY or SF. Now we are playing catch-up to try and develop some dense urban pockets and better public transportation but it doesn't occur overnight.

And yes, most people come here for work and affordable housing. However, I can tell you that housing wouldn't be nearly as affordable if we were developed like NY and SF. Those cities were developed like that, not because they had a bunch of smart urban planners, but because of constraints on the available land. The Sunbelt cities had no such constraints. Houston is what it is and I think it's good to have a variety of dense urban development along with suburban type living if that's what you want. People in Sunbelt cities all seem to complain about the "car" lifestyle now because it's the "in" thing to do. However, there are a lot of people who have "fantasies" about living in Heights or Bellaire where they can be "in town" but still have a yard. I think, as a city, you need to offer both lifestyles to be competitive. Are we going to attact the liberal elite or the middle age hipsters here? Probably not, due to our Texas roots and oily reputation. However, I can tell you that we have diversified our city offerings recently.

Also, Houston has no reason to be ashamed of it's downtown when compared to other Sunbelt cities. It offerings are equal or better than all of them now and getting better all the time.

I can see that when Houston is not compared to the "ELITE" cities of the country and when it is compared to SUNBELT cities in particular then Houston has nothing to really worry about; We are among the best if you keep Houston to that standard.

I guess it matters which angle your looking at it.