Why did Houston and DFW develop so differently? (Dallas, Austin: crime, incomes)

[R1070]

Originally Posted by Bosford

We wanted authentic Chinese. Mom and Pop style. I am almost certain the place he took us to did not serve alcohol. But I will let him know about Steel in case he has not discovered it.

I don’t know about mom and pop Chinese, but Oak Lawn has a lot of really good Asian spots.

As for the sidewalk thing…Montrose, you mention, has streets without any sidewalks and just ditches between the street and homes. Oak Lawn is definitely better than Montrose in being more pedestrian friendly.

[R1070]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

It’s not about the emptiness. Las Colinas is great and getting better. It’s about the inefficiency. Neither Las Colinas nor DFW in general are places where you can get from point A to point B without getting in a car at some point. While it’s nice to have that DART station, it’s only used by a very small fraction of the population because at some point, getting in the car is necessary. And no, this isn’t a DFW specific thing. Houston and any other car centric city are the same way.

DART light rail and the area commuter rail lines are designed for future development to fill in and utilize it. The bones are there for the expected growth of the region. For inner city Dallas…expanding the streetcar system is the plan to connect neighborhoods. The Houston rail functions more like the expanded streetcar line will in Dallas.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by R1070

DART light rail and the area commuter rail lines are designed for future development to fill in and utilize it. The bones are there for the expected growth of the region. For inner city Dallas…expanding the streetcar system is the plan to connect neighborhoods. The Houston rail functions more like the expanded streetcar line will in Dallas.

And this will still be a small fraction of the metro. And the problem is that even those who are in proximity won’t be able to get to their destinations consistently without at some point getting into a car. The bones were established decades ago and DFW is surpassing 7 million in population. The bones have been laid out for a long time and there’s no reach to the vast majority that isn’t in walking distance of transit.

That said, I don’t think any of these car centric cities will forever have the same modes of transport, but it won’t be due to rail but by newer transportation technologies including automation.

The Houston Metrorail doesn’t function like the Dallas streetcar. If functions like the downtown portions of DART. This is part of the reason DART is looking into the D2

[dallasboi]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

And this will still be a small fraction of the metro. And the problem is that even those who are in proximity won’t be able to get to their destinations consistently without at some point getting into a car. The bones were established decades ago and DFW is surpassing 7 million in population. The bones have been laid out for a long time and there’s no reach to the vast majority that isn’t in walking distance of transit.

That said, I don’t think any of these car centric cities will forever have the same modes of transport, but it won’t be due to rail but by newer transportation technologies including automation.

The Houston Metrorail doesn’t function like the Dallas streetcar. If functions like the downtown portions of DART. This is part of the reason DART is looking into the D2

Dfw is closer to 8 million people.... Houston is just now surpassing 7 million...

[spacecitytx]

Originally Posted by EDS_

This is city to city.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/14/top-...-wealth-x.html

Lol...okay. So we resort to the internet, eh?

Fine...Dallas is the "richer" city.

Here's a list of the GREATEST cities from around the world.... https://www.houstoniamag.com/news-an...st-places-2021


And before you say it, this is in TIME MAGAZINE...not the National Enquirer or something. Dallas is nowhere on the list.

So if I agree that Dallas is the "Richer" city, will you then agree that Houston is the "Better" city? You know, since we're using internet sources??

[spacecitytx]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

I do, just not as productive as it could be. The design could be a bit better and if they are going to spend a decade on it, it could at least offer some additional free capacity (along with the Max lanes). But the biggest issue with 45 isn't even the traffic, its that the freeway is unsafe - #1 for most accidents per mile in the entire country.

https://www.houstoniamag.com/news-an...ighway-america

We do need tons more public transportation options all over the city but the reality is that the road is always going to be there as well. It's always been a dangerous, poorly designed road and that particular stretch between 610 and the Beltway is the worst part of the entire freeway.

Correct.

A couple of years ago, I would have given that title to the stretch of 290 between 610 and Jones Rd. The flashbacks STILL scare me, lol.

[spacecitytx]

Originally Posted by dallasboi

Dfw is closer to 8 million people.... Houston is just now surpassing 7 million...

As long as you admit that it's the WHOLE of DFW that's close to 8 million...AND NOT DALLAS ITSELF...I see no issues with this.

Houston still wins.

[walker1962]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Have you ever been to Las Colinas? It doesn't really sound like it. The Las Colinas DART station is one block from empty land. It's 1/2 mile catchment is probably less than 10k people. The west side could be better, since it's developed, but it's blocked by highway 114 and then the Country Club. The next station south is the University of Dallas, but it's on the opposite side of the highway from the campus. Surrounded by highway and empty land. Maybe 50 years from now, both will be in prime walkable areas, but now they are not. Irving and Las Colinas are both less uniformly dense than Dallas too (which is pretty low).





I disagree about Dallas, though I'm not sure about Houston. Deep Ellum and Oak Lawn are improving as night life districts because more people live there, not because it's easier for people from the suburbs to go there. They have been adding residents for a solid decade. Before that? Not many people actually lived there, so they required suburban population to survive, but Deep Ellum wasn't particularly special, so suburban people went to closer places. Hence why it died. Not crime, not anything else.

The University of Dallas station isn't a walkable area now for sure but it won't be 50 years before that area is redeveloped. For those who don't know, old Texas Stadium was just across the freeway interchange. The area has good potential for several reasons:
1. Its within 5 miles of Love Field and and 6.5 miles to DFW International Airport
2. Its about 2 miles to Las Colinas and 7 miles to Downtown Dallas and 10 miles to the far north Dallas employment center.
3. Its in the middle of a three highway triangle.
4. Where Texas Stadium was are essentially cleared and it won't take much to begin new site work. The site covers 90 acres.
5. The city of Irving has designated it as a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ).

[walker1962]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

You think the expansion of I-45 is productive? Destroying homes and businesses to “ease” congestion is everything but counterproductive. Especially considering the pushback it’s gotten from local activist and even the city itself. Houston has more freeways than LA yet has less people. We don’t need wider lanes to accommodate that. You can easily build more public transportation options and pedestrian friendly communities to accommodate those people.

Plus there’s no proof that more lanes reduce congestion. We already have the widest lanes in the state yet still have the worst traffic in the state.

Having been to metro L.A. many times and being a Houston native, the statement that the latter has MORE freeways than the former is misinformation
Houston freeways:
Highway 288, I 10, I 45, Beltway 8, Hwy 290, Hardy tollway, Grandparkway, Loop 610.

Los Angeles - I10, I 110, I 210, I 410, I 710, 101, I-5, I 105 and I 405. This list doesn't include any of the CA designated tollways like 57,60, 91, and 134

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by spacecitytx

Lol...okay. So we resort to the internet, eh?

Fine...Dallas is the "richer" city.

Here's a list of the GREATEST cities from around the world.... https://www.houstoniamag.com/news-an...st-places-2021


And before you say it, this is in TIME MAGAZINE...not the National Enquirer or something. Dallas is nowhere on the list.

So if I agree that Dallas is the "Richer" city, will you then agree that Houston is the "Better" city? You know, since we're using internet sources??

In this case, "the internet" is Wealth-X, you know likely the leading private authority on wealth worldwide. I posted that to refute incorrect claims made above by others.

We don't need to agree about which is the richer city/area. We know Dallas/DFW is by most useful metrics.


I'm certainly not going to move because of Time Mag. piece.