The Evolving Urban Form: Houston

[mhays]

Originally Posted by ThePhun1

I knew it wouldn't be long before the hammer came down against Houston in this thread.

You could participate in the discussion. Just a thought.

[mhays]

As for Houston's easy development rules, I'm sure they're easy in many ways, but the parking requirements are astonishing. The more urban cities are like bastions of freedom in comparison, in this regard.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by memph

The ZIP codes of central Houston (an area I defined with about 1 million people) grew by about 46,500 people between 2011 and 2015 based on the ACS.
http://www.socialexplorer.com/e2684351f9/view

There are other cities that can match that, but it's still solid growth.

Well that is going in the right direction, I suppose.


Oh and interesting map! I know it's using zip codes but man Houston, Atlanta and Dallas are so unbelievably not dense for major cities.

[ThePhun1]

Originally Posted by mhays

You could participate in the discussion. Just a thought.

I have taken part...but the thread title alone is enough to cue in the Houston bashers on this board.

[ChargerCarl]

I don't see many people "bashing" Houston, in fact I see a lot of people saying great things about it while also acknowledging how much better it can do.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by dktshb

...
Oh and interesting map! I know it's using zip codes but man Houston, Atlanta and Dallas are so unbelievably not dense for major cities.

It is a nice map - and you can toggle it to Census tracts or even block groups if you want a more fine-grained view.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Samwill89

Those are far from the best or worst of either city and it is certainly not the angle I'm pushing if you were to actually read my post.

Yeah, I read the post, and your angle was trying to use cherrypicked pictures from older, traditionally urban cities, to make a larger, inaccurate point about Houston's current development patterns. Put simply you were saying "Place A has this kind of stuff and is considered urban so Houston is too".

Originally Posted by Samwill89

The subject at hand is Houston's "evolving urban form".

What "evolving"? There's no "evolving" if you're building everything with two-car garages and complete auto subjugation. It's the same sprawl we've been building for 70 years. Of course the design particulars change somewhat over time, as market preferences are never static.

Originally Posted by Samwill89

Of course this isn't a "traditional urban framework"; Houston appears to be creating it's own version of urbanity, which may not appeal to many here.

You seem to be trying to explain the sprawl by claiming "it isn't sprawl, it's Houston's take on urbanity". I don't see anything unique about these developments, and don't understand how they're functionally different from auto-oriented stuff from past decades. It's just the 2017 version of typical Sunbelt sprawl.

[mhays]

It's a much denser version of suburban. Density and proximity can drive a lot of good things despite the problems.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by mhays

It's a much denser version of suburban. Density and proximity can drive a lot of good things despite the problems.

Increasing residential density is better than nothing, but the real crux of the problem is the lack of mixed uses within neighborhoods and the automobile-oriented design of the new developments themselves. Density aside, the other 2 "D"s that support walking and transit use - diversity and design - are still lacking.

Houston still has pretty segregated land use patterns, even if it doesn't have zoning. You are not going to see commercial uses being shoehorned onto the side streets of established residential neighborhoods.

[maru2501]

is Austin developing a better urban form because it became popular slower and later? If that's true?

I don't know that much about texas although I have been to both places

[Reverberation]

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

Maybe, but I'm not sure. It's not like Houston has the same regulatory environment that pre-war cities existed in, it's building code still heavily promotes suburban sprawl.

I would say it's hard to change zoning and building codes from suburban to urban.

The Sunset District in San Francisco has not changed since it was built. It may as well be a museum devoted to west coast urban development in the 1920s. I would personally be cool with that and I imagine most of the area's residents would as well.





Source

The same goes for much of Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Chicago. In the cases of Chicago and San Francisco, much of the existing fabric of the city was built all at once on the charred ruins of what was there before.

Crawford along with others who keep nagging Houston for it's auto-centric development style will never be happy. Their beef with Houston is that it didn't exist in 1860 and/or wasn't a big city in 1900 - and therefore cannot legally or functionally be built out the same way cities which existed in 1860 and/or had grown large by 1900, and/or were built all at once at those times were.

Houston's Sprawl:

Source

Houston's Infill:

Source


Source


Source


Source


Source

What the city is doing that others can't or aren't is incubating creative ways to be urban, walkable, and auto-centric at the same time. If you look closely at those photos you can see many developers trying all sorts of different ways to get cars off of the streets while maximizing built area. If you live in these areas, you probably need to drive to work. But when you get home, you can walk to whatever you want. This way, the needs of the most people who don't have Crawford's "curated" needs for 19th century amenities can be served without wasting land. Thus the urban form is evolving into a 21st century form and Houston is its American incubator.

[dc_denizen]

good pics..houston's infill in and around the inner loop is generally attractive and appears to use land relatively efficiently.

how is north Seattle any better than those pics, for example? Or SE Portland?

it's the abundance of big arterial roads, vs lack of walkable commercial strips, that I dislike about Houston. Distance to shopping/activities is usually long..That, and the lack of real public transit.

[Xing]

Originally Posted by ThePhun1

I have taken part...but the thread title alone is enough to cue in the Houston bashers on this board.

As city lovers, if you're going to pass up a dense, iconic city like Philadelphia, then you Houston forumers, as city lovers, need to get on your city leaders to step it up. You can keep the bar low, or you could raise it high. We know what big cities are suppose to be like, and much like LA was several decades ago (its waaaaay better now), Houston should criticize and expect more from its leaders. Look at LA's transportation system. It's art scene has exploded. Culture , and neighborhoods are improving. All these things could happen to Houston too. If you expect mediocrity, you'll get it.

[Double L]

Originally Posted by Xing

As city lovers, if you're going to pass up a dense, iconic city like Philadelphia, then you Houston forumers, as city lovers, need to get on your city leaders to step it up. You can keep the bar low, or you could raise it high. We know what big cities are suppose to be like, and much like LA was several decades ago (its waaaaay better now), Houston should criticize and expect more from its leaders. Look at LA's transportation system. It's art scene has exploded. Culture , and neighborhoods are improving. All these things could happen to Houston too. If you expect mediocrity, you'll get it.

Uh, I like Houston way better than LA or Philadelphia. Houston has a way better economy, is more prosperous, has more money, more diversity, is cheaper, your money can get you farther in Houston, I only need to afford rent of $1,000/month to live in an urban area like downtown. Plus, the city is more car friendly and easier to drive. Yes, I am a city lover, for the reasons stated above. Density isn't everything.

[Ant131531]

Yeah those pictures look really dense....Houston just needs to create walkable commericial strips honestly....side streets are residential...main arteries are commercial...allows people who live on the residential streets to walk to the shops on the main commerical street.

With how gangbusters Houston grows, it wouldn't be hard. It would take 10 years...maybe 15.

[JManc]

Of course the usual suspects are going to chime in a Houston and remind themselves it's not a real city and then proceed to compare it to real cities. Houston is a car-oriented city. That's never going change. We like our cars down here even if we want higher quality development. This isn't fucking Seattle or San Francisco. People are voting with their feet even if the city doesn't pass SSP muster...it's still the fastest growing city in the country despite the downturn in the oil industry.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by Double L

Uh, I like Houston way better than LA or Philadelphia. Houston has a way better economy, is more prosperous, has more money, more diversity, is cheaper, your money can get you farther in Houston, I only need to afford rent of $1,000/month to live in an urban area like downtown. Plus, the city is more car friendly and easier to drive. Yes, I am a city lover, for the reasons stated above. Density isn't everything.

How is it more diverse than LA?

Have you seen how many large Asian groups are represented in LA? There's 300-400,000 Filpinos here, yet you never hear about them in LA's make up. Does Houston have hundreds of thousands of Iranians, Russians, Jews etc?
LA is a top 5 global city for diversity probably.Maybe top 3. People harp on the Mexico thing way too much.

Way better economy? LA's GDP destroys Houston.

[LA21st]

Houston just doesnt look that interesting to me. It looks like how much of LA was back in the 1960s or something.

[Double L]

Originally Posted by LA21st

How is it more diverse than LA?

Have you seen how many large Asian groups are represented in LA? There's 300-400,000 Filpinos here, yet you never hear about them in LA's make up. Does Houston have hundreds of thousands of Iranians, Russians, Jews etc?
LA is a top 5 global city for diversity probably.Maybe top 3. People harp on the Mexico thing way too much.

Way better economy? LA's GDP destroys Houston.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1321089.html

The economy thing was more referencing Philadelphia.

[LA21st]

The huffington post article is ALWAYS mentioned.

Do you really believe houston is more diverse than la and nyc?
Thats like saying its the most diverse on the planet.

Houston, Texas.

Yea. Sure.