Quote:
Originally Posted by fangorangutang
Great pics! I wish we had townhomes like that here in Portland.
I've heard that Houston is the "worst planned city" in the US. I don't know if this is true, and perhaps people are just basing it on its lack of zoning regulations (correct?). But how is that actually working out for Houston in terms of quality of life, development, and transportation issues? Clearly the city is making great progress.
|
Public infrastructure in Houston is perhaps the MOST planned in the nation. But private development is by far the LEAST planned in the nation.
The lack of zoning has led to developers doing what the market want up until now (suburban sprawl), but it also will allow for massive densification once Houstonians begin to flock to the urban lifestyle as they have in Atlanta.
For us urban lovers, Houston's lack of regulation will actually help our cause, because any regulation created in Houston would almost certainly be slanted towards the typical suburban code (some exceptions apply), which inhibits urban growth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glowrock
Great infrastructure? Certainly not in terms of mass transit of any sort, at least. Sure, the freeway/road infrastructure is good, but Houston needs MUCH better transit (both rail and bus) service if it's really going to be able to densify very much without the traffic simply becoming unbearable.
Aaron (Glowrock)
|
Yes, I meant roads (of coarse). But, the government/significant % of the people, have only wanted only roads up until now. And with that they have planned and invested like no other city. "Infrastructure" doesnt just pertain to the type we desire, but all types. Also, their Bus transit is very good, imo. But I think most of us know that the type of person moving into urban areas now, are not the type of person that will just jump on a bus for the fun of it.
And, densification doesnt proportionally equal to additional traffic. If the city increases density by 25%, it will not have 25% more cars on the road at any given time, because trips will become shorter, thus cars take up millage on the road.