Poppahop Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Has some good points, too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniepwils Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Most of what he says with regards to downtown is true. But then again what do you expect, we aren't a tourist attraction city or even pedestrian friendly (yet) ! If he wants that then he should have gone to San Fran or Manhattan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Oh, one final thing about Houston life per se. Judging by the local items in the daily newspaper, the so-called city enjoys a level of mayhem that makes Baghdad look like a Sussex garden party oh my - now who would ever think to judge our city and its goings-on by the headlines of our esteemed daily? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniepwils Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Oh, one final thing about Houston life per se. Judging by the local items in the daily newspaper, the so-called city enjoys a level of mayhem that makes Baghdad look like a Sussex garden partyoh my - now who would ever think to judge our city and its goings-on by the headlines of our esteemed daily?LOL, I know right! Didn't he grow up in NewYork? He of all people should know about big city crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Aren't convention centers SUPPOSED to be the size of aircraft carriers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieDidIt Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 "Where to begin? First off, we stamped out malaria a long time ago, you Yankee carpetbagger. And second Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 It's like he needs to certify that he's a true-blue "northerner" by complaining as much as possible about... well... nothing.America is filled with some really odd people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Name one city in America who does not have certain parts of the city shut down at night. Our downtown is not your nomral downtown, it's more or less high rise office parks. It's not like there is not action in the entire city after 5:00.But Houston seems to be working on it. There is a lot of construction to connect the CBD to the GRB.What would the world do without Expert Yankees? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moni Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Don't let this blowhard bother you. He doesn't represent the North or anywhere else. He just likes the sound of his own voice. And, no he is not right. I think his point about crime was that the print media in Houston, covered "petty" stuff as compared to NY and Chicago where these kinds of crimes wouldn't rate a mention. I don't care what anyone says about Houston, it is a beautiful city and those who don't think so can get the hell out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I don't care what anyone says about Houston, it is a beautiful city and those who don't think so can get the hell out.Great quote.Maybe part of why the convention center area looked like such a wasteland is that there is an enormous PARK under construction right there. Not to mention Houston Pavilions and all the other stuff that's going on to improve downtown life. This article is about twenty years late.If you're worried that all the out-of-town urban planning experts hate downtown, check out Blair Kamin's appraisal in the Chicago Tribune during the 2004 Super Bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C2H Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Great quote.This article is about twenty years late.This says it all, although i'd say its more like 5 years late.. Everything he's bitchin' about now is about to be turned around in a period of 2-5 years. So all the people who want to find fault with Houston's lack of pedestrian friendly/ restaurants downtown better get it out now while they can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 didn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 His fantasy is for us to get on his site and argue with him. HP alludes to that in the article when they mention his site stats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimberlySayWhat Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 MidtownCoog:His fantasy is for us to get on his site and argue with him. HP alludes to that in the article when they mention his site stats. That's what I was thinking. I don't know anything about him, but I was hoping no one from here would respond to him either on his site or by e-mail. He looks like he stinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 How many times have we read the same style rant? Houston's a place where hack writers can try for a cheap laugh when they're out of ideas for real stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 If you're worried that all the out-of-town urban planning experts hate downtown, check out Blair Kamin's appraisal in the Chicago Tribune during the 2004 Super Bowl.Do you have a link? I'd like to read it. Granted, the Super Bowl is a unique one time event that brings the party with it, but Downtown was THE place when it happened, and it seemed to pull it off fairly well. Oh, and that dingleberry blogger just needs to go on the other side of 45 or about a mile down westheimer to find night life, if that is his be all, end all. Drive an hour or so from one of the airports in Houston and you can be deep sea fishing, five star dining, racing motocross, receiving the best medical treatment in the world or watching a college football game with nearly 90,000 people. Try that in or around NYC or any other city in the world. There are many great places to live, and many cities have great things that they can boast. That doesn't make everywhere else trash. Oh well, such is internet discourse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 I'm sorry, but making one trip to one building near the convention center does not make Kunstler any authority over the subject. He's just a phony who hates Houston because of his own predispositions against petroleum, warm weather, etc.I could go to certain parts of NYC, or any city for that matter, and complain about the stench and many other things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 That guy only paid attention to the negative and not the changes happening to downtown. Didn't he notice all of the urban development going up around the GRB? The Park, HP, The high rises, etc? I guess he deliberately ignored all of the good to make Houston look unattractive to readers who have never been there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Aren't convention centers SUPPOSED to be the size of aircraft carriers?Absolutely. A growing convention center is a sign of a healthy economy.The only city I've ever seen reduce the size of its convention center is Oshkosh, Wisconsin -- and that's because that city is dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Name one city in America who does not have certain parts of the city shut down at night.Exactly. 24-hour lively downtowns are the exception in most cities around the world, not the rule. Even the downtowns of Chicago and Los Angeles and Hong Kong and Tokyo shut down at night, though at later hours than Houston and Dallas and Denver and such.When I travel, I usually end up roaming the streets between 4am and 7am, because it's quiet, deserted, and the few people who are awake are very busy and leave you alone. Any druggies, thugs, or drunks have long passed out or moved on. It's the safest time of the day, as far as I'm concerned.In spite of the self-loathing fantasies people have about the rest of the world, a quiet downtown is the way most of the world is. The only cities I've seen that are truly 24-hour is one small neighborhood of Tokyo (Roppongi Hills), a few areas of London, New York, and Las Vegas (but mostly just along the Strip). I suspect there's a 24-hour district in Moscow and Sao Paulo, but I've never been there so I can't say for a fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Absolutely. A growing convention center is a sign of a healthy economy.The only city I've ever seen reduce the size of its convention center is Oshkosh, Wisconsin -- and that's because that city is dying.Even Flint, Michigan went out of its way to revamp (or even rebuild) its convention facilities in lieu of the down economy and GM's gradual exodus back in the 80s. The bigger the facility, the bigger the events that can be held there, hence more people coming into town to spend much desired convention dollars. Makes sense both fiscally and intuitively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkjones98 Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 If you're worried that all the out-of-town urban planning experts hate downtown, check out Blair Kamin's appraisal in the Chicago Tribune during the 2004 Super Bowl.Link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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