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Houston and the Miles and Miles of Ugly!


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Do some people's friends REALLY equate the scenery with your worthiness as a friend? I'm trying to imagine how that conversation would go...

Friend: Wow, this freeway runs through a slum. You must be a loser.

Me: I'm not a loser. I don't own those properties.

Friend: You live here. Those properties are ugly. Therefore, you are a loser. I can't wait to tell our other friends.

Me: Please don't. I'll be embarrassed.

Friend: Too late. Already texted them on my Iphone, you loser. BTW, what do you think of my new Abercrombie shirt?

Thanks for that, it was awesome. I needed a good laugh after having to go back to work.

All the people that come visit us here just get freaked out about how big it is and that everyone driving is a maniac. And then of course how much we know about the city, mostly due to HAIF.

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Sao Paulo presents an interesting case study of what happens when the signs and billboards are removed. A ban on outdoor advertising would never work here, but many communities in the U.S. do regulate signage to be compatible and appropriate with their surroundings and protective of property values. For example, Colleyville TX regulates the size, location, maximum height, and illumination of signs as well as setting safety requirements. I believe the Woodlands also has some regulations, as many storefront signs along I45 are close to the ground and of similar size.
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So you take out of town visitors on "Tour de Hood" trips too? :P

In all honesty, its what they all want. Most of my friends and family are from small towns, cities, and the straight-up farm country. A stroll down West Montgomery, Scott, or Bissonnet and they are always floored. I get bonus points when I take them down Bellaire to see our Suburban strip-mall Chinatown.

Country come to town!

i feel embarassed for the people who take their visitors to pf chang's and cheesecake factory.

WHY? My parents are 1. old, and 2. white. You think they'd ever try anything beyond a place like Cheesecake Factory!? Besides, when they're paying I don't complain! :lol:

Do some people's friends REALLY equate the scenery with your worthiness as a friend? I'm trying to imagine how that conversation would go...

Friend:...

Me...

I've seen this conversation take place between my wife and some of her vapid friends. Ugh..

All the people that come visit us here just get freaked out about how big it is and that everyone driving is a maniac. And then of course how much we know about the city, mostly due to HAIF.

Is that not the best compliment? I love getting that one. ^_^

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Do some people's friends REALLY equate the scenery with your worthiness as a friend? I'm trying to imagine how that conversation would go...

Friend: Wow, this freeway runs through a slum. You must be a loser.

Me: I'm not a loser. I don't own those properties.

Friend: You live here. Those properties are ugly. Therefore, you are a loser. I can't wait to tell our other friends.

Me: Please don't. I'll be embarrassed.

Friend: Too late. Already texted them on my Iphone, you loser. BTW, what do you think of my new Abercrombie shirt?

best reply yet....it is like these people have never been anywhere else on earth

watch the opening of any Sopranos episode......all I see is old run down trashed crap....does that mean the entire place is like that....uh no......ever seen a pic of Detroit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUT07eZoXPw

and did someone REALLY use phoenix and Vegas as an example when complaining about Houstons sprawl.....don't you think LA would have been a better example :lol:

look at wonderful Philly......nothing but wonderful farmland all over the place with urban ranchers....so pleasant and peaceful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjpPEwnAjOk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRO-kuoQxBw

I can't imagine traveling with some of you clueless

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I love how some of you HAIF jokers love to pick apart one small portion of a paragraph. I also said that Houston is not alone on the ugly list, it joins its cousins Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, parts of Chicago, Detroit, NYC, and etc. Houston is not Palm Springs or Colorado. It's a giant metropolis where people live rather than appreciate beauty. I just wish that there wasn't so much dilapidated junk off the freeway for visitors to see. That's what makes the hosts of events such as the Olympics come to this town and crown Houston as "too ugly" to host this event, an event that could bring millions of dollars to the city.

Furthermore, Phoenix may be sprawling but it doesn't have half the run down looking buildings that Houston has, same with Las Vegas/Henderson areas. Just look at downtown Houston. Can anybody really answer why the Central Square Building and the Old Days Inn building are still standing? There may have been proposals to rehab those buildings, but they are far from reality. They also sit in the core of the city, there's no excuse for that.

So, rag on my posts all you want! I don't care what any of you clowns think. As i said before Houston is an awesome city, but it needs to improve the look of its freeways and that's all there is to it. Trees for Houston? Good attempt but as many freeways and concrete Houston has, it needs more.

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I love how some of you HAIF jokers love to pick apart one small portion of a paragraph. I also said that Houston is not alone on the ugly list, it joins its cousins Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, parts of Chicago, Detroit, NYC, and etc. Houston is not Palm Springs or Colorado. It's a giant metropolis where people live rather than appreciate beauty. I just wish that there wasn't so much dilapidated junk off the freeway for visitors to see. That's what makes the hosts of events such as the Olympics come to this town and crown Houston as "too ugly" to host this event, an event that could bring millions of dollars to the city.

Furthermore, Phoenix may be sprawling but it doesn't have half the run down looking buildings that Houston has, same with Las Vegas/Henderson areas. Just look at downtown Houston. Can anybody really answer why the Central Square Building and the Old Days Inn building are still standing? There may have been proposals but they are far from reality. They also sit in the core of the city, there's no excuse for that.

So, rag on my posts all you want! I don't care what any of you clowns think. As i said before Houston is an awesome city, but it needs to improve the look of its freeways and that's all there is to it. Trees for Houston? Good attempt but as many freeways and concrete Houston has, it needs more.

It is telling that the 2 cities you put up to make your point that Houston is ugly...Phoenix and Las Vegas...hardly existed 60 years ago. In 1950, Phoenix had barely 100,000 people. Vegas is worse, having a population of 258,000 as recently as 1990. It appears that your argument is that Houston, like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Philly and Detroit, is not NEW enough to suit your tastes. That is not surprising. There is an entire generation of people who mistakenly equate new with better. I will spare you the lecture about why this is not necessarily true.

I will point out something that you and others do constantly. You judge Houston from its freeway views. I am wholly uninterested in the opinions of those who cannot even exit the freeway before complaining about the city. Seriously, WHO CARES what the city looks like from the freeway? If your friends are judging cities from freeways, as opposed to actually driving through a neighborhood, why should anyone of us Houstonians care about such superficiality...and why do you?

Denver built a huge noise reduction wall on the main freeway (I-25) with little concrete designs when they expanded their LRT. That helped hide some of their blight. I think if Houston did that it would help.

I think a wall is the only answer to the problem since it doesn't appear that the shabby businesses off 45 aren't going anywhere. SOMETHING definitely needs to be done!!!

Yes, Beijing did this with their slums during the Olympics. I want to be like them! :unsure:

Potemkin Village

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Furthermore, Phoenix may be sprawling but it doesn't have half the run down looking buildings that Houston has, same with Las Vegas/Henderson areas. Just look at downtown Houston. Can anybody really answer why the Central Square Building and the Old Days Inn building are still standing? There may have been proposals but they are far from reality. They also sit in the core of the city, there's no excuse for that.

So, rag on my posts all you want! I don't care what any of you clowns think. As i said before Houston is an awesome city, but it needs to improve the look of its freeways and that's all there is to it. Trees for Houston? Good attempt but as many freeways and concrete Houston has, it needs more.

so when you get to tierwester what do you tell your friends/visitors?

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Seriously, WHO CARES what the city looks like from the freeway?

The Olympics committe did. I guess I get tired of hearing the same thing from different people about my city. They say they like Houston and say it has alot going on but they say some of the areas off the freeway look like Baghdad. I would just like the city to start caring a little more.

so when you get to tierwester what do you tell your friends/visitors?

Well, its easy, i tell em I'm in da hood! But as of October, I'm not living back at home. I live off Main & 610 !!!

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The Olympics committe did. I guess I get tired of hearing the same thing from different people about my city. They say they like Houston and say it has alot going on but they say some of the areas off the freeway look like Baghdad. I would just like the city to start caring a little more.

And you buy that? And you think Beijing is just a massive flower garden? You really ought not believe every rumor you hear.

BTW, I am glad we did not get the bankruptcy known as the Olympics. We can much better spend that infrastructure money on things that make the RESIDENTS' lives better. The Super Bowl can kiss off, too. They are all just con jobs on the cities and their residents. None of them improve our living conditions.

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And you buy that? And you think Beijing is just a massive flower garden? You really ought not believe every rumor you hear.

BTW, I am glad we did not get the bankruptcy known as the Olympics. We can much better spend that infrastructure money on things that make the RESIDENTS' lives better. The Super Bowl can kiss off, too. They are all just con jobs on the cities and their residents. None of them improve our living conditions.

actually the superbowl is an economic win for the cities that host it.....saying it is not would be the same as saying tear down the GRB because all those people coming to town, spending the night at hotels, eating in restaurants, and spending money for entertainment don't do anything for the quality of life

as for the Olympics when it is done wrong I agree it can cost a city.....but the amazing thing about Houston in particular of all the cities that have not hosted an Olympics is that pretty soon Houston will probably be in a position to host an Olympics with the least cost of additional infrastructure of any "new" host city in the world and long as Houston sticks to currently available or planned facilities and if planned and executed properly the additional infrastructure (with a few exceptions) could be a boom for Houston and the long term future of Houston.....properly designed and constructed additional or replacement dorms at TSU, UH, Rice and maybe even UHD would be great for those schools and a well planned and non-over the top refurb of existing facilities would be great as well....especially when a large amount of federal, sponsor, and private money is used....I think Atlanta did well with theirs, but I am sure there were some things they spent too much on......but they were going to build a new baseball facility (tearing part down was a waste) and their universities made use of and received dorms and other new facilities and it was an upgrade for many of their public spaces.....public spaces that Houston currently has many of already....just because some places do something wrong does not mean Houston has to follow their lead or we need to run and window dress (for way too much money) perfectly fine existing facilities

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skin color is not a factor. trae likes to take his dates there!

My wallet disapproved.

And the girls out here don't care much for some good Timmy Chan's or Frenchy's. By the way, most of my dates are white.

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After reading through this, I can see many people see the issues in a similar light as I do. Generally, the city has some beauty and some ugly. Let's call it the Ugly Duckling for now. As the city further matures, there will always be opportunities to think "beautification". That idea has already been leveraged on some of its freeways. Put away the idea of sound walls for beautify. That is just more concrete. Instead, get green with the thinking. The freeways and viaducts of traffic where transient people passing through get their impression of the city and those coming into the city get their initial impression. Look at I45 where many trees have been planted. Those pines are growing and will in time (10 years) make the trip on the freeway much much more pleasant. Trash on the road needs to have a clean strategy similar to what we have for paths. "Adopt a Freeway plan". The problem with the current situation is that the cleanup is too infrequent. It costs money. Comparing new rebuilt freeways with old ones causes the comparison to be tainted. Newness almost always makes a structure look cleaner. Taking something old and making it look better is often a job for landscaping but we can't forget that some buildings can be washed and painted. A number of structures on the freeways need to be cleaned up but how do you go about it? With freeway frontage taxes? On another front, there are areas of concrete jungles where one "feels" a totally run down city. I "feel" that in Southwest Houston around Hillcroft. There seems to be no dirt at all, and there may be no solution for areas like that, except a bulldozer. Heavy traffic, small lots, tightly packed commercial areas on streets that have been widened since inception to improve area transportation issues, dominate the landscape there.

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It is telling that the 2 cities you put up to make your point that Houston is ugly...Phoenix and Las Vegas...hardly existed 60 years ago. In 1950, Phoenix had barely 100,000 people. Vegas is worse, having a population of 258,000 as recently as 1990. It appears that your argument is that Houston, like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Philly and Detroit, is not NEW enough to suit your tastes. That is not surprising. There is an entire generation of people who mistakenly equate new with better. I will spare you the lecture about why this is not necessarily true.

I will point out something that you and others do constantly. You judge Houston from its freeway views. I am wholly uninterested in the opinions of those who cannot even exit the freeway before complaining about the city. Seriously, WHO CARES what the city looks like from the freeway? If your friends are judging cities from freeways, as opposed to actually driving through a neighborhood, why should anyone of us Houstonians care about such superficiality...and why do you?

I think his point is that most people's first impressions come from the freeways when visiting Houston. It's not as if we have any real mass transit, so the view outsiders get is always going to be our tacky and dilapidated freeway scenery. Many visitors (especially those on business or convention trips) will fly into IAH or Hobby and drive directly to their hotel and then their meeting locations. Many of them either aren't aware or won't have the time to investigate the nicer parts of Houston, which are almost always a good distance from the freeways and the cornucopia of trashy consumerism that uglify them.

I personally don't find Las Vegas to be the least bit attractive. The only advantage Phoenix has is the newness and lack of mold and mildew sullying everything due to their dry climate. In Houston, we tend to build on the cheap, and these cheap buildings tend to look pretty bad after just a few years of dealing with the often humid climate.

I think the trees will definitely help soften the view from the freeways, but you could also argue that business owners could take more pride in the appearance of their facilities. People tend to want to frequent the bigger, cleaner and nicer gas station or furniture store than the dilapidated one, so perhaps the natural progression of demand and development will do away with the uglier ones over time. The one thing I'd really like to see is an ordinance to control the commercial signs. As others have pointed out, this visual blight smothers the view from the freeways more than any of the buildings.

i45_s_of_bw8_20-may-2001_hres.jpg

(north freeway pic from texasfreeways.com)

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I think his point is that most people's first impressions come from the freeways when visiting Houston. It's not as if we have any real mass transit, so the view outsiders get is always going to be our tacky and dilapidated freeway scenery. Many visitors (especially those on business or convention trips) will fly into IAH or Hobby and drive directly to their hotel and then their meeting locations. Many of them either aren't aware or won't have the time to investigate the nicer parts of Houston, which are almost always a good distance from the freeways and the cornucopia of trashy consumerism that uglify them.

I personally don't find Las Vegas to be the least bit attractive. The only advantage Phoenix has is the newness and lack of mold and mildew sullying everything due to their dry climate. In Houston, we tend to build on the cheap, and these cheap buildings tend to look pretty bad after just a few years of dealing with the often humid climate.

I think the trees will definitely help soften the view from the freeways, but you could also argue that business owners could take more pride in the appearance of their facilities. People tend to want to frequent the bigger, cleaner and nicer gas station or furniture store than the dilapidated one, so perhaps the natural progression of demand and development will do away with the uglier ones over time. The one thing I'd really like to see is an ordinance to control the commercial signs. As others have pointed out, this visual blight smothers the view from the freeways more than any of the buildings.

i45_s_of_bw8_20-may-2001_hres.jpg

(north freeway pic from texasfreeways.com)

You, Tierwester and a few others get my points and the reasoning behind me creating this thread.

If I'm writing about you, you aren't exactly in your fifteen minutes of fame quite yet. :lol:

Are you Katharine Shilcutt Gleave?

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I think his point is that most people's first impressions come from the freeways when visiting Houston. It's not as if we have any real mass transit, so the view outsiders get is always going to be our tacky and dilapidated freeway scenery. Many visitors (especially those on business or convention trips) will fly into IAH or Hobby and drive directly to their hotel and then their meeting locations. Many of them either aren't aware or won't have the time to investigate the nicer parts of Houston, which are almost always a good distance from the freeways and the cornucopia of trashy consumerism that uglify them.

I personally don't find Las Vegas to be the least bit attractive. The only advantage Phoenix has is the newness and lack of mold and mildew sullying everything due to their dry climate. In Houston, we tend to build on the cheap, and these cheap buildings tend to look pretty bad after just a few years of dealing with the often humid climate.

I think the trees will definitely help soften the view from the freeways, but you could also argue that business owners could take more pride in the appearance of their facilities. People tend to want to frequent the bigger, cleaner and nicer gas station or furniture store than the dilapidated one, so perhaps the natural progression of demand and development will do away with the uglier ones over time. The one thing I'd really like to see is an ordinance to control the commercial signs. As others have pointed out, this visual blight smothers the view from the freeways more than any of the buildings.

i45_s_of_bw8_20-may-2001_hres.jpg

(north freeway pic from texasfreeways.com)

Your point about the lack of mass transit jumped out at me and made me think... Yes, it's the view from the freeways that gives Houston the ugly label, but I've got a theory. As others have pointed out, many other cities have this same type of blight. It may be more excessive in Houston, but why is it that other people don't mention these blighted areas so much when they visit these other cities? I think it's that Houston doesn't have a single common destination that visitors gravitate to. Think about it. In Austin, tourists go to Sixth Street. In San Antonio, it's the Riverwalk and Alamo. In New Orleans, it's the French Quarter. Maybe Dallas's West End or Deep Ellum areas. I don't know if they are still in use? Regardless, I think the experiences people have in these entertainment districts helps to mitigate the blight or ugliness the city may have by taking the focus away from it. People remember their time in the touristy areas, how they looked, how they were treated, what a fun time they had. They don't remember the ugly drive on the way in or out. Houston doesn't have an entertainment district. All we have is us! When folks come to visit us, we can direct them to a few places, or drive them around ourselves to places we know, but it's not the same thing. And in all that driving on the freeways they're just seeing more blight. Sure, there's Kemah and the Museum District, but look at how far-flung these places are from each other. So maybe the answer is that Houston needs to become more tourist-friendly by highlighting (and improving) an existing area, or areas, and promoting it/them as the "entertainment district," or create one from scratch. Having a common tourist destination would help people forget about "the miles and miles of ugly."

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It's a lot of things away from the freeways that can be do too. For instants, on Westhimer going east from 610, you must pass over railroad tracks before you get to Highland Village. That kind of distracts from the niceness of the area. I don't see why the fourth largest city in America would have railroad tracks over one of it's main street. The city of Bryan had a similar problem with tracks over one of its main streets (Villa Maria Rd), but has since created a very nice over and under pass for that are. I will post pictures if I can find some and may even start a whole new topic on enhancing Westhimer.

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I will post pictures if I can find some and may even start a whole new topic on enhancing Westhimer.

Please do. I'm dying to see what your dream city would look like, with none of those ghastly railroad crossings, billboards or undistinguished "junky" buildings actually being used for business.

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It's a lot of things away from the freeways that can be do too. For instants, on Westhimer going east from 610, you must pass over railroad tracks before you get to Highland Village. That kind of distracts from the niceness of the area. I don't see why the fourth largest city in America would have railroad tracks over one of it's main street. The city of Bryan had a similar problem with tracks over one of its main streets (Villa Maria Rd), but has since created a very nice over and under pass for that are. I will post pictures if I can find some and may even start a whole new topic on enhancing Westhimer.

Those railroad tracks have been in that location since the 1800s, long before Highland Village was developed. Westheimer had little traffic, as it was an unpaved rural road at the time, so a crossing at that location really didn't matter. The city has grown up and evolved in spite of this intersection, and has created a fairly interesting juxtaposition of the gritty industrial railroad adjacent to an upscale shopping district that is focused on image.

Personally, I like the juxtaposition, since many goods sold in the Highland Village stores come in from the west coast ports on those tracks, so you get a reminder that the pretty store is really just one point in the whole manufacturing/retail process, parts of which are not pretty.

That said, Highland Village traffic is out of control. An overpass/underpass configuration at that location would probably alleviate some traffic flow issues, but it would involve condemning some very valuable real estate.

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How about the drive into Austin from the East side past the Airport, THAT is ugly.

And San Antonio is worse than Houston as well from the freeways.

We all have are ugly sides.

This is like complaining to your teacher in class for being busted for talking, or chewing gum, because so-and-so was also chewing gum or talking. It's not about other classmates... it's about you.

Same thing with trying to make Houston look better, or worse, by trying to compare it to other cities. The fact is, this city, irrespective of others, has visual pollution that must be destroyed; its owners taken to a wood shed.

EDIT: And to people who say that restricting signage or billboards is fascist or trying to be the "tacky police" - to them I say, check the deed restrictions in your own neighborhood. If I, as a homeowner, cannot erect a 100 foot flag pole in my yard, and am forced to keep the grass cut to no more than 4" tall... and those restrictions, on me, and my property, are legal... then why the hell is so bad to ask business owners to do the same thing? Why is it "OK" to restrict a private residence... but not a business? And for those whose deed restrictions have expired... look at the war zone your neighborhood has turned into.

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