H-Town Man

You would think that normally, growing popularity would be a good thing. The problem is, the people fueling the growth are newcomers who don't understand the neighborhood, and developers who don't care. The neighborhood itself should be able to control its own future. The neighborhood next to UT in Austin is a lot like Montrose - eclectic, a mixture of old cottages with new highrises, with all sorts of alternative-type stores. They are currently working on a zoning change that will raise the height limit of the neighborhood and require new highrises to have ground floor commercial property. There will also be strict rules on walkways and trees. The goal is to create an urban, pedestrian environment, and I have no doubt they'll succeed. Houston could succeed easily too. It isn't rocket science. It's just good government.