totheskies

The value is worth it because the garages are patrolled and have security cameras. Even before the one garage, there was never enough parking for all of the students. UH main has about 35,000 students, and only 4,000 or so actually live on campus, or within walking distance. Mass transit users is at best about 2500, and there were never 27,500 surace lot parking spaces. Garages are the way to go for several reasons: bottom floor retail and office space; increased security for the vehicles; an ability to provide more spaces per student; and increased revenue to the university (once they're paid for). It's the only sensible option in my opinion. The administration is also going to beef up the campus shuttle systems so students remember to utilize them. Back to the other developments... the whole campus is going to look and feel very exciting in the next few years. The master plan has already been amended for the rail station, so we'll have a lot more retail to work with in the Wheeler area.

Sounds great, but can 290 traffic POSSIBLY GET ANY WORSE??????

Oh, nay-sayers nay-sayers... I'm all for preservation and stuff, but this is one sweet action project. Houston needs to get out of it's funk and reclaim some of our architectural legacy. Cheap infill ain't gonna do it, so we better build up. The contrast of Main Place in the "old" section of downtown will be super impressive.

Yeah, totally!!!! I lived in Cougar Place for two years, and it's pretty horrible.

Making a Houston Riverwalk won't solve anything. The Houston Pavillions has a lot of potential, and is in a great area which can only improve with the infill and rail coming up. Obviously it will be nice for all of the millions of sports fans that venture downtown to have a place to walk, eat and do some shopping. This development is going to hit a homerun, and spur more highrise residential to boot. And the absolute worst case scenario is that we'll have one more area (besides Bayou Place to hangout downtown past 5 o'clock. Could this really be so gloomy. Houston has been very slow to change, but things are about to pick up speed. Just wait and see.

All true, but I wonder just how many people see the real Houston. In many ways this city functions like a small town; we don't go out of our way to promote ourselves in other places. Houstonians are very close-knit folks... we know our city, and all of the "goings-on" here. But there's little desire to include the rest of the US in our lives. Take the east and west coast for example. EVERYONE knows about New York and Los Angeles because they control the media. Can you turn on the television without seeing those places????

Just some questions on my mind, and I wanted to offer them to y'all as well as HAIF... Houston seems to be the city in Texas that is "undefined" or "less defined". We all know it's big, and "the largest city in Texas", but DFW is the largest Metropolitan area. True that it's also plenty weird and random, but most people associate Texas weirdness with Austin. No major tourist attractions like San Antonio, and no strong-rooted historical significance like Fort Worth (at least not that we hold onto... Houston has a tendency to favor the current trends of architecture, art, etc.) Even geographically, DFW is North Texas, Austin is central, San Antonio is south, but where is Houston? Caught in the middle and very near the coast. Let me preface the question by saying that a malleable identity is not always a bad thing. We apparently adjust to change very quickly here because we don't have to hold onto one great Houstonian ideal. But what is Houston to you????

Honestly, I could care less whether Houston hosts an Olympics or not, but the city's image (even by our own citizens) is horrible. It's like we're all depressed about living here, and could care less to improve it. Trash is in every city. Homelessness is in every city. Cars are in every city. And I have to disagree... this city is very beautiful, especially compared to some of the eyesores we have around our country. Weather is weather, and we just have to live with it. That's why the tunnel system is downtown, and why nearly 100 percent of the city is air-conditioned. I mean COME ON!! Do the Minneapolitans go outside without their coats in January and complain about the cold??????? As for our terrible public tranist... it is one of the most extensive bus networks in the nation in terms of land coverage, which means that METRO spends a lot more on GAS and vehicle maintenance than other cities. Yet still, it is $2 a day for local service busses, and a maximum of $3.50 for commuter service. Uh yeah, in Chicago you'd be paying an average of $6 a day to likely go about half the distance. I live on the east side outside of the loop (Northshore area) and I use METRO about 4 days a week to work. It saves $25 a month on my gasoline, and round-trip for the bus is only 1 hour. I would be sitting in traffice for that time anyway, so I may as well let the city do the driving! And what if we want more coverage, and 24/7 bus routes??? Demand them by increasing ridership and sending your opinions to METRO and Harris County. Sounds simple enough. The city is cleaning up b/c people are really starting to take care of it. Now that downtown is finally catching on to be a place for entertainment, areas all over the city will get a facelift. Don't just give up on Houston, be proud of the city, and help make it a dream come true.

Houston's makes up for home decor by being a larger/more diverse center of antiquing. All the decor stuff we just buy at IKEA.

Agreed. Because of the nature of our differing econnomic identities, I would guess that Dallas will always appear to be "newer" than Houston (no ship channel or large industrial district). East Houston is just old looking, and in a class by itself, not that there's anything wrong with that. Oddly enough, West Houston looks to me like stereotypical Dallas and DFW infill. The Katy Freeway is a dead-ringer for the I-30 corridor.

Nah, I think it's a good blend with the architecture on Downtown's Northeast side. It's of similar height to the visible buildings (the "old Chase bldg, the Espersons, etc.). Houston has something of a two face look to it's skyline... from the west it looks sparse and very modern/futuristic, but from the east, it looks like a more traditional city. One Park Place is a good integration of those ideas.

I personally can't wait for Discovery Green. More parking (that's not surface lots), more of the already awesome tunnel system, a new park downtown AND high-rise developments. As soon as Houston Pavillions opens, I'm going to move there and just sell the car!!!

Don't you guys realize??? It's the animocity that makes the cities interesting!!! Why be Twins like your friends on the northern side of I-35 (Minneapolis- St. Paul)? Be neglectful Texan siblings!! In all seriousness, Dallas and Fort Worth have a very different 'cultural geography to them. One could almost consider the big D as a far-rflung pseudopod of the the East Coast... financial capital, fast paced, high strung, and full of attitude. Fort Worth is a much more relaxed vibe, and stronly identifies itself with the Old West, and not just from the Stockyards. Here's the beauty of Texas though... you take those two culture clashes, smash them together, add some humidity and a few more queers than steers, and what do you get?? Wait for it.... HOUSTON!!!!!!

I NEVER want to make this a "versus" anything, but which one feels or appears to be more international??? I would say Houston, but from talking with people over at SSP, I'm not quite sure.

I don't see how the elevated freeways are hindering any of Houston's growth. Houston is not Dallas, or New York, or San Francisco. We worry about floods, and we're located near the tropics, but God forbid there be a major earthquake on the West Coast, o a NorEaster anywhere near New York. EVERY MAJOR CITY worries about nature. Development... nothing stops expansion in this city. The old 4th Ward is all but gone... there are about 5 disjunct blocks of row houses left in the midst of new developments, or lots that have been cleared off for it. The progress is astoundingly fast, and soon the whole area surrounding downtown will be dense and walkable (which can hopefully spawn a necessity for rail transit). The juxtaposition of all of this and the Pierce Elevated is actually pretty neat. The freeway system in Houston is a combination of elavated sections and trenches, and probably the best single system in the country. Not only for traffic ability and handling, but also b/c the trenches actually PROTECT the city's vital center from major floods. Drivers are stupid, traffic is stupid... we can't change that, but we can be grateful for the planning of our freeways, encourage the speedy building of our rail system, and enjoy the city that we have. Seeing as it is a Houston forum, there is an implied comparison among the two transit systems. I'm from Houston, and 'lived' in Arlington for about four months. I think that DART is about the coolest system that we have in Texas, and I hope that METRO is moving in that direction.

Yeah, there we go. I'm glad to see early construction stages for phase two now. All the universities will greatly benefit from the rail options, as well as Third Ward. We have to keep it coming though. I think that rail transit is much more important than looks; it spurrs traffic and commuter solutions that are ten and twenty-fold.

Two big food questions... Where is the BEST Chicago-style pizza in Houston? Where is the BEST Cajun in Houston (everything... boudin, nachitoches meat pies, the works)???

Yes, I moved from the inner loop section of Meyerland to the NorthShore area in July, and I have to say it's a nice neighborhood. People don't live here for the glitz and glamour that you find in Memorial or the Heights, but just a bunch of hard-working people. I'm on the Metro bus route, which means I can still get to work without using the car all the time. The Northeast corner by the Beltway is building up with the usual suburban fare, but considering that it's very cheap and only 10 min from downtown, it's totally worth it.

I couldn't disagree with you more. Dallas is a wonderful city, and has very impressive architecture, but on the whole it is bland. It lacks the excitement and character extremities that can only be found in Houston. The theater district is hard at work to try and imitate the success and grandeur that we have in Houston. METRO-Rail, eventhough a short line, is a very effective system, and its service area is about to more than double. Finally if Houston Pavillions opens successfully next year, it will breathe wonderful life into downtown. Again, I'm grateful to have both cities in the state of Texas, but we have to appreciate what we've got here in Houston.

I think you forgot what city this is.... In Houston, we build first, and pay the consequences later. This is a gambler's town, and that's exactly what wulfe is doing with this project.

This is a very smart project, and for one main reason, location. It is virtually equidistant from the Medical Center as well as ALL of Houston's major universities. Especially for UH and TSU, it would benefit to have some substantial development in the area, as well as to revitalize the 3rd Ward.

Haha, it's called nominative zoning. Lockwood goes through the Hispanic neighborhood (5th ward?), Elgin runs through 3rd ward, and Westheimer is for trendy stuff like Montrose, River Oaks, and the Galleria (you know, the important people)