skyphen

Is there more than just a man?

I wrote in and suggested other names, but I think HMU works. Other cities like NYC, SF, and Denver have a Metropolitan College or City University. I think these names accurately reflect the institutions' mission statements and their respective student bodies. Oh wait, I thought I read here they changed it to Houston Metropolitan U, but then reading again it doesn't seem like it?

The comment about the showerheads for Jones Plaza was right on point! That's exactly what it reminds me of. I like this vision, and the beggar musicians, Jackson Square, all of it. That's exactly what we need. Houston has so many great artists and talented people. The city is really squandering an opportunity, missing the boat on not exposing them to a wider audience, although it has gotten better at doing so over the past few years. Disco Green has been a big step in the right direction as far as that goes. Is there a plan to make downtown upscale? I hope not. Downtown should be for the people, all people. "Downtown" should not be "Uptown."

Really? San Antonio is one of the most visited and most beloved weekend getaway Texas cities. I think it would be well traveled. I'm very excited about this project. With the distances between cities in Texas, it's long overdue.

Very nice!

Yeah, I think they own the house Inprint is in, right across the street.

Just to be sure I'm following, so essentially the greenspace that will be reclaimed is the median, correct?

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."

Well, will you looky there? This thread has made Houstonist. http://houstonist.com/2009/01/06/miles_and_miles_of_ugly.php

Very nice pics!

On second thought, thanks for reminding me of why I live ITL! You pretty much prove my point with your mindless ranting. You obviously have an axe to grind.

I'm not debating you specifically because you didn't even read my posts. You read what you wanted into them and continue to put words into my mouth that I did not say. As for the racism, I believe it was you who wrote "chiwen axe for foo" or something to that effect. Yeah, not racist at all, you. Give me a break.

Great debating skills you have there. I hope you feel better after directing your second rant to me. Maybe it's time for a nappy-nap?

Yes, I know some people in Texas hate that. Who did that, and what does it have to do with my post? It is so snobby to ASSUME only schools in the suburbs are great, and only parents there care about their kids' education. Houston has some great magnets and neighborhood schools. I get really sick of the HISD-bashing and blanket generalizations based on thinly-veiled racism that the schools aren't as good, because it just isn't true. Not all the schools in the suburbs are great either.

Well, I'll tell you what I hate most about suburbs in Texas. How much driving it takes and the sight off the freeways between here and there. In Chicago and other cities up north where they actually have zoning and planning, the suburbs aren't so drastically different and offer such a drastically different way of life like they do here. Too much distance and too much ugliness between wherever "here" is and wherever "there" is. I minimize that by staying in my little ITL bubble. Also, the streets out there are confusing... there seems to be more of a grid here. So it is not suburbs I hate, per se, it's the way they are designed and how far they are from everything of interest to me here in Texas. I also hate some of the superior suburban attitudes that associate anything the city with bad, dirty, dangerous, and poor... the people, the schools... The snobbery goes both ways.

Actually, if anything, having it enclosed and hidden like it is would have the opposite effect. If the stores were open and facing the street, they would be more visible to cars and pedestrians passing by, and to cops, if anything shady were going on. I would hate to be a young girl working late in one of those stores the way they have it now. Having it enclosed does very little to add to the street-level vibrancy of the area, which I'm more concerned about than "seedy types." Does anything scream "I LIVE IN THE SUBURBS" more than the use of "seedy types?"

I don't understand this argument. Did other cities that don't have this issue violate the first amendment in getting rid of the signs? That doesn't seem likely.

I couldn't quite put my finger on what was bothering me about this development, but that's it exactly. The lack of street level access. I will patronize and support it anyway, but that was certainly a missed opportunity. It sort of reminds me of the MarqE on I-10 and Silber.

Maybe one solution is to use highway signs like you see once you leave the city, like on the way to Conroe, that announce the exit number with the list of restaurants and gas stations coming up? It could just be a matter of having uniform signs like these that are tasteful and not so noticeable and gaudy, instead of business having all different shapes, sizes, fonts, designs like now. Or just have no signs at all. How do other cities solve this problem?

The Corkscrew on Washington was open yesterday when I drove by.

The mayor really shouldn't waited so long to issue a mandatory evacuation. Maybe that made some island residents feel Ike's not going to be that big of a deal?

I'm getting kinda antsy and nervous, questioning this decision to "hunker down." People west of downtown in the Heights/Montrose area near bayous shouldn't be too concerned about flooding and storm surge, right? Right?

Great suggestions. I'd add more public space, an urban park along the lines of Discovery Green. Someplace that would contribute to and nurture the identity of the area because it's getting lost. A place for people in the neighborhood and beyond to congregate. There'd be regularly scheduled festivals, live music, book fairs, farmers markets, neighborhood block parties, and other events. I'd wipe out that whole block at Montrose and Westheimer anchored by Half Price Books and plop it down right there. Maybe that block beside it with the Hollywood Video, too, or the Disco Kroger. It could move across the street where Walgreens is. There's a CVS right up the street anyway. I'd maybe call it Montrose Square Park. It would bring Montrose back to life and add some much-need vibrancy to this city. This is what is missing from Montrose and other Houston city neighborhoods. This is what Austin and other cities are doing right and Houston is doing wrong.

It is a part of the UH system. They could call it University of Houston at Allen's Landing, or University of Houston at Buffalo Bayou.

Is that a bookstore I see? That would be great. A bookstore is sorely needed around here.