Simbha

I found the 2010 rankings, in case anyone's interested. I've placed the Top 20 from 2010 below, alongside the 2011 rankings (for which there were 20 reported in the actual article). The biggest movements were New York (from #1 to #5) and Houston (#14 to #10). Did NYC really get that much cleaner and Houston get that much dirtier (at least, by comparison)? I know it's subjective polling; I'm being rhetorical. (I tried to find the rhetorical font.) Perhaps of note: Two cities that appeared in the Top 10 last year - Cleveland (#8) and St. Louis (#10) - do not appear in the Top 20 this year. Did these cities get really clean virtually overnight, or were they removed from consideration? Hmm... City--2011--2010 New Orleans--1--2 Philadelphia--2--4 Los Angeles--3--3 Memphis--4--N/A New York City--5--1 Baltimore--6--N/A Las Vegas--7--5 Miami--8--7 Atlanta--9--6 Houston--10--14 San Juan--11--N/A San Francisco--12--9 Dallas--13--11 Boston--14--12 Washington--15--13 San Antonio--16--16 Orlando--17--17 Chicago--18--15 Kansas City--19--N/A Anchorage--20--N/A Cleveland--N/A--8 St. Louis--N/A--10 Providence--N/A--18 Phoenix--N/A--19 Nashville--N/A--20

What happened to the proposition - I think, under White's administration - to get rid of the billboards? I know it died. I think it was because of a court ruling. Could someone provide a summary?

Here are some interesting notes. In the survey which generated that list... ... visitors rated Houston's parks at 3.58, while residents rated them at 4.02. The difference (+0.44) is the greatest difference among cities surveyed.... visitors rated Houston's weather at 3.26, while residents rated it at 3.6. The difference (+0.34) is the third-greatest difference among cities surveyed.... visitors rated Houston's cleanliness at 3.57, while residents rated it at 4.07. The difference (+0.50) is the greatest difference among cities surveyed. So, are Houstonians delusional? Or, do they know something that visitors to the city simply don't see? I'll go with the latter because it seems that this is not limited to the category 'Quality of Life' (e.g., Culture -- Visitors (4.09) vs Residents (4.47) for a difference of +0.38 - third-highest among cities). I think when it comes to 'cleanliness', people may see Houston as an 'oil city' (also referenced in the caption) - which gives it the perception of being 'dirty'.

Hard to comment on quality of parks (which these voters probably consider more than acreage) but I'll point out that Houston doesn't shame in the acreage department: 13.7% of land area taken up by parkland (9th of the largest 25 cities by population) and 22.58 acres per 1,000 persons (7th of the largest 25 cities). Of course, this includes George Bush - but I know many other cities have very large municipal parks which are on the outskirts. Source: http://cloud.tpl.org...s_Data_2010.pdf I also find it funny that this same magazine (Travel+Leisure) declared Discovery Green one of the country's best city parks.

Interesting that both of you think that the growth will be concentrated in the outskirts of what is now the metropolitan area. While I believe much of the growth will occur in the suburbs, I also foresee significant growth in the inner core of the city (e.g., the Inner Loop). Perhaps that's just wishful thinking for more urban density on my part, though...

I was looking at some census data for metro areas today, and I just can't get over how much Houston has grown in the 15 or so years I've been here. That got me thinking about the next 15 years. I know projections are suspect, but I've seen growth figures of between 1.5 to 2.5 million between now and 2025. Where do you all think those people will be located?

Thanks for this. It's not an official source or anything but the first posting in this SkyscraperCity thread - http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=39045 - seems to indicate that St. Luke's is primarily a residence for nurses and senior citizens (patients). While the latter receive care, it doesn't appear to be what I'd consider a hospital in and of itself. Additionally, the description provided through that link states that seven floors of the building is occupied by a hotel. Again, as pointed out above, it appears that identifying a tower as the tallest (anything including) hospital is a somewhat sketchy notion that requires definition first. I appreciate your pointing out the St. Luke's Garden, though - just another building of which I had no clue.

Apparently, it's Jonathan Lovitz. http://pridehouston.org/celebration/pages/2011_jonathan Now, don't ask me to tell you who Jonathan Lovitz is. As I don't own a TV, I have no earthly idea. I also don't know who Andy Cohen is. However, I do know who Anderson Cooper is; so I guess I'm not a total loss...

Fair points - that's why I said if. Premature on my part, though - for which I apologize.

If we can confirm that the 'Grand Tower' development being discussed here is part of the same development as this WF, it may be appropriate to merge these topics.

The Chron's article (by Nancy Sarnoff) in 2008 mentions a "[possible] high-rise apartment tower" in that area: Source: http://www.chron.com...te/5777804.html Edit: I can never get the formatting right on quotes. /sigh Edit2: Note that I don't have any information that this is a Finger development or that it's tied to the WF development. I'm simply pointing out that it might be, based on statements made in 2008.

Ooh, thanks for that, Highway6 Edit: Kinda puts things in perspective regarding Houston, eh?

Here's some free stuff happening during the upcoming weekend: Friday, June 24 Miller Outdoor Theatre (8:30pm): Summer Symphony Nights - Mozart and Dvorak Discovery Green (11am to 7pm all weekend): The World's Largest Sprinkler (I'm not actually sure about the accuracy of the superlative, but I imagine there will likely be stuff for kids and grown-ups at this event anyway.) Presented by Target. CAMH (8pm to midnight): Steel Lounge Underground (music) Around the Westbranch area (3pm to 9pm): Westbranch arts crawl, featuring art exhibits, performances by local artists, and vendors (technically free, but you may spend some money ) Cactus Music (5:30pm to 6:30pm): Sounds Under Radio (Austin-based rock band) Saturday, June 25 Miller Outdoor Theatre (8:30pm): Summer Symphony Nights - Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony Brazoria County Historical Museum (6pm to 9pm): Summer Zydeco Concert on the Lawn (NB: This is in Angleton) Cactus Music (1pm to 2pm): Band of Heathens (Austin-based Americana band) Sunday, June 26Rothko Chapel (3pm): Rothko Chapel Summer Music Series - The Raga in Hindu Music Again, I don't make any warranty about the quality of these programs (except the Summer Symphony Nights, which I find are always excellent). I gleamed this information from ArtsHound's Free Events calendar (link). While all of these should be free, I'd check on-line before making the trek.

I'm not familiar with the mechanics shop (unless you're referring to the gas station). Do you know what interest Centerpoint has in the access road? It may be obvious, but I've never been down that way at all...

Thanks for the advice. I'll contact TxDoT and perhaps relay your suggestion. I live down Wheeler from there, so I'd prefer if there could be a solution that allows me to continue making my right turn - but I'd support anything that simply makes the intersection safer. I think I'll go ahead and inform HPD of the intersection, too. Perhaps some enforcement of the rules would incentivize those right-lane drivers to do the right thing - or, at least, the 'regulars'.

I found this site which shows city subway networks at scale. It's all in black-and-white and may not be precise - given, for example, that I don't think that MARTA's underground system is actually as extensive as it appears in the Atlanta map. Regardless, I thought it was interesting to see how these systems vary in extent and shape. Here's the link: http://fakeisthenewreal.org/subway/ Here's the New York one, as an example: P.S. To a mod: I wasn't sure if to start this thread here or in Meanwhile, In the Rest of the World..., but I figure this is more transportation-related than about construction occurring elsewhere. Of course, please move it if appropriate.

Well, I can't really comment on the veracity of your interpretation. What I can say is that there may be other reasons for stopping payment on the service. For example, perhaps they chose to go with a different domain and saw no reason to maintain the hosting. Or, they might have felt that the hosting company was not providing adequate service. The hosting company wouldn't be privy to any of these thoughts (or, in the latter case, certainly wouldn't make that public knowledge) but it doesn't mean it's either ridiculous or due to financial difficulty.

Could you please elaborate? I haven't been to Amsterdam in nearly 20 years, and I'm not sure I would have remembered the trip even then...

I find it difficult to believe that a private hosting company would provide information regarding the billing status of a private account to a third party. I'm not saying you're lying but - if you're not - I certainly wouldn't want to use that hosting provider for myself. Why exactly is this 'ridiculous'?

I see... Thanks for sharing.

Isn't this the same thing: http://www.earthquestinstitute.org? It looks nice...

Do you live in the same neighborhood? Is there a home owners' association with which you could speak? Also, if you really are on the ROW (and it sounds like you are), then his following you home - as stated in your original post - might constitute harassment. If he's done this to others in the neighborhood, the HOA may have something to say about it - or perhaps the local police precinct. Also, I imagine the city wouldn't look kindly upon someone putting a poison down on what is effectively public property.

I looked around a bit and didn't find anything. I'm not the best at searching, however. Wow, that platform thing is cool - but I can see how the coverage of the streets wouldn't be appreciated. Good idea. Thanks. Ooh, I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

Regardless of whether we build more rail (than is already planned or under construction), I'd like to also suggest something else. (I believe I've posted this elsewhere, but I've failed to find it on this forum.) Several other cities in the world have extensive bus systems with what I think is a benefit to the riders - that is, a system by which riders at a stop can know when a bus is actually arriving (or when it's delayed). I visit Valencia, Spain often, so I'll use that as an example. When I'm at the bus station in Valencia, there's a monitor that indicates when the next bus is scheduled to arrive - and even when the bus is approaching. I believe this makes the system safer to ride, and more 'user-friendly'. It seems that a city as massive as Houston really does need an extensive bus system, but I think there are ways (such as the above) to improve the system we have. I have no idea what the costs of such a system would be, but I can't imagine it would be exorbitantly expensive. One could even argue that we could take it a step further by developing a mobile phone application that provides the same information, but I don't know what proportion of bus riders would own smart phones - probably a smaller proportion than for the general population.

@mfastx: I've been watching this thread since it started and I agree with many of your comments, but I'd like to point out that just because "every major transit agency in the Unites States [is] interested in building more rail" doesn't necessarily make it right - for them, and especially for Houston. I'm not saying I wouldn't support more rail in Houston - but I don't think we should build it because other metro areas are doing so. Our geography, cityscape and culture are different than most - if not all - other cities in the US, and so we should develop transportation infrastructure to match our own needs.