honestruerealman

I'm not sure how I like the idea of Uptown Dallas being so close to downtown. I know everybody loves density but I personally like the way Houston is setup with so much space in between DT and UT. Theres so many green spaces, parks and absolutely fantastic trees. I was driving down Memorial from UT yesterday (looking for the Orion condos) and love the way all the green spaces have been preserved. I hope the city never builds on these areas.

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I agree with you about Houston and its area between downtown and the medical center, that would be midtown and the museum district, and also I think you could include the equally impressive area that has numerous park trails along the bayous between downtown and the Galleria/Post Oak business district, which meander along Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive up to and through Memorial Park. To match those classic areas, Dallas has Turtle Creek and the White Rock Lake areas. I think with a little effort, Dallas could once again revive Oak Cliff to its former beauty. It is still impressive when you consider that it is thought to be a poorer part of the community. Houston's biggest problems, along with no zoning, are its elevated freeways which slice through its neighborhoods and stunt development.

Actually they are in the process of incorporating Dart into uptown more with the development of West Village.  It will soon occupy all vacant areas between uptown and cityplace.

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You're looking at the development from the Northeast, on the East side of 75.  The glass looking obelisk at the bottom left center of the image will be the new bus station/stop.

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The metro train line in Dallas makes that city very intimate. Each station is unique and modeled after the history of the neighborhood--something like mini museums. Houston has not successfully sold its metro rail to its public in this way. In regards to where the lines go in Dallas, it has been said that if downtown is the brains of Dallas then Central Expressway is its spine. The rail line in Dallas enhances Central Expressway and gives that whole area around it greater depth and more of an urban feel.

I can see Midtown Houston becoming this dense, or slightly more dense.  OF COURSE, Midtown would also have the standard issue Houston renegades ( CVS, etc ) this is a good example of what zoning/deed restrictions can do.

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Dallas has been working hard for the last 30 years to create uptown, by doing things like burying the freeway below grade so that their exists a continuous flow between it and downtown. The city also wisely developed its art's district to where it is the centerpiece right smack dab between the two areas. Now they plan on covering that freeway between the two areas with a park. And the freeway will one day continue on over the Trinity River by way of a new suspension bridge and open another artery into the urban area from Oak Cliff. The outsider doesn't know the differences between uptown and downtown and the whole urban area is an awesome sight to behold.