The Great Hizzy!

On the one hand, I understand what City Kid is saying; there are always little things found other places that could look great where you live. I just think that Montrose doesn't need much tinkering, especially if it means getting rid of one of its coolest attributes: variety of flora. On the other hand, I didn't move to Houston because I thought it looked like every other "old" or traditionally "urban" city. While I applaud improvements here and there, I don't want Houston to lose its charm either.

I'm very much thankful Montrose Blvd doesn't look like the scene City Kid put up. It would be a crime to rid Montrose of all those nice trees and shrubbery for the sake of pinning a few buildings closer together. But that's just one cat's opinion. And to add on to what KZ was saying, I thought at least two of those pics WAS of Houston.

The survey doesn't say that Houston has the lowest quality of life in the U.S. Among the U.S. cities that qualified (read achieved enough stature to merit inclusion in the ranking) as a global city, it finished lowest among its US brethren. You'll notice that Baghdad, for example, finished dead last with a score of like 3 or something (an exaggeration, but you get my point). Among US cities ranked, Houston was the lowest ranked at #68 (score 94). All in all, not that far behind those that were ranked 100 to 102.

Although not noted for its award-winning mass transit in the eyes of the staunchest urban enthusiasts (and understandably so), Houston does still operate one of the nation's largest public transit agencies. Also consider the fact that it now has added a rail system that connects things like UH-Downtown, HCC, Rice and the various medical schools that make up the TMC, especially since said rail line carries more people per revenue mile than any other light rail system currently in operation. The last is the very definition of efficient use of transportation, even if most of us would like to have much more rail service. But as I said, take it for what it is. It does use a different methodology than some other agencies/mags that conduct such rankings.

Take it for what it's worth. Texas' Tech City

KJB is right. I've had to go out there for my work as well and the first couple miles south of SH 225 is pretty low income, but about midways it becomes typical middle class and then you start getting into those upper middle class subdivisions like what you'd found out in Katy or League City. Pasadena also has one of the lowest crime rates of any city with 100,000 residents or more. It's like 280 out of 335 or something like that. The refineries blow, though.

Location is bad. No one knows it exists accept those that stay/work at the Sam Houston hotel and people like us who are likely to move around downtown beyond the "known" areas. This location would've worked better nearer Main Street Square, where the traffic volume is much higher.

That's a great way of looking at it, 27. In many ways, it reminds me of people from the Mid-Atlantic who move to places like Atlanta or Charlotte but look forward to retiring along the coast of Delaware or Maine.

I doubt it happens but one of the best things TxDOT could ever do for Houston is to redesign the I-45 North Freeway and trench it from at least W. Little York to White Oak Bayou.

I too have heard good things about Lovett. It's good to see that they're developing more of a presence along the Washington Avenue corridor. Hopefully, they'll start to make an impact in Midtown and east of downtown.

The only thing I can say to this is that Midtown Houston (the southern central part of it) is in a period of transition and I can understand the frustration of seeing its transformation take place at such a slower pace. A point of fact is that Midtown is competing with several other areas in terms of inner city renewal: 1) The West End. Take a ride down Washington Avenue and every day an old structure is being torn down in place of new condos, new apartments or some new type of commercial entity (yes, I know, many of 'em are of the strip variety but work with me). 2) The Museum District: older, stately homes are being renovated into braggadocious single family units or townhomes, with new structures being built around them. 3) The eastern half of Midtown from roughly San Jacinto to US 59/SH 288. More townhomes. A lot more. Tons more, in fact. 4) Uptown. Someone made a comment about Uptown Dallas in relationship to Midtown but much of the condo/apartment growth in that area is similar to our own Uptown. Whereas swanky condos such as the Mondrian are sprouting up, we have the Redstone and others going up in Uptown (or Memorial Bend or what have you). 5) East of downtown. Again, this area is quietly seeing new construction activity. Dozens of new townhomes are being built with dozens more on the way within the next couple of months. This area could easily see between one and two thousand new units over the next few years. So all of this plays a factor in the rate of Midtown's growth. I think the biggest factor in Midtown is that a good number of the older office/commercial units are empty now and the trick is getting quality businesses, whether they be retail or what have you, to come in and reoccupy them. Getting rid of that particular blight would instantly improve the area's overall look and feel. But, hey, what do I know, maybe Houston does suck and I'm just not accepting it

Link not working.

Judging by the picture, it's probably a proposed project for the section of Pasadena that borders Clear Lake. Pull out a map and study Pasadena's city limits. It's vast and borders quite a bit of the Clear Lake Area. I could be wrong but that would seem the logical place to put a proposed tower in Pasadena.

You have to focus on the property owners. The trash throwers are random and could be anyone. Moreover, trash is byproduct of absent-mindedness, like someone carrying a bag with trash in it but not having it tied properly and a couple of pieces of trash fly away; or someone in a car or truck has some trash blow from inside of it (that's happened to me before); or truckers who don't properly cover up the trash in their beds--aluminum cans, construction debris and so forth. Then you have those weekend jackasses who throw their 24 oz Busch beer cans in the medians, mainly because they're concerned about incriminating themselves if they happen to get pulled over. So in lieu of all of these factors, it's much more effective to nail down the property owners who allow the trash to just linger on their property for weeks at a time. The worst offenders, I believe, are a) apartment complexes and b.) strip mall retailers/renters/owners. Poor management of the surroundings.

Brookshire = Waller County = part of the Houston-Galveston-Sugarland Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The DeGeorge http://www.usvetsinc.org/images/loc_photos/usvets_location_degeorge.jpg

More to the point, did I miss this entirely? Was this talked about anywhere else and I simply missed it. http://www.internest.com/mcvaughcustomhome...mhomes12245.aspMcVaugh Homes

If you're talking about the townhomes on Cavalcade before you get to Airline, then I agree. Don't like those very much. I am noticing a bit more activity over there, though. I see a couple of houses that apparently have been sold and will probably go the way of Woodland Heights in terms of renovation. I'm wondering how long it will be before more of that area's reinvestment starts to spill over to east of Airline/Main and north of Cavalcade?

They are indeed bad, KZ.

Definitely lofts. Perfect for the area. Not pretentious, not ritzy but very urban and hip, with quick access to quality nightlife. I've been wondering if and when someone would step up and take advantage of its location.

I'm glad that we've become so sensitive to littering because longterm I think it will continue to help this city become absolute great. For perspective, I visited another large, growing southern city this weekend and saw something that went beyond our continued issues with litter in the medians of our roadways. What I saw was a city that had residential areas completely infected by litter, decay, ill-kept lawns and graffiti at every turn. I was amazed and appauled that a city with such obvious prosperity would have so many neighborhoods that were so filthy. So I applaud people like KZ who offer an outsider's perspective. Some cities maintain themselves better. It's always good to raise the bar for ourselves. I don't think it's good to say, well, at least we're not as dirty as "A" or "B".

Live music downtown takes place from roughly April to October, when it is less likely to be chilly. There's a summer jazz series that's fairly popular, evening on Sundays, and live concerts of all types take place every Wed. evening at Jones Plaza. See? You learn something new at HAIF every day.

I think we can all agree that Texas > Oklahoma.

Among kings, for sure, yet KZSeattle still remains to be my favorite poster here.

You know, you've convinced me. Toyota Center really is just a pile of bricks with a white dome on top of it. And those palm trees suck. Woe is us!