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Houston19514

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Everything posted by Houston19514

  1. Houston19514
    I'm pretty sure the U-Haul numbers are based on metro, not city numbers. The declining population you cite for Chicago is, of course, the city of Chicago only, not the entire metro area.
  2. Houston19514
    ^ Give us a link, man!
  3. Houston19514
    Lowbrow, you are right. Anybody finding hypocrisy in that article has not read it very well. She said "We still occasionally encounter a cigar smoker in a private party trying to sneak a smoke" Nothing was said about any cigar smoker trying to sneak a cigarette. And if a cigar smoker is having to "sneak a smoke" one would think it would be pretty obvious that the establishment does not in fact allow "a private party room full of cigar smoke".
  4. Houston19514
    and that somehow proves they are ignorant about the outside world?
  5. Houston19514
    I am more in favor of freedom than I am against anything that might be defined as sprawl, especially if you define sprawl to mean anything outside the loop, no matter how well and responsibly designed it might be. (But of course you'll never really know how well or responsibly designed something might be because you refuse to even allow yourself to encounter anything that might possibly be considered "sprawl." To be truly anti-spawl, I guess we should all live in Europe, or at the very least, the northeastern coast of the US. ;-)
  6. Houston19514
    I'm not an expert on Gehry, but doesn't it seem like every building he's designed (at least since Bilbao) looks an awful lot like Bilbao? Maybe it's the clients' fault, but it sure makes it appear that Gehry does NOT have another masterpiece in him, at least not one that is ground-breaking and would catch the world's attention. Hiring Gehry would almost be playing it safe. I'd rather they do a good international competition and come up with the "next Frank Gehry," with an exciting, iconic design, not just another rendition of Bilbao. In any event, it sure is an exciting time in the Museum District and I too hope the MFAH is a little more adventurous this time around.
  7. Houston19514
    ^ Yeah, what the heck was that about?
  8. Houston19514
    I'm not sure I'd call a "no-reserve" auction a successful conversion. It seems like there must be more to this story. Why are units being auctioned, especially with no reserve? Sounds like someone is desperate.
  9. Houston19514
    ^ Ignorance is bliss... at least to some people, I guess.
  10. Houston19514
    ^ One can never predict of course, but Neiman's has looked at relocating to MCM several times in the past and has always decided to stay put. In fact, one time there was even a relocation announced, that was to happen in conjunction with the massive refurbishment of MCM. But something happened to change Neiman's mind.
  11. Houston19514
    ^ I LOVE that idea!!!
  12. Houston19514
    LOL L&T is owned by the same company that owns Foley's (May Co.) and they are actually trying to be more upscale. Your comment is an indication of how much of a struggle they are having and why they are pulling out of Houston and a number of other markets. They are not going completely out of business, just leaving a bunch of markets, including all of Texas. May Co. has been stumbling around in the dark for a number of years in my opinion. One minute they remodel the Galleria store and the next minute they build a new prototype L&T store at Memorial City Mall, going for their new slightly upper-scale market, the next minute they decide to pull out of Texas altogether. Speaking of L&T. Has anyone heard any rumors of what might replace them at either the Galleria or Memorial City?
  13. Houston19514
    My dear, as was quite clear in my earlier posts, it's not MY definition I'm asking people to follow. There's no request for "the world according to Houston19514." Just something like "the world according to Webster." I'm all for hearing other peoples' ideas... when you get one, be sure to let us know. Let's share ideas, indeed. But if we are to share ideas, we have to start by sharing a language.
  14. Houston19514
    Now I'M confused too ;-) The quoted post was not directed at you, Gary. I don't think anyone has suggested you misunderstood the question or were getting off-track...
  15. Houston19514
    If by "us people," you are referring to yourself, then, frankly, no. When you choose to make a post relevant to the discussion of "what makes a city cosmopolitan," that in some way relates to the actual meaning of the word "cosmopolitan," then you'll be "worthy of this thread" (Your words, not mine)
  16. Houston19514
    Will you people PLEASE read the definition of the word "cosmopolitan"? If each person on the board goes on posting using their own personal (and, I might add, incorrect) defintion, we'll have a proverbial tower of babel, and a huge waste of time.
  17. Houston19514
    All of those things can be, and often (I would suggest usually) are, done either without or separate and apart from zoning regulations. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Houston in fact has land-use regulations (eg., building setback, parking requirements, outdoor dining regulations etc etc) and signage regulations. (For one little example, I believe the Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza had to get a waiver of the building setback requirements in order to be allowed to build up to the sidewalk. This strikes me as a wrong-headed requirement in a dense urban zone such as the TMC; nevertheless the city does have such requirements)
  18. Houston19514
    Such as . . . ??
  19. Houston19514
    EXACTLY! Zoning laws do not include building codes. Houston has building codes and also has signage ordinances. (Unfortunately, it would have been nice if it had had sign ordinances earlier and I wouldn't mind seeing the on-premises sign ordinances beefed up a bit; nevertheless it does have such ordinances) Zoning laws also do not include parking requirements or building setback requirements, both of which Houston already has. Zoning laws also don't generally include density requirements or restrictions, something which Houston also already has, at least in some areas. (denser residential development is allowed inside the loop than outside)
  20. Houston19514
    Well, somebody said "Oh, and for the feeders - I agree, we don't need them. But the sad truth is that they're already here. It all comes back to that nasty little six letter word: "zoning"." I don't know how one can read that and not come to the conclusion that the author was suggesting the two were related.
  21. Houston19514
    so, you would prefer those areas on the feeders be zoned... residential perhaps?
  22. Houston19514
    I can't wait to hear everyone else's initial thoughts upon hearing the news of this gift to the MFAH.
  23. Houston19514
    It constantly amazes me how many things get blamed on the lack of zoning. Feeder roads and zoning are two totally different and unrelated matters. You can have feeder roads in cities with zoning. You can have unzoned cities without feeder roads. Likewise, the matter of billboards has nothing whatever to do with zoning. Zoning has nothing to do with whether American Airlines Arena or Toyota Center is "better" (which is a purely subjective matter of opinion. Because of its location alone (being that it is actually in downtown), I prefer Toyota Center. Neither exterior is particularly exciting to me, but I also prefer the Toyota Center exterior. I have not been inside either one. Zoning has nothing to do with whether the Hobby Center or the Meyerson Center is "better". Again, a pretty subjective matter of opinion. And since they actually serve rather different purposes, it's somewhat hard to compare them.
  24. Houston19514
    It would be quite difficult for a developer to tear down a condominium building. I'm not saying it cannot or will not happen. But for a developer to do so, he would have to go in and buy each and every individual condominium unit in the complex, reaching separate purchase agreements with each owner. Does anyone know of any condominums anywhere that have ever been torn down and replaced bya new development?
  25. Houston19514
    Do you have a source for the statement that the Hardy is still subsidized by the Sam Houston? I've seen allegations on this board several times to the effect that the Hardy Toll Road is underutilized/a miserable failure/should never have been built, but of course, nobody has ever bothered to back up such statements with a source.
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