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How Can The East End Best Capitalize On Our Rail Line's Jump Start


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So are you implying that

1) only young white people visit the Washington corridor

2) young people that are not of white or Asian races do not spend money or create "vital" environments

3) young white people control an increasing amount of wealth?

We're now almost 10 years into the 21st century, and white people are becoming more and more scarce by the day. Like the old school Republican party, they just don't hold all of the cards anymore. I frequent Washington, and never, not once since I've been there have I only seen exclusively white people, nor have I ever observed ANYWHERE in the city of Houston an arrangement of only white people doing something... not even at a church. This includes various "high society" events in River Oaks or on Memorial where I would assume the audience would be more cohesive.

Let's be honest. The white people wouldn't be there without other white people being around. And the more affluent brown people you refer to wouldn't be around if the white people weren't around, either...just like they aren't hanging out at the Little Toy Club on Telephone Road.

And generationally speaking, yes, young white people increase their wealth at the fastest rate. They start off with what mommy and daddy give them and build from there at a faster rate, statistically speaking, than non-whites.

As for the word "vital", I keep using quotes because it has multiple meanings. I think the one I described does justice to what CALMSP meant by it, but by my reading of things, Canal Street has more vitality than W. Gray. It doesn't need revitalizing...but it still does need white people, because how else are the property owners going to get rich?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think everybody's right.

AFAIK people with disposable income spend it on things that are currently seen as "trendy" no matter their race, though statistically most of these people are white for various historical reasons we all know. However, that's changing which is a good thing. Anyways assuming this scenario, the East End wouldn't market directly to white people so much as those of a certain age and income bracket.

Gentrification is another story

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Let's be honest. The white people wouldn't be there without other white people being around. And the more affluent brown people you refer to wouldn't be around if the white people weren't around, either...just like they aren't hanging out at the Little Toy Club on Telephone Road.

And generationally speaking, yes, young white people increase their wealth at the fastest rate. They start off with what mommy and daddy give them and build from there at a faster rate, statistically speaking, than non-whites.

As for the word "vital", I keep using quotes because it has multiple meanings. I think the one I described does justice to what CALMSP meant by it, but by my reading of things, Canal Street has more vitality than W. Gray. It doesn't need revitalizing...but it still does need white people, because how else are the property owners going to get rich?

Being of a non-white persuasion myself, I don't refute your statistics per se. Affluent minorities are still something of an exception more than a rule in central Houston. No one is denying that. But it is foolish to assume that the wealth generators of this community are dependent upon young white people. There's simply too much evidence to the contrary to imply this as fact in 21st century Houston. The OMB race is still around, but it includes more diversity than it did in the 70s 80s or 90s. What you and most others may be seeing is the fact that no matter how much wealth and success are achieved in the minority communities, there is still a large faction of people that choose to adhere to the expected stereotype.

Also it would be a fallacy for me to pretend that there are more black people on Washington than there are white people... it's just not the case. Black people are still a minority within the greater Houston area. But the scope of minorities (just like everyone else) is in fact changing, and they are now contributing significantly to affluent communities all over the city. Just stating the facts here.

BTW... I checked out the LTC after I saw it in your post. It wasn't my style, so I went back over to Max's Wine Dive for the usual, and then went to join "my peeps" in the gayborhood.

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There are plenty of affluent young Asians and Indians in Houston too.

The Galleria is full of rich people from South America.

I have friends from Peru and Argentina that are some of the most ambitious, successful people I know. You want to have a vibrant community where everyone has a good time? Those are the people you want. No one parties like the people from South America and they treat a nerdy white guy like me as one of their own.

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There are plenty of affluent young Asians and Indians in Houston too.

The Galleria is full of rich people from South America.

I have friends from Peru and Argentina that are some of the most ambitious, successful people I know. You want to have a vibrant community where everyone has a good time? Those are the people you want. No one parties like the people from South America and they treat a nerdy white guy like me as one of their own.

I was under the impression a significant - if not a majority - of the population of most countries in South American are of European descent.

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I was under the impression a significant - if not a majority - of the population of most countries in South American are of European descent.

Depends where you are, but in reality most people all over North and South America can claim dual lineages to a certain degree. There is no such thing as a pure race except in a political context.

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  • 1 year later...

what has the rail done to main street?

Other than the city-funded facelift in the heart of DT, nothing, really. So the Eastend line will get a similar initial splash of taxfunded pizazz then the businesses that survived the land grab and construction phases will get back to business as usual. I just don't see this line being anything more than a bejeweled bus.

I don't see rail as jump starting anything. It is supposed to move people, not get people to move.

But the area is interesting. I have visited a friend on this side of town recently and am surprised that I like its quaintness.

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  • 9 months later...

The homes might "change" a bit after that. The older homes might eventually give out to more dense development, but that may not be in my lifetime.

Ehhhh, not in your lifetime, homes! We aint changin for nobody ese! Especially the older homes! The east end will always be vatos locos forever!

BloodInBloodOut.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Of the people I know who have recently bought on my block (I'm at Broadmoor & Elliott St.), most of them are Hispanic and white-collar. I know of several instances of (Hispanic) young people moving back into old, family-owned houses in the neighborhood and fixing them up.

I think Houston is too diverse, and the East End not dense enough, to aggressively gentrify in the "Williamsburg" or now the "Bushwick" sense of the word. As others have said, I think it's becoming less and less useful to think of these shifts in terms of "white" vs "other", especially in Houston. (That's one of the reasons I choose to live in Houston when I could live anywhere. People who haven't lived elsewhere don't realize just how tolerant people are here, and best of all they wouldn't think to make a big deal out of it.)

One case in point is that the neighborhood coffeeshop has a "hipster" feel but it's also got a distinctly Hispanic feel. I think East End's future is an "amphibious" one.

rs

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