Alexan Heights: Multifamily At 655 Yale St.

[s3mh]

Oh please. The comparison started with Portland, so let's continue with that comparison. Houston is far superior to Portland in terms of theatre, arts, economy, cuisine, and diversity just to make a start. This is an extremely dynamic city and it is receiving the national attention that it deserves to match that development. It can and will continue to get better.

I'm not sure why you get the feeling that Houston isn't focused on improving quality of life. Have you noticed the amount of money that is being spent to improve the parks, the amount of improvements that are going on in the museums and arts community?

 

The comparison to Portland was limited to smart growth/planning strategies.  Portland is a third of the size of Houston.  Naturally, Houston will have a superior orchestra, ballet and opera (closer call when it comes to theater and museums).  But, Portland has done excellent work in redeveloping urban areas in a way that maximizes public transportation, pedestrian access, and bicycle access.  Those areas in Portland are able to digest population growth without losing out on quality of life to traffic and overcrowded restaurant/retail areas.  Houston's strip mall, townhome and pencil box apartment development model is good at meeting the immediate demands and returning the maximum profit for developers, but the future will just be worse and worse traffic with no alternatives and no comparable street scapes that other cities have developed with real urban planning. 

 

And I am aiming higher than Portland.  The improvements to the parks, museums and the arts community are great, but long overdue.  Jones Hall is second rate and needs to be replaced or completely rebuilt.  The Cleveland Museum of Art is three times the size as MFAH.  Kinder built a nice dinosaur wing on the natural science museum, but take a look at what Getty built in Los Angeles.  Houston needs to get over its low self esteem and believe in itself.  A city can only go so far on a slogan of "Houston, you should have seen what it was like a few years ago."

[livincinco]

I lived in San Ramon for a number of years and I can tell you that the primary reason that people prefer to live there over Houston has nothing to do with the reasons that you describe and everything to do with the weather and the natural beauty of the area. There's nothing that Houston can do about that.

Regarding United, generally the acquiring company integrates the acquired company, not the other way around. It would have been an absolute shocker for United to acquire Continental and then close their headquarters and relocate to Continental's.

[s3mh]

If there was even an ounce of credibility remaining in your posts, calling CHICAGO, a world class city went ahead and wiped that out.  Is Detroit also world class?   Chicago is a hell hole of a city that I will never go back to.

 

Houston is one of the most dynamic cities in the world.  It has so much more to offer than any of the awful places you mentioned....Paris??  Its beautiful but France is an awful place to live, NY?  Dirtiest place Ive ever been...London (havent been there yet)

Houston on the other hand is great!  The only city I have ever visited that I enjoyed as much as I have enjoyed Houston is Calgary - Calgary is Houston but, cleaner, and with a more pleasant summer.

Detroit was world class when the big three were king.  When the auto industry left, Detroit died because it did not diversify.  Houston should heed the lesson of Detroit.

 

As for the rest of your post, if by "offer" you mean big box grocery stores, cheap housing, strip malls and an occasional stand of old live oak trees that did not get plowed for new development, then sure, corporate board of directors should be closing up shop in NY, Chicago, Paris, London and sending their best and brightest to Houston.  But if your best and brightest wants to live in a city with more than two and a half jazz venues, more touring arts groups than David Sedaris and Blue Man Group and more street scapes than three blocks in Midtown along Gray, a few blocks of Westheimer in Montrose, and 19th st. in the Heights, then Houston has some work to do.

[RedScare]

Houston needs to get over its low self esteem and believe in itself. 

 

The only low self esteem I see is from you and a few other haters. Me and my fellow Houstonians think Houston is doing just fine and getting better. Sorry to hear that you are stuck here. Maybe if you went back to school you could qualify for a job in Portland someday.

[RedScare]

So, if Chicago is such a hell hole, why did United drop Houston like a hot potato in favor of Chicago? It should have been the complete opposite result.  Why is so much more venture capital going to the extremely business unfriendly states like Massachussetts and California?  The answer is obvious to anyone who has any ability to look at Houston objectively without lazily falling into the small minded nativism that keeps Houston from becoming the world class city that is should be.  Houston is fortuitously located at the center of the US oil and gas industry.  Most of the major refining and production in the US is located in the Gulf Coast area.  Business comes to Houston because it has to, not because it wants too.  A friend of mine who is from the West Coast and working for Chevron on assignment considers Houston to be like an exotic assignment abroad.  When his time is up, he is headed back to the Bay area to work at Chevron's corporate head quarters.  He could probably jump ship and get a big bonus to work for another oil company in Houston, but will go back to California for high taxes, cost of living, etc. because the quality of life is better.  Californians realized that good planning means good quality of life, higher property values and the ability to attract top talent.  I want to see Houston grow by taking non-energy industry corporate headquarters away from Chicago, NY, San Fran, Boston, etc.  It should be a no brainer to relocated to Houston.  Even with the recent run up in real estate prices, Houston is a bargain in comparison.  But, it is well known that Houston cannot compete in terms of quality of life with the aforementioned cities because Houston has chosen to let developers do as they please instead of planning to enhance quality of life.  The current boom in multifamily will just give way to impossible traffic and over crowded retail areas.  With a little planning, areas inside the loop that are seeing growth could become highly desireable neighborhoods like the Back Bay, Greenwich Village, Lincoln Park or Pacific Heights. 

 

Without dissecting this entire post, it is clear that you live by the standards that bloggers from other cities impose upon you. You have no independent mind. Where I enjoy the life I have and the city in which I live, you appear to read others' uneducated opinions of Houston and adopt them as your own. That is fine. You are free to be dependent upon others for your opinions. But, don't expect me to agree with you. Houston has been good to me, and it is getting even better, regardless what uppity bloggers who've never visited may write...and certainly regardless what you may think.

 

You clearly were not here when Houston actually was a one trick pony. Now, Houston is the oil capitol, a huge port, and the best medical center in the world. Houston is doing so well we hardly even noticed that Continental left. Read the magazines and newspapers. They aren't talking about Chicago, except for its murder rate. They're talking 'bout us.    

[fwki]

Red, maybe that's all it is....regurgitation....I've tried but I still don't get wtf he's talking about but it sounds important, and he is absolutely obsessed with it for some reason.  I "think" it is about Other People's Time And Money and what they should do with it.  Or maybe it's some sort of political statement but I don't think so since he is obviously not involved in local politics.  Eh, I'll go with partial regurgitation from various unattributed sources.

[samagon]

So, if Chicago is such a hell hole, why did United drop Houston like a hot potato in favor of Chicago? It should have been the complete opposite result.  Why is so much more venture capital going to the extremely business unfriendly states like Massachussetts and California?  The answer is obvious to anyone who has any ability to look at Houston objectively without lazily falling into the small minded nativism that keeps Houston from becoming the world class city that is should be.  Houston is fortuitously located at the center of the US oil and gas industry.  Most of the major refining and production in the US is located in the Gulf Coast area.  Business comes to Houston because it has to, not because it wants too.  A friend of mine who is from the West Coast and working for Chevron on assignment considers Houston to be like an exotic assignment abroad.  When his time is up, he is headed back to the Bay area to work at Chevron's corporate head quarters.  He could probably jump ship and get a big bonus to work for another oil company in Houston, but will go back to California for high taxes, cost of living, etc. because the quality of life is better.  Californians realized that good planning means good quality of life, higher property values and the ability to attract top talent.  I want to see Houston grow by taking non-energy industry corporate headquarters away from Chicago, NY, San Fran, Boston, etc.  It should be a no brainer to relocated to Houston.  Even with the recent run up in real estate prices, Houston is a bargain in comparison.  But, it is well known that Houston cannot compete in terms of quality of life with the aforementioned cities because Houston has chosen to let developers do as they please instead of planning to enhance quality of life.  The current boom in multifamily will just give way to impossible traffic and over crowded retail areas.  With a little planning, areas inside the loop that are seeing growth could become highly desireable neighborhoods like the Back Bay, Greenwich Village, Lincoln Park or Pacific Heights. 

 

You have no idea what you are talking about.

 

Even doing a quick wikipedia search shows that.

 

there are a few ways to rank quality of life.

 

standard of living (cost of living index) is one of them:

http://www.vdare.com/posts/top-10-standard-of-living-cities-in-the-us

 

No california cities rank in the top 10, Houston ranks in the top 10 as does Dallas. Guess who ranks in the bottom 10? 3 of them are in california...

 

quality of life:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/145913/City-Wellbeing-Tracking.aspx

 

according to that data, Houston is less than 1 point behind LA in our quality of life. and that's considering we're all so fat...

 

development index:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_Human_Development_Index

 

guess if you want to raise kids, Houston might be a bad idea compared to California, but then Norway is the best idea, I imagine the cold weather really hampers the overall quality of life in general though.

 

so ultimately, there is no compelling evidence given by the common standards of living indices that show that Houston is less of a livable city than other places. There certainly is no standard of living index based on ground floor retail.

 

If you equate high taxes to high standard of living (which is not an index of standard of living, indeed cost of living indexed against salary is a major factor in cost of living, and it's not the less you make and the more you spend the better off you are, it's the opposite), then California is the place for you, NOT Houston, feel free to pull up your stakes and hop a train west.

 

 

 

Detroit was world class when the big three were king.  When the auto industry left, Detroit died because it did not diversify.  Houston should heed the lesson of Detroit.

 

As for the rest of your post, if by "offer" you mean big box grocery stores, cheap housing, strip malls and an occasional stand of old live oak trees that did not get plowed for new development, then sure, corporate board of directors should be closing up shop in NY, Chicago, Paris, London and sending their best and brightest to Houston.  But if your best and brightest wants to live in a city with more than two and a half jazz venues, more touring arts groups than David Sedaris and Blue Man Group and more street scapes than three blocks in Midtown along Gray, a few blocks of Westheimer in Montrose, and 19th st. in the Heights, then Houston has some work to do.

 

I value our greenspace and outdoor venues much higher than blue man group, or some guy named david, or any 'streetscape'. 

 

What good would it do to live in LA where some French circus act performs once a year if you can't afford the tickets thanks to all the taxes and high cost of living? Boasting rights? I'd rather live in Houston, hop a flight to vegas and catch blue man group and that French circus thingy all in one weekend, then jet over to Europe for a nice vacation 2 or 3 weeks is always good. But I'm sure it would be nice to live in a city like LA where all these acts come and go all the time, but not be able to afford any of it, maybe a drive to mexico to get stabbed or something would be nice too.

 

I can safely say I have never been privy to sit in a board room meeting when they are deciding where to move their corporate headquarters, but I can assure you that one topic that is not up for discussion "How many mixed use developments are there around the heights? Not in the heart of the Heights, but around the edges." They don't give one little small poopie about ground floor retail.

[TGM]

Houston is fortuitously located at the center of the US oil and gas industry. Most of the major refining and production in the US is located in the Gulf Coast area. Business comes to Houston because it has to, not because it wants too.

A friend of mine who is from the West Coast and working for Chevron on assignment considers Houston to be like an exotic assignment abroad. When his time is up, he is headed back to the Bay area to work at Chevron's corporate head quarters. He could probably jump ship and get a big bonus to work for another oil company in Houston, but will go back to California for high taxes, cost of living, etc. because the quality of life is better.

Chevron's Global Upstream HQ's is in Houston. Notice the word "Global".

Yes, Houston is exotic like Cabinda, Duri, Almaty, Escravos, etc. I'm sure your friend also receives hazard pay for his time in Houston. Did he get his shots before traveling here? Did he give a diversity moment when he got back to San Ramon outlining the warm hospitality of the simple native Houstonians?

Whatever.

[RedScare]

Yeah, that's what's funny about anecdotes. They mean nothing. I have several Asian friends who work for Chevron, and all of them hated being sent to San Ramon. They could not wait to get back to hellish Houston. 

[SilverJK]

So what?  This is real estate, not solid-state electronics.  Each development presents different issues.  People who want to see mixed use are not required to approve of every mixed use development and ignore issues like scale and proximity to single family homes (or ghastly architecture).  I am glad that 1111 Studewood included ground floor retail, but think the building is out of scale for the surrounding neighborhood.  I think that Trammell Crow's development presents significant infrastructure issues, but is a more appropriate land use that 1111 Studewood given the existing conditions.  But using your circuitry logic, you are a hypocrite if you support 1111 Studewood, but don't think that Trammell Crow's development should have ground floor retail. 

 

I do support Trammell Crow's development having ground floor retail.  I support Trammell Crow's development not having ground floor retail as well.  I don't see any reason to regulate them to one way or the other. 

 

Basically your entire post is the discription of NIMBY, but instead of back yard its Idealic Feuxtopia Location.  NIMIFL?

[SilverJK]

 But if your best and brightest wants to live in a city with more than two and a half jazz venues, more touring arts groups than David Sedaris and Blue Man Group and more street scapes than three blocks in Midtown along Gray, a few blocks of Westheimer in Montrose, and 19th st. in the Heights, then Houston has some work to do.

 

So your speaking up for the Best and Brightest too now? 

 

 

I find this post absolutely hilarious for other reasons that I'm not sharing.  (let's just say I'm personally involved)

[s3mh]

Yeah, that's what's funny about anecdotes. They mean nothing. I have several Asian friends who work for Chevron, and all of them hated being sent to San Ramon. They could not wait to get back to hellish Houston. 

So, I guess you will take down your post about the guy in a wheel chair you saw crossing the street to get to Walmart.  Ooooppppssss.

[JJxvi]

So your anecdote was a bad joke?

[RedScare]

So, I guess you will take down your post about the guy in a wheel chair you saw crossing the street to get to Walmart.  Ooooppppssss.

 

Not until you take down the made up anecdote about the motorized wheelchair stuck in a ditch that you almost helped but didn't because some other person was quicker with their charity than you. Then I will take down my happy wheeler dude anecdote.

[s3mh]

Not until you take down the made up anecdote about the motorized wheelchair stuck in a ditch that you almost helped but didn't because some other person was quicker with their charity than you. Then I will take down my happy wheeler dude anecdote.

 

Wasn't made up.  Yours obviously was.  At least I did not go on to disavow all anecdotes as bunk while only moments ago trumpeting an anecdote.  Can't have it both ways.

[SilverJK]

actually you can if you use sarcasm...

[RedScare]

Wasn't made up.  Yours obviously was.  

 

 

[august948]

Yeah, that's what's funny about anecdotes. They mean nothing. I have several Asian friends who work for Chevron, and all of them hated being sent to San Ramon. They could not wait to get back to hellish Houston.

That's not too surprising. The asian food, especially Vietnamese food, is better and cheaper here.

[mako]

Isn't it great to read these posts from people who went somewhere on vacation, liked it, only to return home and trash the town that made them enough money to go on vacation in the first place? And, we all know that they would be gone in a heartbeat if they could find a job that paid as well, or even find a job at all! Do I feel sorry for these people? Not a chance! All these posts reveal is inability of these people to lead fulfilling lives, instead needing a "vibrant cityscape", or a mountain, or a coast, or even a river or lake to fulfill their lives.

I could taunt these unfulfilled posters with the fact that I can get on my bike and ride the bayou trails, or kayak the bayou, or take a day trip to the coast or lake. They would then respond that our bayou is ugly, our beach sand is ugly, our lakes suck, we have no mountains, or some other remark that proves how unfulfilling their lives are. And because they cannot admit this, they would then accuse me of being a "homer". Well, you know what? I AM a homer! And, I am a much happier Houston homer than you Houston whiners, who spend your days whining about trains, cars, highways, Walmarts, historic preservation, apartment buildings, walkability and, of course, ground floor retail! What can I say? Sucks to be you!

Oh, to bring this back on topic, ground floor retail at this location is a TERRIBLE idea! People complain about the 4 lane traffic ruining the ability to cross Yale, then claim we need ground floor retail on Yale? That is pretty much the definition of new urbanist groupthink, not Trammel Crow. Ground floor retail could work in Rice Village, Midtown, or even 19th Street. But, Yale and 7th Street? Please.

[HoustonMidtown]

Nativist arguments sound great on the internet, but make for terrible policy.  Rejecting great ideas just because they come from outside of Houston and are not compatible with the narrow interests of local real estate developers is what keeps Houston a second class city to the major international world centers.  United Airlines did not even think twice when deciding whether to locate the merged operations in Chicago or Houston.  California and Massachussetts are a basket case of regulations and taxes.  But both vastly out perform Texas when it comes to venture capital funding (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/18/venture-capital-deals-and-investment-on-track-to-reach-record-levels_n_1018713.html#s418518&title=4_Texas_34  and http://www.rockiesventureclub.org/2013/05/venture-capital-bloggers/).  Why?  Because quality of life does matter.  If you want to attract the best companies who hire the best and brightest in the world, you have to provide more than half-assed urban planning.  Otherwise, Houston is as good as it will every get. 

 

Here's a quote from the article regarding the new BBVA Compass high-rise in the Galleria:

 

"BBVA is one of 900 large companies to expand in Houston or relocate to the Bayou City since 2010"

 

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9137206

[mako]

Ah, back from a relaxing trip to Portland. Happy to see that my post generated plenty of lively discussion. Guess I must have enjoyed a few late night craft beers while I was there too - sorta-posting here at 1am???

 

Many interesting arguments over the past couple weeks, but I feel sometimes we are all missing the point. I truly love both Houston & Portland. They both have many fine points in their favor, but that certainly doesn't mean they're perfect and both could learn something from the other. Just because my wife & I have decided to move to Portland when we retire doesn't mean we're "trashing Houston". We have many personal reasons for our choice: we both love to spend time outdoors and the cooler climate appeals to us more than the brutal humid heat, we love to garden and just about any plant will thrive in Portland's climate, my wife went to school in Portland and we have many good friends there, yes we do love the mountains and love to hike the abundant trails or explore the beautiful beaches. I know of a spot on a mountain lake where you can create your own wild hot tub by digging a shallow hole in the geothermally heated beach and regulate the water temperature by blending in frigid lake water. When we get old and can't drive anymore there is fantastic public transit. Of course, the trump card is my son and his wife and our beautiful granddaughter live there.

 

As for Houston. Well Houston is a very dynamic & disparate place. We first moved to the suburbs when the kids were young and spent 20+ years in a master-planned community with good schools & no crime. Great place to raise the kids but a soulless sameness that really deadens your life. We had kind of resigned ourselves to this fate when our daughter returned to Houston after college and moved into the Heights. While we were helping her hunt for a place to live we suddenly realized that we too could become inner-loopers. The Heights appeals to us for a lot of the same reasons that Portland does: you can walk to a lot of businesses & restaurants & businesses (including Wal-Mart, hey its my local store now), lots of friendly fellow pedestrians & bikers, close to the downtown attractions & Dynamo & Astros & Rockets, etc. Frankly we love our home in the Heights, love going to nearby restaurants & the other excellent cuisine that Houston offers these days, love the fact we can go to sporting events or concerts and get home with minimal hassle afterwards. We will truly miss our home in the Heights when we move on.

 

Will I miss Houston when I move on? Definitely. I am sorely aware that Portland has no restaurants that can serve anything remotely equivalent to Tex-Mex & margaritas (good business opportunity!). I'm "forever Orange" and will miss the Dynamo, probably the most successful professional sports team in Houston. I couldn't afford to live well in retirement without the the many fine jobs I've enjoyed in our world class chemical industry. My home in the suburbs was big & cheap & safe. Life in the Heights has been exquisite and the culinary scene in Houston at this moment in time is superb. Portland does have an abundance of excellent Thai & Vietnamese restaurants and many excellent craft brewers (although Houston / Texas has really caught up in this area over the last few years). The big scene in Portland seems to be the abundance of food carts - great variety and generally cheaper prices. Yes I'll miss Oxheart & Underbelly & Feast (oh, wait - they're already gone). 

 

Still, my personal opinion is that Houston is really missing the boat as regards integration of commercial & residential & public transportation. I can't claim to have the answers or assert that cities like Portland do - just my gut feelings, but it is really nice to be able to board a public train at the airport and take it downtown or to your neighborhood for a couple bucks. I've been to way too many downtown areas with block after block of desolate office buildings with no inviting pubs or restaurants where a hungry soul could get a bite to eat or a fine libation. I remember downtown Houston being that way - thank god it's gotten much better. I wish Trammell Crow would have thrown the local community a bone and included some ground floor retail in their development. Nothing much, maybe a coffee shop and restaurant or two. It would be nice if developers did this not because it was legally required or because their financial models indicated it would generate the highest return, but because they realized that their project owes a great deal of its worth to the dynamic community it is investing in. My feeling is that these corporate projects just squeeze every dollar than can out of the ambiance that others have built and are totally unwilling to contribute anything that is not handsomely rewarded, even if it would be a benefit to their own project. Yes, I agree its not illegal, but it seems very short-sighted. A classic case of the "tragedy of the commons" (google it). At some point Houston needs to get a little more help with its infrastructure from those who are handsomely profiting from its development.

 

Is this "trashing Houston"??? No, just trashing our shortsighted leadership. Houston is a fantastic, dynamic place...but it could be much better.

 

 

[s3mh]

The developer has the property to the south (Fixtures Int'l, 5th and 6th St. and Yale) under contract and is planning to do a 5 story multifamily with two floors of garage on the bottom (one floor under ground) and four floors of residential units on top. 

[Angostura]

The developer has the property to the south (Fixtures Int'l, 5th and 6th St. and Yale) under contract and is planning to do a 5 story multifamily with two floors of garage on the bottom (one floor under ground) and four floors of residential units on top. 

 

 

I've heard rumors of this but couldn't find any confirmation.  

 

Is there a source for the plans online somewhere?

 

Description is very similar to what they plan between 6th and 7th.  I'm curious if they also acquired the warehouse facing Allston on this same block.  There's a single-family house on 4100 s.f. of land on the corner of 5th and Allston, but immediately to the north is a large warehouse on close to an acre of land.

[s3mh]

I've heard rumors of this but couldn't find any confirmation.  

 

Is there a source for the plans online somewhere?

 

Description is very similar to what they plan between 6th and 7th.  I'm curious if they also acquired the warehouse facing Allston on this same block.  There's a single-family house on 4100 s.f. of land on the corner of 5th and Allston, but immediately to the north is a large warehouse on close to an acre of land.

 

Trammell Crow contacted CM Cohen.  CM Cohen sent word out to those who were in touch with her about the Alexan Heights project.  It is supposed to be on a 4.9 acre tract of land.  I would assume that the warehouse on odd numbered side of Alllston is part of the deal as the tract on Yale St. is @154k SF.  No idea what is going to happen to the single family house at the end of the street.  TC is building around a hold out on the Alexan Heights property between 6th and 7th.  So, I do not think that they are very concerned with holdouts once they get the SF they need.

[mako]

Here is a copy of the e-mail Cohen sent to the Heights' Association:

Dear Heights Stakeholder,

This week, the District C office was informed of a new construction project planned for the Heights area.

Trammell Crowe Residential (TCR) plans to build a second apartment complex in the area, called Alexan Yale, which will be located on Yale St, between 5th St and 6th St (currently the Fixtures International site). The 4.9 acre tract is expected to include four stories of units over two levels of parking, with one level of parking below grade. TCR has the site under contract and is currently performing preliminary due diligence, and they expect to close the purchase of the property by the end of the year. Once TCR establishes a site plan and unit count, they will perform a new traffic study that will include roadways and intersections included in their previous TIA, while also including new intersections on Yale St, Heights Blvd, and I-10, as well as pedestrian counts.

As further updates emerge from TCR regarding this project, my office will make them available to the leadership of the relevant Heights community organizations. If you have any further questions, please contact TCR at info@tcresidential.com.

Sincerely,

Ellen

Ellen R. Cohen

Houston City Council Member

What can I say? Everybody jokes about NIMBY but this almost literally there - just across the (non-existent) alley if TC doesn't find a way to claim the alley easement as well. Not what I expected when I bought my home here. Haven't seen any plans yet, but I expect the same dull max return for min investment mindset - let's kill everybody's goose & see if we can make off with the golden eggs before the area chokes in gridlock (sorry - had to throw that in for old post's sake).

Just to stir the pot a bit more:

As if my trip to the anti-Houston of Portland, Oregon last month wasn't bad enough, I got this sad news while vacationing in that hell-hole of communist liberal thought - Paris, France. Man, they have so many modes of cheap public transportation here it makes your head spin! Subways, buses, taxis, commuter rail, bicycle sharing, car sharing, high-speed bullet trains, shuttle buses, everything you can think of - I've never had so many choices for getting from one point to another. Oh, and lots of ground level retail.

[RedScare]

Uhh...dude. 6 story apartment buildings are ALL OVER Portland and Paris. If you are whining about higher density while pining for Portland and Paris, then I can only surmise that you are ignorant or a troll.

[RedScare]

Actually, I may have to rephrase this. It appears that Portland is no more dense than Houston. Further, the entire Portland metro area comprises a population of 2,289,000 within an area of 6,684 square miles. Houston, on the other hand, squeezes its entire city population of 2.25 million into only 600 square miles, making Houston 11 times as dense as Portland. In other words, as far as density and walkability goes, Houston has it all over Portland. Living in Portland is like living in a rural town. No wonder people love it so. It is small and quaint.

 

Paris, on the other hand...

[s3mh]

Actually, I may have to rephrase this. It appears that Portland is no more dense than Houston. Further, the entire Portland metro area comprises a population of 2,289,000 within an area of 6,684 square miles. Houston, on the other hand, squeezes its entire city population of 2.25 million into only 600 square miles, making Houston 11 times as dense as Portland. In other words, as far as density and walkability goes, Houston has it all over Portland. Living in Portland is like living in a rural town. No wonder people love it so. It is small and quaint.

 

Paris, on the other hand...

http://www.governing.com/gov-data/population-density-census-data-map.html

 

No.  You are wrong.  Portland is more dense than Houston according to real statistics.  Portland's urban density is 3,527 per square mile, while Houston is 2,978 per square mile.  You are comparing apples to oranges.  Portland's incorporated area has a population of 593,820.  Houston in 2.145 mil.  The greater metropolitan area for Houston is @6.2 mil.  Portland is @2.29 mil.  So, when you compare Portland's greater metro with Houston's incorporated area, it looks like Houston is more dense.  But, when you actually compare apples to apples, Portland is more dense. 

 

But that isn't really the issue.  The issue is who does a better job of managing density.  Portland is light years ahead of Houston in terms of public transportation, bike access and pedestrian friendly neighborhoods.  That has allowed Portland to become more dense without sacrificing quality of life.

[RedScare]

If you'd like to make that claim, then my original post stands. That poster is crying about midrises in Houston while praising them in Portland and Paris.

 

Typical of those who live by ideology rather than reality.

 

BTW, you are wrong. Houston's estimated population is over 2.2 million. It's land area is 600 square miles. Density is 3666, more than Portland.

[JJxvi]

Density depends on how you look at it and you can pick and choose your facts. The same number of people that live in Portland basically live with Loop 610, which is smaller in area than Portland and thus denser. There are probably very dense areas of Portland that are denser than Houston, but its a smaller town and thus hard to compare on most levels.