When You Think Of Houston...

[The Great Hizzy!]

So what should we do to change our image? This isn't facetiousness at all. We meed a list of the most common "Houston sucks!" points of contentious so we can address these sticking points and make the good people like us.

So let's get cracking. Someone somewhere has a spotty image of us and we need to "make them see the light." So what to do? What's going to make them see us as "not so bad"? After 20 or 30 years of trying to come up with the right slogan or the right campaign, we still suck, and that has to change.

Any ideas?

(NOTE: Houston has flaws, plenty of them, that's not my snide point, but an image campaign doesn't make a city any livable than what it is. Just helps you get your picture in the year book).

[RedScare]

People, this image thing is no joke. Think what you will of the outside worlds negative view of us, but we are the one's being hurt by it. This has nothing to do with anything we have accomplished in our past. This is about who we are today and where we should be going in the future. So mentioning how many Stadiums the city opened within a few years of each other is not worth a hill of beans to me with regard to our image.

There are some positive things in the article about a few students who have come to like Houston after being here a couple of years, but the subject of the article is about how the city of Houston itself turns students off and choose to go elsewhere. That is a HECK of a statment to make folks and should be something to think about.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How could I have been so wrong? I didn't realize it was this serious. I am so depressed now, that I must go to a local purveyor of distilled spirits in an attempt to lift my own spirits. Oh, the humanity! By the end of the year, no one will live in Houston! All of our hard work will have been for naught!

I better make that a double.

[MidtownCoog]

Promoting Houston has been ineffective due the the numerous groups competing to be the "voice" for Houston.

I want you to want me.

I need you to need me.

I'd love you to love me.

I'm beggin' you to beg me.

I'll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand-new shirt.

I'll get home early from work if you say that you love me

[The Great Hizzy!]

Personally, I'm more interested in improving the livability and appearance of Houston (which should be the concern of everyone in every city). To wit, Houston needs to:

1.) Address the overall poor quality of many of its streets, particularly outside the loop

2.) Improve the streetscapes in many of its formerly rural-turned-"urban" neighborhoods, particularly in the NE, Acres Homes, Sunnyside and so forth.

3.) Continue on its current quest to eliminate abandoned houses and businesses. Houston isn't a poor city and shouldn't have a noticable amount of empty structures sitting in certain neighborhoods. Sure, these structures are more concentrated in certain areas but they still shouldn't be standing.

4.) Continue to work to enhance its regional mobility patterns, including better designed, better funded and better promoted public transit lines. Also, focus on existing freeways and highways would be helpful as well, including taking existing roads that terminate seemingly for no reason and extending them so that they connect with another abruptly terminated section of the highway to include regional traffic flow that doesn't burden our already burden freeways (good examples include TC Jester, Airport Blvd, West Road and many others).

5.) Improve the upkeep and appearance of the Bayou (granted, a long range mult-million dollar project is underway for Buffalo Bayou and many other bayous but there also needs to be some address for the longterm maintenance of these waterways; what's the point of improving them when you don't have any plans to maintain them so that they look healthy for years to come?)

6.) Address the real problem of a declining public school district. You want to keep families in the city? Improve how our schools are run, how they are funded and who is in a position to teach. Provide better security, better oversight and better public interaction so that parents feel a bit better about how the school operates.

7.) Improve the air quality. Duh!

8.) Continue (key word: continue) to focus on improving downtown. Despite recent "the sky is falling" laments, downtown Houston is still on the rise and is infinitely better than where it was six years ago. Still, better promotion locally will lead to expanded interest in living, working and playing downtown. From there, you can start worrying about tourists.

And there are other points. Sure, you can always continue to market yourself nationally, but you also have to been willing to admit that people are going to like you if they have it in them to like you. You have to understand that no matter what you do or say, some people will hate you for no other reason than that's what they prefer to do. Accepting this makes things a lot less frustrating.

[MidtownCoog]

#9 - increased cooperation between the COH and Harris Co.

No more competing with each other!

[nate]

"Be Yourself" would be a lot more effective than "It's worth it".

"It's worth it" sounds like there is something wrong with, or working against, Houston to begin with.

Now get out there and BE YOURSELF today! 

I like that.

Opportunity is a nice word to describe Houston. Although the city has a lot of problems, I think Houston does better than any other major American city in providing real chance for advancement for everyone.

I remember my Mexican-American barber telling me the same thing, that Houston was a place where that was business friendly and where anyone could make it. I couldn't help but agree.

[houstonfella]

Houston is Houston. Take it or leave it. Move here or stay away. Whatever. Houston is Houston. It could be worse -- you could live in D...... 'errr..... let me not go there.

[Gary]

Promoting Houston has been ineffective due the the numerous groups competing to be the "voice" for Houston.

I want you to want me.

I need you to need me.

I'd love you to love me.

I'm beggin' you to beg me.

I'll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand-new shirt.

I'll get home early from work if you say that you love me

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ha ha, who knew Cheap Trick would come up with our slogan.

[Gary]

There was a fantastic article in yesterday's Chronicle about Rice University and how it's having a hard time recruiting students from around the country and even from within Texas because it is located in Houston. Think I'm exaggerating? Check out the link below (Only those that subscribe to the chronicle and can provide an account number will be able to see it. Because it is from yesterday, I can't post a direct link because it is now archived).

Link

People, this image thing is no joke. Think what you will of the outside worlds negative view of us, but we are the one's being hurt by it. This has nothing to do with anything we have accomplished in our past. This is about who we are today and where we should be going in the future. So mentioning how many Stadiums the city opened within a few years of each other is not worth a hill of beans to me with regard to our image.

There are some positive things in the article about a few students who have come to like Houston after being here a couple of years, but the subject of the article is about how the city of Houston itself turns students off and choose to go elsewhere. That is a HECK of a statment to make folks and should be something to think about.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For some reason I'll never understand, people view Houston as a cess pool. This view is almost always from those who have never been here, but here about it through the grape vine.

I've said a few times that before moving here I was told by everyone I knew what a sh#t hole Houston was. Of course they were way off.

I certainly understand that the city needs to have many improvements but what city doesn't? My take is that Houston has had a negative image since the 70's and it has followed us into the 2000's. Someone, anyone needs to address the cities image on a huge scale to let those around the nation know how great it is.

I think when some of us hear the negatives from outsiders we tend to overblow the problem. five plus million people don't live here because this city sucks.

[bigguy]

For Gods sake someone institute zoning . and tear down the empty shacks . Its the roadside ditches that set the whole thing off . Name a nice area inside the loop and it probably has sidewalks and undergound sewers . Just Do It .

[sevfiv]

For Gods sake someone institute  zoning . and tear down the empty shacks . Its the roadside ditches that set the whole thing off . Name a nice area inside the loop and it probably has sidewalks and undergound sewers . Just Do It .

which areas are you referring to?

[RedScare]

For Gods sake someone institute

[jee]

There was a fantastic article in yesterday's Chronicle about Rice University and how it's having a hard time recruiting students from around the country and even from within Texas because it is located in Houston. Think I'm exaggerating? Check out the link below (Only those that subscribe to the chronicle and can provide an account number will be able to see it. Because it is from yesterday, I can't post a direct link because it is now archived).

Link

People, this image thing is no joke. Think what you will of the outside worlds negative view of us, but we are the one's being hurt by it. This has nothing to do with anything we have accomplished in our past. This is about who we are today and where we should be going in the future. So mentioning how many Stadiums the city opened within a few years of each other is not worth a hill of beans to me with regard to our image.

There are some positive things in the article about a few students who have come to like Houston after being here a couple of years, but the subject of the article is about how the city of Houston itself turns students off and choose to go elsewhere. That is a HECK of a statment to make folks and should be something to think about.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yup..I've been out of state recently, and most people I meet sometimes jokingly, sometimes not pretty much view Houston as a place they don't want to go to. They always want to visit Austin, some even Dallas, but not Houston. I think it's because of the humidity and sprawl. But I also met 2 people who had lived in Houston and said that it does grow on you....they learned to really like Houston. I'm still learning too, I guess.

As for the image, I think the one thing Houston can really market is the international diversity. Most people don't know that Houston is very multicultural.

[bachanon]

welcome to the forum jee.

[Guest danax]

Several posts noted that Houston tends to grow on you. I agree. We're a hard place to define and describe, you really almost need to live here awhile before you "get it". And even then, you'll probably have a hard time explaining why.

I think we are the American city (I've only visited and lived in a few though) that best exemplifies what the Japanese call wabi-sabi.

Wabi-sabi (in Kanji: 侘寂) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic system, and is difficult to explain precisely in western terms. According to Leonard Koren, wabi-sabi is the most conspicuous and characteristic feature of what we think of as traditional Japanese beauty and it

[Heights2Bastrop]

you really almost need to live here awhile before you "get it"

Truer words could not be found, danax. That is precisely what Houston is about.

You know, manure is not the most pleasant fragrance to be found. But, man oh man, how it helps make the most beautiful flowers bloom. Once the benefits are realized, manure becomes a good deal less odoriferous.

[bigguy]

I am talking about area on the east end of north of I-10 and inside the 610 loop . You can see a well kept up home next to one with broken windows and the roof line makes a big v , with a over grown yard full of trash . Most citys call this a fire hazard or a condemed structure and bulldoze the lot and send the bill to owner . I can see people walking in the park on my way to work on the 610 and thats a good sign . The drainage ditches collect trash and leave standing water , if you keep yours mowed and litter free you are to be commended . Its not the price of the home that makes it a home . Its the pride of ownership . A home that costs 600k or 700k does not mean the people who live there are better lifeforms than the people who live in a 50k home across town nor does it make the the familey more loving or smarter or less human . City zoneing prevents slum lords and makes it so people must maintain the propertys they own . Not just set on them until they can turn a buck with little care to the surrounding propertys .

[sevfiv]

ah yes, lazy homeowners. sometimes deed restrictions/neighborhood associations can help curb some of it, but like we have all witnessed, not always...

[RedScare]

City zoneing prevents slum lords and makes it so people must maintain the propertys they own . Not just set on them until they can turn a buck with little care to the surrounding propertys .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's funny! You've never visited the Northeastern cities, have you?

[YakuzaIce]

That's funny!  You've never visited the Northeastern cities, have you?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Some people on this forum really need to do some research on what zoning is. They act as if it would be a godsend. Just look at our neighbours to the north, and see the differences between us and them. Not too many ehh.

[bigguy]

I have been to the northeast some are better than others , depends on economy of the area, Houston is making great strides . People told I was nuts to move back , but the best people in the world live here , yes it grows on you and yes I have wasted plenty of petro checking out what i have read here .

[Heights2Bastrop]

If we want others to know what Houston is all about, we could adopt the slogan