Land West Of Katy

[N Judah]

Rephrase: Growth cannot be stopped by intentionally cutting back on investments to infrastructure. It can be affected and can be guided, but it cannot be stopped.

I'm not sure who here is advocating stopping growth by cutting back on investments to infrastructure, but it's certainly not me. I simply think that it's important to realize that infrastructure is what causes growth in the first place -- though I have hypothesized that adding negative infrastructure (which is different from slowing the rate of infrastructure-adding) would be an interesting way of revealing the dependence of growth on infrastructure.

And I would argue that the growth occured along existing corridors because they initially provided the most convenient access, but then continued in spite of extremely heavy traffic. It took a fairly long while to provide adequate infrastructure to those in the northern suburbs, but growth didn't stop in the mean time.

And I would argue that apparently the infrastructure *was* more than adequate, otherwise it wouldn't have grown.

Also, Austin's east-west connectivity problems didn't seem to halt the construction of homes near Lake Travis.

Interesting. I'll leave it up to you to figure out why homes near Lake Travis would be seen as desirable even without a subsidized commute reduction.

Yes you did. Your statement, made in reference to Houston's growth patterns outside of Beltway 8 is quoted as follows:

I understand what the growth pattern is, I just don't see how that's a relevant justification for freeway building. The high # of home starts outside Beltway 8 is *caused* by the freeway expansion that has occurred outside of it. It's not a "pattern" of unknown origin. It has an obvious cause, and that cause is federally-funded highways.

When the Gulf Freeway was completed, an older coworker of mine that is generally against freeway construction even acknowledged that most people were very excited about it...it saved time. Of course it led to even further growth and the eventual need for widening...but what was the harm in that? More housing for taxpayers a problem?

I doubt the gas taxes paid for by the people of Telephone Rd came anywhere close to paying for the Gulf Freeway. I'd be excited, too, if the government handed me an improved commute time I didn't pay for.

Inner-city areas are already pretty well linked up to roads and mass transit. There are rapidly-diminishing returns on dollars invested in the inner city that do not apply to the suburbs because transportation infrastructure is only minimally available on the suburban fringe. [...] As such, those prefering to live in town have fewer economic barriers in their way, but retain access to the same or greater level of transit service as suburbanites.

I can see how there would be diminishing returns on road construction in the inner city but I'm not convinced that that's the case for all of the possible transit improvements.

[N Judah]

It became evident that there was a need for them when people began buying them.

A lot of the newer McMansion neighborhoods are the by-product of freeway subsidies. If you subsidize anything, people are going to buy more of it.

[PureAuteur]

What kind of "choice" are we giving people merely by offering up oodles more acres of same-same-same. Does happiness equate with everyone being workerbees who spend absurd amounts of time playing "drive till you qualify" each day in choking heat, noise and pollution, only to finally get to one's tract home that looks much like the bazillions of others passed on the commute?? How does personal health, family wellbeing, etc., benefit from all of this? Quality of life has to include a lot more than sprawl and affordability. And it certainly has to include more than strip malls, franchise restaurants and pharmacies.

You and I would probably get along well, since I feel the exact same way. Since this thread is about land west of Katy, there seems to be some land, 1,400 acres to be exact, where some developer thought it would be profitable, even though the housing boom is over, to build a huge masterplanned community. The homepage of their website says it all.

"Developing on 1,400 acres west of Houston where the coastal plain transitions into the grasslands of the hill country. Designed to be a unique and masterful blend of many wonderful things that transform a community into the place that you'll call home. Urban convenience and small town charm. The finest in modern amenities and spectacular natural amenities. The latest advanced technology and a milkman that still delivers door to door."

www.firethorne.info

"Coastal plains transitioning into the grasslands of the hill country"

Translation: Coastal plains transitioning into more coastal plains of flat farm land and rice fields with no trees

I'm sure that when I visit Firethorne, it will look somewhat like Wimberley or San Marcos, since it's in that "transition", even though you're still like 150 miles away from the real transition. Aren't grasslands and hill country two separate types of geographical landscapes?

"Urban convenience and small town charm."

Translation: We're gonna pre-package the best of both worlds for you, just like every other master-planned community. We never claimed to be original.

If you want small town charm, move to an actual small town. If you want urban convenience, move to Houston inside loop 610.

"The latest advanced technology and a milkman that still delivers door to door."

Translation: After lots of market research, we decided this gimmick would sell homes, just like Coles Crossing before us.

I didn't realize there were milkmen who STILL deliver door to door, as if they have been doing so since the 1950s. Wow, that milkman must be like 90 years old by now.

This is all just my opinion of this kind of stuff. It's probably a good place to live and raise a family, and should definitely be something to consider to anyone eyeing land west of Katy.

[TheNiche]

"Coastal plains transitioning into the grasslands of the hill country"

Translation: Coastal plains transitioning into more coastal plains of flat farm land and rice fields with no trees

I'm sure that when I visit Firethorne, it will look somewhat like Wimberley or San Marcos, since it's in that "transition", even though you're still like 150 miles away from the real transition. Aren't grasslands and hill country two separate types of geographical landscapes?

They actually are at about the point where coastal prairie changes to a more topographically-interesting landscape. I wouldn't have used the words "hill country", because a lot of people have another preconceived notion of what that entails...but it is at a geological transition zone.

Btw, the housing boom has probably peaked out, but its still strong as long as you aren't in a market that caters to the lower classes.

[Trae]

Well, I like it out here in Firethorne. It is getting pretty crowded, and we are only a mile away form Katy city limits.

[TheNiche]

I'm not sure who here is advocating stopping growth by cutting back on investments to infrastructure, but it's certainly not me. I simply think that it's important to realize that infrastructure is what causes growth in the first place -- though I have hypothesized that adding negative infrastructure (which is different from slowing the rate of infrastructure-adding) would be an interesting way of revealing the dependence of growth on infrastructure.

Damn. Completely overlooked your response from so many months ago. To keep things brief and to the point:

Freeways cause household growth like flies cause garbage.

That is to say, the stregnth of the local economy justifies the creation of new households. New households must go somewhere. They tend to go outward from employment centers until stopped by natural or political bariers. If freeways aren't implemented, commuters suffer. If freeways aren't implemented, growth will still occur on the suburban fringe (albeit at a slower rate), but commuters are still relegated to a pretty miserable existence and many people are for all intents and purposes denied the choice to live where they would like to within the region.

[Trae]

We aren't that far out either. We are under a mile from IH-10, so getting to Downtown is actually quicker than people in Seven Meadows or Falcon Ranch, or Cinco Ranch (west of 99). Of course this is using IH-10.