METRORail Uptown Line

[KinkaidAlum]

Crunchtastic is on to something big...

The Uptown Line by FENDI: You can't board unless your bag costs more than a Hyundai Accent

The University Line by AMERICAN APPAREL: Forget tickets; You better have a CAUSE

The North Line Extension by ExtenZE: First line too short? Let us lend a hand

The SE Line by CAT ICE: Melanie Brewing Company says Unleash the Cat; drink up Tigers and Coogs

The Main Line by ED HARDY: Because all the douches can't be on Washington Ave

The Brown Line by QUINCE 15 PHOTOGRAPHY: Reach the Mecom Fountain in Elegance

[N Judah]

To be honest, I think that would ruin their brands more than anything. But since the mayor has proposed making transit free, I did consider that they might want to make some money by selling ads on trains. I just think it would be more along the lines of the ads already found on the sides of or inside the buses.

[312]

KTRK managed to put up a link on the story.

Also found this new link on KTRK, as well.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=7297506

[samagon]

Which cities? And don't give me a city with a mountain backdrop or one on a breathtaking body of water. Give me something comparable to Houston's topography, like Orlando or Jackson, Mississippi. Which of these cities are more pleasing to the eye and why? Again, don't mention mountains or oceans in your explanation. There's nothing a developer or city planner can do about Houston's geography.

LA, you can't see the mountains, so while it may be located close, it is topographically similar.

I haven't spent a lot of time in LA, but it does seem to be pretty much the same, really nice, then 2 blocks away, really poor, then really nice again.

In fact, I'd say that Houston and LA share a lot in common, huge sprawl, lots of freeways, lots of industry situated outside of the CBD, many different points of interest that force you to drive through ugly to get to nice.

Dallas is again another example of a city much like our own.

It is easy to think of smaller cities that have beautiful cores (without looking at the backdrop) Denver, Austin, San Antonio, just to name some places I have been. Obviously these places aren't even close in scale to Houston, and as such don't have the same logistical problems, but they are great examples of cities that exist with a very pleasing city center without even considering the backdrop.

[AtticaFlinch]

LA, you can't see the mountains, so while it may be located close, it is topographically similar.

I haven't spent a lot of time in LA, but it does seem to be pretty much the same, really nice, then 2 blocks away, really poor, then really nice again.

In fact, I'd say that Houston and LA share a lot in common, huge sprawl, lots of freeways, lots of industry situated outside of the CBD, many different points of interest that force you to drive through ugly to get to nice.

Dallas is again another example of a city much like our own.

It is easy to think of smaller cities that have beautiful cores (without looking at the backdrop) Denver, Austin, San Antonio, just to name some places I have been. Obviously these places aren't even close in scale to Houston, and as such don't have the same logistical problems, but they are great examples of cities that exist with a very pleasing city center without even considering the backdrop.

LA, Dallas and Atlanta all suffer from the same affliction. Parts are pretty and other parts aren't. That's my point. So, so what? Even Austin, Denver and San Antonio have ugly sections. Ugly isn't unique to Houston. Nor is bitching about where the grass is greener.

It seems to me the people who complain most about the city's appearance are those who only know the 'burbs and the freeways. In other words, the people who complain aren't qualified to give an informed pronouncement. They base all their opinions on hearsay and I-45, not experience.

[EMME]

citykid is right though, there are a few select areas where Houston builds for aesthetics. The Galleria is one, but downtown, the city's main centerpiece could do a better job.

The city doesn't build the Galleria towards aesthetics...the Uptown Association does a lot of that through it's own funding.

[N Judah]

Houston has room for improvement. Other cities may have their ugly spots but that's no reason to give up, and that doesn't mean we can't learn from them or that they don't have anything to offer.

[AtticaFlinch]

Houston has room for improvement. Other cities may have their ugly spots but that's no reason to give up, and that doesn't mean we can't learn from them or that they don't have anything to offer.

I don't disagree, however I get annoyed with statements like this:

all i'm saying is in comparison to many other cities, houston struggles on the looks department.

This type of statement is a clear baseless assumption and demonstrates a lack of necessary relative experience. I guarantee anyone who'd write this has traveled very little outside Houston, and the travel experiences they've had were confined to small segments of wherever it was they went. Houston's pretty far outweighs Houston's ugly, especially "in comparison to many other cities".

Am I the only one who gets so annoyed with such banal ignorance?

[kylejack]

I don't think you can call it ignorance when we're talking about a subjective standard.

[AtticaFlinch]

I don't think you can call it ignorance when we're talking about a subjective standard.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all?

Yes and no. Aesthethic subjectivism relies fully on the art or the object of scrutiny to elicit some sort of emotional response, any response. I'd take you all the way down this path of mental self-gratification, but rather than waste a ton of time, I'll stick with the basics: 1) It elicits an emotional response. 2) It therefore has merit. 3) It is beautiful. 4) It is simultaneously ugly.

In a true subjective sense, all things are ugly and all things are beautiful so long as somewhere, somehow it elicits some emotional response from someone. But, we all know the world a little less subjectively than that. I'm confident the poster who wrote the ignorant comment meant his words in absolute terms (ie. A is ugly and B is pretty). Subjectivism is the opposite of this linear thought process. And therefore, to declare Houston as lacking in beauty in comparison to other cities is about as ignorant a statement as can be made.

You can disagree with me, but you'd be wrong.

[kylejack]

Beauty itself is a subjective standard. One person can think something is pretty and another can think it is not. It doesn't necessarily mean that either is ignorant. Each has his or her own opinion.

If someone said, Houston has fewer parks than _________, well, that is an objective standard and you can tell them they are ignorant if they are wrong.

Edited March 2, 2010 by kylejack

[20thStDad]

Houston does not exploit its natural beauty to the extent that other cities known as beautiful do, and on top of that with the topography Houston has limited natural beauty to work with. Trees and bayous...mud and flat...we make do. But as far as landscaped and maintained curbs, medians, and public areas Houston doesn't do near as well as it should in most areas in/near the loop.

[skwatra]

i agree that Houston is not as appealing in looks as other big cities. i think the biggest root of the problem is the freeways and strip malls. recently, we have done a lot of things to beautify the city (59 build was such a change form the norm, main street downtown) but the ugly roots are still there that are not going away. i have traveled a lot, and spent lots of time in chicago, orlando, sf, la, denver. lots of these places do have natural beauty way beyond what we have, but others don't and just are much more appealing to the eye. when you drive on all the freeways in orlando, other than directions to disney you don't see any strip malls or billboards, just fauna and ponds. when you're in the city the freeways aren't an eyesore. LA is similar, though they have their problems in certain areas, its a lot less then houston.

overall i think we're going in the right direction. and we also still have the "we don't give a darn what we look like" feel which is something i like about houston, so i can't complain.

but uptown as always been different, from their street signs and overhangs, etc. i think they will step in and make sure the rail blends in, and keep the feel they have created there, which is different from the rest of houston.

[AtticaFlinch]

Beauty itself is a subjective standard. One person can think something is pretty and another can think it is not. It doesn't necessarily mean that either is ignorant. Each has his or her own opinion.

If someone said, Houston has fewer parks than _________, well, that is an objective standard and you can tell them they are ignorant if they are wrong.

Eh, whatever. Not all opinions are valid or right merely because we can affix the "opinion" appellation to it. It was an ignorant statement, I stick by that, and especially so in light of the comparison drawn.

And for all of you running off on the natural beauty tangent, there's a reason why I excluded mountains and seascapes from any comparisons. Those are vistas that naturally appeal to the human eye. People don't think Seattle is prettier than Houston because of the city itself. The waterfront and the surrounding mountains distinguish it from Houston pretty well, but once you look past that, you see just another American city full of strip malls, dirty freeways and slums - the very crap the whiners so like to use as examples of Houston's perceived ugliness.

That said, if you don't like it, do something about it. I agree we should always strive for progress, but rather than make mountains out of molehills, why don't you make real mountains (or whatever you find beautiful)?

[RedScare]

Beauty itself is a subjective standard. One person can think something is pretty and another can think it is not. It doesn't necessarily mean that either is ignorant. Each has his or her own opinion.

If someone said, Houston has fewer parks than _________, well, that is an objective standard and you can tell them they are ignorant if they are wrong.

But, what if someone said Houston has MORE parks than ____________? What if Houston had more parkland than San Diego, 4 times the parkland of Portland, and 8.5 times the parks as Seattle? What if Houston had 14 times the parkland of Atlanta, and 9 times the area of C2H's hometown of Denver? Would anyone give Houston any credit then? Frankly, I doubt it. It is not hip to appreciate the good in Houston, only to denigrate it. Every city has its butt ugly areas and its beauty. Houston has put hundreds of millions of dollars into sprucing itself up, but some people look right past that to find a derelict area as proof that we've done nothing. Seriously, how do you MISS 52,700 acres of parks!

City Parkland

[kylejack]

But see that's what I'm saying. As an objective standard it can be measured and declared as fact. Some people might think El Paso is a beautiful city. I do not. And that's fine.

[N Judah]

I don't think the Houston model is a QOL-centric model. So I wouldn't count on the city doing anything more than the absolute minimum. TIRZs can make the surface seem shiny but do they have control over things like variance, setbacks, signage, or traffic flow? If not, there wouldn't be much they can do either.

Edited March 3, 2010 by N Judah

[AtticaFlinch]

I don't think the Houston model is a QOL-centric model. So I wouldn't count on the city doing anything more than the absolute minimum. TIRZs can make the surface seem shiny but do they have control over things like variance, setbacks, signage, or traffic flow? If not, there wouldn't be much they can do either.

One of my favorite quotes is by Walt Whitman:

Do I contradict myself?

Very well then. I contradict myself.

I am large. I contain multitudes.

It's my go-to defense whenever I say something so blatantly at odds with something I've said before.

Agreed...I think Houston's at the point on the curve where even minimal effort can have a hugely positive effect. Maybe get the TIRZ to chip in? You'd think they'd be on board with that, even moreso now that there's a vague threat out there of businesses saying they'll leave.

N Judah, every time I read something you write, I'm reminded of Flea's character on The Big Lebowski: "I am a nihilist! I am a nihilist!"

I don't know why...

Edited March 3, 2010 by AtticaFlinch

[N Judah]

Hrm...this particular post of yours might be pure troll, but I'll take the bait. So: what, if anything, do you think is the contradiction?

Edited March 3, 2010 by N Judah

[AtticaFlinch]

Hrm...this particular post of yours might be pure troll, but I'll take the bait. So: what, if anything, do you think is the contradiction?

Trolling with poetry? If it was trolling, there'd be nothing pure about that.

N Judah, it seems you never fail to miss an opportunity to write something angsty and bitter, and it doesn't appear to matter much the topic. The contradiction here, which I'm surprised I have to explain, is that you call on the TIRZ to do more one moment and then later complain there's nothing they can do.

But hey, I thought I was providing you with an out by quoting Walt Whitman. I understand angst well as I was a teenager throughout most of the 90s, so I figured I'd provide you with the same built-in contradiction defense I'd been using since I first discovered flannel shirts aren't very comfortable during the summer in Houston.

[samagon]

But see that's what I'm saying. As an objective standard it can be measured and declared as fact. Some people might think El Paso is a beautiful city. I do not. And that's fine.

But do you believe that El Paso is not a beautiful city based on your own personal observations, or based on what you think the city is?

If you don't think it is beautiful based on your own personal observations, then yeah, that is your opinion.

If you don't think it is beautiful because you don't think you'd like it based on what you think the city is, then that is ignorance.

I have some very strong feelings of distaste when anyone says the words modern art, images of a rope coiled on the ground called "Man's Inhumanity Against Man" spring into my head, but even though I have a feeling I won't like it, I still go and check it out, just so I can say I'm not basing my opinion of the movement on my own ignorance, but on my opinion formed from going and Seeing the art for myself. That and CAMH is free admission and a great way to kill a few hours

Anyway, someones views of subjective items can be based on ignorance rather than opinion.

[kylejack]

I agree, but Attica was saying the very opinion that Houston is not beautiful is ignorant.

[samagon]

I agree, but Attica was saying the very opinion that Houston is not beautiful is ignorant.

oh, then I agree with you, the opinion that if someone thinks something is ugly is ignorant is an ignorant opinion.

[kylejack]

hahaha

[AtticaFlinch]

I agree, but Attica was saying the very opinion that Houston is not beautiful is ignorant.

Did I? Or did I write exactly the same thing that you happened to agree with when samagon wrote it later?

This type of statement is a clear baseless assumption and demonstrates a lack of necessary relative experience. I guarantee anyone who'd write this has traveled very little outside Houston, and the travel experiences they've had were confined to small segments of wherever it was they went. Houston's pretty far outweighs Houston's ugly, especially "in comparison to many other cities".

The guy wrote his "opinion" as a comparison, one which he didn't or couldn't substantiate yet stated it as an absolute. I guarantee that what you're referring to as an "opinion" is baseless and founded exclusively on things he'd heard in the past from people he knew, and not based on experience. Therefore, it's an ignorant statement. You're wrong this time, kylejack. Just let it go. Or, if anything, stop misrepresenting my "opinion".

[N Judah]

N Judah, it seems you never fail to miss an opportunity to write something angsty and bitter, and it doesn't appear to matter much the topic.

OK. Project much?

The contradiction here, which I'm surprised I have to explain, is that you call on the TIRZ to do more one moment and then later complain there's nothing they can do.

In one case I was talking about making the city more aesthetically pleasing. In another I was talking about the Houston model not necessarily being QOL-oriented (since the thread had elements of a discussion about parkspace etc.) To me QOL != surface aesthetics and I don't care that you disagree.

Edited March 3, 2010 by N Judah

[kylejack]

Did I? Or did I write exactly the same thing that you happened to agree with when samagon wrote it later?

The guy wrote his "opinion" as a comparison, one which he didn't or couldn't substantiate yet stated it as an absolute. I guarantee that what you're referring to as an "opinion" is baseless and founded exclusively on things he'd heard in the past from people he knew, and not based on experience. Therefore, it's an ignorant statement. You're wrong this time, kylejack. Just let it go. Or, if anything, stop misrepresenting my "opinion".

all i'm saying is in comparison to many other cities, houston struggles on the looks department.

That's what you called ignorant, without any knowledge of how much he has experienced the various facets of Houston. I win.

[AtticaFlinch]

OK. Project much?

No, not much. I'm sure I do a little. I'm sure we all do, but I'm not projecting my angst (or lack of it) into your general distemperment. Try eating icecream or doing something else that makes you happy every once in a while. Then you're bound to be a whole hell of a lot happier, and you may realize the reason you hate Houston so much has less to do with place and more to do with your anxiety. Or something.

In one case I was talking about making the city more aesthetically pleasing. In another I was talking about the Houston model not necessarily being QOL-oriented (since the thread had elements of a discussion about parkspace etc.) To me QOL != surface aesthetics and I don't care that you disagree.

Of course you don't, because you're a nihilist.

That's what you called ignorant, without any knowledge of how much he has experienced the various facets of Houston. I win.

Oh, awesome. Congratulations. You can declare yourself winner all day, but you're still wrong. The statement is still ignorant.

However, based on your simplistic declaration, perhaps we can now move beyond this little tangent.

Edited March 3, 2010 by AtticaFlinch

[N Judah]

Then you're bound to be a whole hell of a lot happier, and you may realize the reason you hate Houston so much has less to do with place and more to do with your anxiety. Or something.

No, at this point in my life I"m all too aware of my reasons for disliking the city of Houston and I should say you're not even close. Please consider that you might again be projecting.

Of course you don't, because you're a nihilist.

Well if you say it, it must be true!

[SaintCyr]

Try eating icecream or doing something else that makes you happy every once in a while.

Fact: Eating icecream makes me happy!