The people and the cultures do (the food and the people are the most impressive features in the city) , but the landscape of the city does not. Very little preserved history/landmarks, architecturally ugly, geographically boring, not pedestrian friendly, nothing uniquely identifiable even on a regional basis. As someone that lives out of state, the thing that people most often ask me about in regards to Houston is actually the Astrodome, which is an abandoned, rat infested, asbestos haven. I love Houston, and its my hometown, but there are a lot of things that it could do better
Guess you weren’t here during Harvey and under a rock. This city showed its personality for a week straight.
One could argue Harvey made the city look dumb for flooding like it did. The hurricane wasn't the only recent occurrence. Houston is okay. It's just crazy it's more known for being overweight than having good restaurants. Things are getting better though through hosting major events and winning championships.
While I've been living in Austin the last 35 years, Houston remains my hometown and I have to disagree with your post. Harvey didn't make the city look "dumb," not in my opinion. It showed the country a strong, resilient people determined to leave a a better city post-Harvey than existed before. Yes, Houston has major flaws in the makeup of its city and county governments, flaws like an utter lack of zoning, pushed by big business over many decades in the interest of profit over the interests of Houston's citizens. Poor leadership and an inadequate tax structure have allowed much of the city's infrastructure to deteriorate. A state government more interested in the next primary season than in providing the funds and support to make possible the massive new construction necessary, as well as rebuilding and adding to the state's infrastructure that is so desperately needed in Houston and across Texas. A federal government that has failed to plan, fund, and maintain the country's infrastructure. All those things, and much more, are hardly unique to Houston. And did you really need to bring up obesity as a "city flaw?" It is a national problem, one well documented. I'll add that I wish Austin had a fraction of the terrific restaurants that Houston enjoys. Guess I'll stop there.
I've said this before in this thread but, why do people want to tear it down? More parking? They just doubled the parking in that same footprint. The above portion can be made into a nice park that I guarantee will be used by Texans and Rodeo patrons. Plus, all of those ceiling tiles? Skylights. They had to be painted over for baseball which is why we have Astroturf. But uncovered? You're looking at the largest Atrium in the world.
Very diverse and immigrant friendly with strong pockets of culture in china town, the Wards, strong Hispanic communities. Strong entrepreneurship, stark differences in areas like Rice, the Heights and Montross compared to areas like Kingwood our Katy. Houston has the strongest restaurant selection outside of NYC. Houston has a very distinct and strong personality and is an international city. Urban planners often view it as the next major “world” city. The population has shown tremendous growth over nearly 100 year span. Having lived everywhere, Houston is also without question the most optimistic and economically sound city I have been to. People in Houston also seem happier than in cities like Chicago or Boston or international cities I have lived in. The biggest problem is Houston saves so little of its past.
This is just something that's fun to say at this point...it really means nothing, and my guess is there will still be Houstonians claiming this in 20 years.
If one argued that, I would ask that one to consider how his/her city would handle 52 inches of rain. Or I'd call them a dick and dismiss their opinion entirely.
I got a lot of grief when I made the thread during Harvey "Will Houston be a Great City Again?". I gladly ate crow over that and will do so again. Houston is a great city that has come a long way since I lived there. I'm impressed with the city every time I go back. The day after the parade I went down to Museum of Fine Arts and took the Metro from their to BBV Compass stadium. The stately beauty of the live oaks, Mecom Fountains, the architecture of the museums there are World Class and it's only going to get better once the new museum buildings get built. The architecture of downtown and the Theater District is also World Class. Also as people have noted the great restaurants and the diverse culture. Houston has a lot of problems but there is also a lot that is great about the city. The challenge is to keep on making it better.
I've always wished Houston and it's leadership would strive to become the American Amsterdam with canals running throughout the city. Would help the geography, landscape, landmark(s) issue but more importantly our city can survive because of the capacity to move water. “Build canals everywhere. Become the American Amsterdam. Rather than a Pierce Elevated park . . . have a canal that can take on additional water from Buffalo Bayou. Canals throughout Montrose, Midtown, Downtown and around Washington. Canals on the East End and through EaDo. Canals near the Med Center to relieve Brays Bayou, and on and on and on again. Give water new dedicated places to go that we can call amenities, and make Houston a more interesting and attractive place to recruit new companies and tourists, because our canals are unique and cool places to hang out. The Dutch know water, so why not copy them. Then release a ton of GMO mosquitos to kill off the rest of them.” [Canalguy, commenting on How About We Don’t Sell People Homes in Areas That Keep Flooding, and Other Crazy Ideas for Houstonians To Discuss Amongst Themselves] Illustration: Lulu" http://swamplot.com/comment-of-the-day-second-runner-up-the-canal-plan-for-houston/2017-09-12/
All true. Just saying, these things aren't known enough beyond local. Things are improving. More championships. More buildings. More hosting big events.
The plan involves raising the the ground level up two floors, which would create a parking garage with 1,400 more parking spots. What a joke.