Sometimes I wonder at the total randomness of Houston and ponder if it would be a better idea if we had some sort of zoning laws in effect. Thoughts? And please don't come in here with the "FREEDOM" arguments, because the city is restrictive in other ways, such as infamously putting mandatory minimum parking requirements for certain businesses.
ZONING? Which Zone? Like the 4-3 Defense or the 13 Defense? I think you need to be within arm's length of the opposing player if we are going man-to-man. I like the 3-2 ZONE Defense. I like to be the one on top (that's what she said) of the key where I can get lots of steals from the opposing players... I play the passing lanes like Robert Horry! Spoiler SRSLY, dude... LAW and iSht like that... take it to the D&D KEEP THE HANGOUT STUPID
This should and will probably go to the D&D but yes Houston should have zoning and I am shocked that it still doesn't.
No, it shouldn't. Zoning is BS for many reasons, but I'd rather not go on a rant. Suffice to say, there are ethical, legal, philosophical, and economic reaons for why zoning is BS. And as for this: "And please don't come in here with the "FREEDOM" arguments, because the city is restrictive in other ways, such as infamously putting mandatory minimum parking requirements for certain businesses." Just because the city is restrictive in other ways doesn't make it alright for them to be more restrictive. I hate that argument.
The argument is that no zoning is what makes Houston.. Houston. I do like the randomness but at the same time i do wish we had limited zoning laws that applied to certain aspects of what's built and where it's built. I wish Houston was more dense and had more walkable areas, but my biggest disappointment with Houston is passing on mass transit several times. How cool would it be to be able to catch a train or light rail and be dropped off right in front of Toyota Center or Reliant??!!
You can take one and be dropped off in front of Reliant... and it really isn't that far from Toyota Center either..
Zoning is also there for safety reasons such as not locating potentially hazardous businesses close to schools and residences. It also makes it easier for the city to develop infrastructure and provide services to the population if there is certainty regarding where and how new development takes place. No one is talking about making things more restrictive for the sake of making things more restrictive.
I should have been more specific. You can indeed do that if you live along the 8mile (or whatever the total is) stretch of light rail, which is located mostly in Downtown or Midtown where the rent is 900-1000 for a 1 bedroom. You can not do that if you are like me and you live in the energy corridor. There should be light rail that stretches from the far end of Westheimer or Richmond, all the way DT. That would service the whole West Houston.
I loved that my old neighborhood had a restaurant, a couple of bars, a convenience store, a church, offices, a motorcycle shop, a mechanic, and, uh, houses.
No zoning keeps real estate prices down, which lowers the cost to live in Houston, a key contributor to our job growth. Zoning creates artificial constraints on the market, which only serves to drive up real estate prices. There are enough protections in place in Houston to keep the "strip club next to the church" from happening. By the way -- that's among the most stale and tired Houston comments there is....right up there with saying "Gunspoint mall". Please stop
Zoning segregates class and ultimately race by limiting the amount of a certain type of property in each area. But Houston is very diverse, so the only downside is putting "nice" property at enough of a premium to drive its prices up, and everyone else's by extension. Mega-cities like Chicago and New York need it because with the population density you'll just need certain types of property every few miles. I have no idea if Houston will ever get to that point.
I love how you switch between multiple sports, but the joke still stays stupid the whole way through.
