VelvetJ

WHAT!?!? Oh, nevermind.

I don't know if I completely agree with you on this. There are people in this city that have come from all over the world, most of which are absolutely nothing like Houston. And most are from places that have more dense and pedestrian friendly type environments, simply because most cities of the world are like that. Because of this, I believe there are thousands of people that would choose to live in a more urban styled environment if given a affordable choice. That's one of the biggest issues with Houston, there isn't much of a choice. In most cases, it's either suburban styled or nothing. To think there are Houstonians that have no desire to walk to work, the grocery store, the movies, the cleaners, to 15 differenty types of restaurants, to the drug store, and to a bar or a club for a drink, is unrealistic. I don't believe in a city such as Houston, it's as simple as "if people change you'll see a change in developers". Developers are out to make money, and if they choose to build in a city that allows them to do whatsoever they choose for as cheap as possible, they will do it, and there are TONS of examples of it in Houston. If I understand citykid correctly, I also would like to see more cohesive types of urban developments in Houston. It's not about soley trying to be like someone else as much as wanting Houston to be the best it can be. Great cities are dynamic and have certain commonalities that make them great. It's like baking a cake. There are certain ingredients that all cakes have yet there are all types of flavors and styles of cakes that make them different. But Houston's bakers are proud of the fact that they don't use flour in their cake and don't seem to care because it's focus is on not using flour saves money. But wonder why it has a negative reputation in the bakery. Those of us that criticize the city are familiar with it and know what it is, and very much knows what it has to offer. But many times the frustration comes from golden opportunities the city seem to miss out on that could make the city that much better. Or the lack of vision our leaders have. Or the lack of a forward thinking/ progressive/cutting edge spirit, a condition that unfortunately seems to be taking over the city. Like Citykid, there is a part of me that do not want to be at the bottom of the list of our counterparts (Dallas, Atlanta, and possibly Denver). But with every two steps they make, we make one, and at times even take steps backward. That can be frustrating to those that want Houston to be the best it can be. There are encouraging signs that indicate the city isn't totally stagnant, and more and more types of developments like posted in this thread, popping up are those encouraging signs. One can love and be greatful of a city, and still want it to make the correct steps to improve.

The new lines are suppose to open in 2010, so exactly when does the rail suppose to reach the two airports?

Those are fantastic photos. I agree that those midtown storefront shots are totally unrecognizable for something to be seen in Houston. That type of development is what I would love to see along the rail line. Such a shame that Houston hasn't aggressively pursued this type of development on a broader scale.

Whoops, my bad. I meant Citicorp. They are closing a call center and eliminating 745 jobs.

Yes guys, but when you are talking about all of this train use, you are forgetting one MAJOR factor. This would cut into the profits of some of the politicians buddies, and you know cutting into a individual's profits, even if it is for the benefit of most Texans, is a no no.

There would be a Fashion week in Atlanta or Dallas before Houston.

musicman- If I am not mistaken they are in a campus style building near the Energy Corridor near the Katy Freeway near Highway 6. I suppose this article is to counter the one in yesterdays chronicle about Citgo eliminating 750 call center jobs in Houston over the next few months.

Beyonce' really doesn't mention Houston. Has she ever, yes, but she rarely does it now. On the other hand, she now resides in Miami and spend a lot of time in New York, so I suppose out of site out of mind. I agree about the artists in Atlanta. They stay there and represent it well. Even after many of the artist have been established, ie Usher, OutKast, Jermaine Dupri, TLC, etc., they are ALWAYS mentioning Atlanta, or wearing a hat or a shirt or something with the Atlanta name on it. *note* By the way, Brooke Valentine is from Houston but now resides in Los Angeles.

kjb434, no one is questioning whether a developer has a RIGHT to do something, I think that is pretty obvious in Houston. The question is SHOULD a developer do something? CAN the owner of the lot where the proposed Shamrock Tower change his mind and decide to build a used car lot there on Main Street in the middle of downtown because he could possible make money.......yes, he can. But SHOULD he build a used car lot there to make money.....IMO, no he shouldn't. But the problem in Houston is there are too many that would say it would be fine for that location to be a used car sales lot, just as long as the owner can make money. That is a problem. There can be drawbacks to a city having a developer free-for-all environment, and there are tons of examples of those drawbacks in our fair city.

Totally agree Kinkaidalum. Michael Moore could register as a Republican, say he goes to church, say he's against abortion, and say he's against gay marriage, and he would probably get republican votes. Such as shame so many Americans seem to have lost the ability to look at the WHOLE picture. As a Christian myself, what surprises me is Tom Delay knows some of his actions are unethical and knows he has ulterior motives in many of his decisions, yet he still publically claims Christianity. I think it's time for him to stop and ask himself if Jesus would do some of the things he finds himself doing. I now live in Ft. Bend County, so this is one more vote against him.

I don't think so, but definitely more than Atlanta.

I think Atlanta has taken Houston's place in terms of being on the cutting edge of architecture and in a sense in general. I think our cutting edge, progressive, risk taking, innovative spirited days are behind us. IMO, with the exception of Enron II, the architectural designs in Houston have taken the "conservative/cheapest way" route. I felt this way even before the financial cutbacks due to 9/11. Atlanta's designs have been taking my breathe away, and the future towers about to go up are some of my favorite in years.

One more thing, just to make sure I have made myself clear. I am NOT NOT NOT saying Houston should, nor do I want it to become a San Antonio, or New Orleans, or Las Vegas, or Orlando. That is not the type of city we are. I just want Houston to at least get to the point where a nice place for leisure becomes one of the city's characteristics outside of certain places in East Texas and certain parts of Louisiana (No offense Mr. 27) *By the way, typing your name works on my patience, so if you don't mind, I would like to refer to you as Mr. 27.

tw2ntyse7en no offense was meant to Louisiana, I only included it because I love it the most . You know, sorta like, "I hit you because I love you". I also understand what you're saying about Lifestyle being more important than tourism. I really don't think anyone, including myself, would disagree with you. But there comes a time when growing cities have to "step it up" and understand the different aspects of large International cities. New York, Boston, Philly, DC, Chicago, Miami, New Orleans, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver (it's suburbs), and over the past 10-15 years even Dallas and Atlanta, all have reputations for being places for leisure as one of it's characteristics. Personally, I think Houston should and could be in that group. No offense to anyone but Charlotte, Cincinatti, Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, and Pittsburgh are not our counterparts and are not in our league and we shouldn't compare ourselves to them. We can stick our toungue out at San Antonio and Tampa for not having rail, but should we even be concerned about them? A lot of our lifestyle issues have been issues since I moved here 16 years ago. Traffic, crime, trash, ugly billboard and "free-for-all" styled ugly businesses along them, bumpy roads, and complaints of high property taxes are alive and well today. This is not to say we should give up on our lifestyle issues, but it seems at times they just become full circle issues. Houston doesn't do enough in the tourism department for me. I just want us to be loved .

IMO, it's these types of statements that contribute to the image problem Houston has. tw2ntyse7en, it's possible to have both. It's ok for visitors to view Houston as a cool, fun place to be and continue to have a strong business character. The great thing about great cities, especially large ones, is they are usually dynamic, exciting places. In many cases, places that attract fresh, progressive college graduates is a city's "coolness" factor. A city with a attitude of "it doesn't matter how the rest of the world views me", can be a bad thing in the long run. We know what Houston is and no one is saying Houston should focus on trying to turn itself into Las Vegas. But presenting yourself as a attractive, fun and exciting place to visit to those beyond CowPoke, Texas and SmallTown Louisiana, has it's benefits. A city being a great place to visit is not a bad thing.

Can you name a couple of more cities where the same can be said? And please do not include places like Jacksonville, or Birmingham, or Memphis. Those cities are not our counterparts.

Someone else has already mentioned Kingwood but I also wanted to say welcome to Houston from a moderate with a strong Democratic liberal leaning. Yes, you are moving to TX/Bush country, but you won't feel as alone as you may be anticipating. There is no need to be concerned, Houston is large and diverse enough for you guys to be able to find your niche. In fact I think considering this is Texas, I think you will be quite surprised at how many like minded friends you will encounter. Again, welcome and I hope you find a home and neighborhood to your liking.

As I stated in my initial post, I knew there was another side to this. This was NOT all of METRO's fault, just as I suspected. Read this Sunday's Chronicle.

Totally agree. As a Christian myself, it sickens me to see people use Christianity as a cloak to do dirty deeds. Unfortunately in this day and time all a person has to say is they "care about family", oppose abortion, and oppose gay marriage, and those words seem to TOTALLY BLIND people to the obvious facts, despite the smoking guns they leave out in the open for everyone to see. It's possible to be Christian and incompetent. It's possible to be Christian and corrupt. It's possible to be Christian and skate the line only inches from breaking the law. It's possible for Christians to not directly lie to the citizens but just not tell them the truth. One thing about Christianity is most of us should know the law of reaping and sowing, and Delay and Culberson know they don't do a lot of things for honest reasons, and should really be afraid for the return on some of their unfair actions. Their boldness in some of their actions as Christians truly surprises me.

I've said before and I say again, Delay and Culberson are in the pockets of the oil companies. The last thing they want is a train zooming past those oil headquarters on the Katy Freeway in the oil capital of the world. Houston will ultimately pay for the actions of these two, and I only hope they live to see it.

THANK YOU Kinkaidalum, just as I suspected. I just read it. Sometimes all it takes is a little common sense even if one doesn't have all of the facts just yet. I knew there was another side to this. Shame on them both and those who foolhardily try to defend them. METRO may be at fault here, but there are others that are just as much to blame for Houston not getting Federal money.

Here, here! *applauding*

This is not completely true. There have been planning issues and if I'm not mistaken some articles have been posted on the Katy Freeway thread. This is about Metro, so I won't elaborate.