Archive for the 'sprawl' Category
Whose “quality of place”?, transportation history, and Houston mixed-use
Closed Published by Tory Gattis September 3rd, 2007 on Houston StrategiesThree miscellaneous pass-alongs today:A blog post comparing creative class rankings with domestic migration census data, finding an inverse relationship: a higher CC ranking tends to have lower, or reverse, migration. By far the most migration is to o…
Moving freight, bus vs. rail, and congestion vs. productivity
Closed Published by Tory Gattis July 22nd, 2007 on Houston StrategiesSome good stuff in Bob Poole’s newest Surface Transportation Innovations newsletter over at the Reason Foundation.First, he covers the limitations of freight rail to reduce urban truck traffic congestion. He discusses rail shuttles to get containers f…
In yesterday’s Sunday Outlook section, there were two op-eds relating back to the Kotkin Opportunity Urbanism project I was part of and op-ed I wrote. The first, on quality of life, was excellent. They clearly actually read our report, and I support …
Hou #1 mfg city, public routes service, sprawl args, WSJ Menil, transit resistance, and more
Closed Published by Tory Gattis June 28th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesI let the list of small miscellaneous items get too long again before posting. Sorry, but here it goes:Very cool interactive downtown map. Turn on and off what you want to see on the left, then mouse-over to get info.Houston has been ranked as the #1…
Green space award, density vs. sprawl, good transit, Yao, stadium, flights, and an event
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesClearing out the queue of smaller items again, which seems to grow faster and faster these days.A good friend of mine, Dr. Chris Bronk at Rice in the Baker Institute for Public Policy, is putting on “The Conference on Convergence and Connectivity 2008:…
David Brooks gets in wrong on old vs. new transportation infrastructure stimulus
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesI’m normally a big fan of David Brooks’ columns at the NY Times, but this week’s column on innovative infrastructure stimulus (reprinted in the Chronicle on Thursday) was more of a mixed bag. First, I thought his opening was very insightful:The 1980s …
Do Houstonians really drive more vs. other cities?
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesDemographia has published a short white paper debunking the myth that Houstonians drive more than people in other cities based on flawed 2006 FHWA stats. Those stats show we drive 36 vehicle miles per capita per day, the most in the nation among major…
Houston a green capital? plus top rankings, reducing crime, and elevated busways
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesSome smaller items for your reading pleasure when escaping the relatives or shopping of Thanksgiving break (or work, if you’re stuck there this afternoon or Friday).IAH is the nation’s best big airport, according to the Daily Beast blog:”The Daily Beas…
My TEDx Houston talk, mostly about Houston
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesSorry for the post delay this week - got back midweek from California and ran right into a giant pile of work. Back in June I had the opportunity to speak at TEDx Houston on the UH campus. It was a fantastic (and yet nerve-wracking) experience I really enjoyed. Well, the professionally edited video of my talk is finally available: “What is Social Systems Architecture and why does it matter?”
Is our lack of zoning a myth?
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesSlate has a blog post claiming that zoning-free Houston is a myth (hat tip to John).
“Whenever I talk about anti-density land use restrictions, someone inevitably brings up Houston, where people have heard there are no zoning rules. If overregulation causes low density, people ask, then how come Houston is so sprawling? There are a number of reasons this line of questioning is a mistake, but the