Archive for the 'tourism' Category
More on a SWSX/ETC for Houston
Closed Published by Tory Gattis August 13th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesI’m back from SoCal for my brother’s wedding, and I have a new appreciation for what people mean when they say “LA traffic.” It’s a whole ‘nother level well beyond anything you find in Houston. Traffic that *creeps* along at less than 10mph for miles…
Houston’s SXSW = a global Energy Technology Conference (ETC)
Closed Published by Tory Gattis August 2nd, 2007 on Houston StrategiesI was thinking last night about how cities carve out distinctive industry niches for themselves, like Silicon Valley and Austin in technology. It occurs to me that energy technology of all kinds is going to be a major world issue for some time to come,…
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…
Transportation conference, zoning debate, and tourism stories
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesBefore I get to some smaller misc items, I’d like to first remind everybody that Texas Lyceum is having a public conference on state transportation issues at the Reliant Center this Wednesday, December 3rd. It looks like a pretty interesting agenda wit…
A targeted tourism strategy for Houston
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesI recently got engaged on an interesting discussion thread on HAIF about making Houston more of a tourism magnet, an area where we are sadly lacking compared to other global cities of our stature. In that thread I reposted my July post on attracting national and international tourists to Houston, where I talked about converting the Astrodome and empty land nearby into the world’s largest
What to do with Houston’s Cistern
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesHope you caught Lisa Gray’s great Sunday Chronicle article and amazing pictures of Houston’s very own unused, underground Cistern. It’s next to the Jamall Skatepark west of downtown along Memorial. Check out this incredible photograph where the water reflects the columns and the ceiling.
In 1927, he told me, the City of Houston built its first underground drinking-water reservoir - a concrete
America’s next great world city (+ tourism proposal)
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesA while back, The American magazine asked urban historian Joel Kotkin to write a piece on America’s next great world city. It took a little work, but he convinced the editors that Houston was the place, and now the article is out and available online….
IAH bus, LRT, alt energy, TX vs CA, Houston hooky contest
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesClearing out some smaller misc items:After 7 months, Metro still has pretty disappointing ridership on its IAH airport express buses: 98 total per day, or 1-2 per bus trip (!). That sparked quite a debate on HAIF here. The month-to-month growth rate is…
Houston’s intangible identity
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesYou may have seen the recent commentary in the Chronicle defending Houston against criticism from Outside magazine (great HAIF response: “This just in: RVing magazine rates Manhattan poorly!”, or my own version, “Boating magazine disses Albuquerque.”)…
Tripling the value of the Clear Lake Metro Park-and-Ride
Closed Published by Tory Gattis January 1st, 1970 on Houston StrategiesI know I’ve been a little thin on new content recently, something I hope to rectify soon. In the meantime, here is a small new ’strategy’ for Houston Metro: move the Clear Lake P&R lot from Bay Area Blvd. to the Space Center Houston parking l…