Walkable Downtowns ?

[GoBlue8]

thanks for the input and replies...... it sounds like quaint is out of the question.

Unfortunate for us, but we'll have to get use to it, like anything it will mean some change.

I guess it is hard to describe an old new England town for some window shopping, a cocktail a nice meal, cup of coffee. The neighborhoods in Boston, Portsmouth NH, Portland / Freeport Maine. They are awesome if you've been.

How about large developed outdoor shopping experience. Shops, food, entertainment and some residential. A step up from an outlet mall strip described earlier.

[glorplaxy]

Galveston actually is probably the best bet, but it is a small city, not a suburb. Very charming in spots but it is much more "Gulf coast", like New Orleans, than a cute New England town.

...and it is a rather crime-ridden place away from tourist areas, the island medical center, and a few high dollar residential areas.

I love Galveston, though...

[LocalPlanner]

Old Town Spring and the Strand in Galveston are the two most traditionally-styled, walkable retail areas in the Houston region, though they're both rather oriented toward tourists vs. adjacent local residents. And both are not well connected to any significant residential districts that would be considered "desirable," though Galveston might eventually go that direction depending on certain policy decisions.

A couple other areas worth noting are 19th Street in the Heights (for the 1-2 blocks west of Yale), downtown Tomball, downtown Richmond, and a short stretch of Westheimer around Woodhead and Dunlavy. I don't think people would go out of their way to hang out in these places though - you're basically talking 1-2 block experiences at best. Other local older downtowns like Baytown are just trying to get to this level but have to recover from decades of blight and buildings whose architecture isn't really that compelling (the subjective "charm" or "quaintness" part of the equation).

Except for maybe Phoenix (and at least they've got Old Scottsdale), I can't think of another major metro area with fewer occurrences of commercial and shopping areas where storefronts directly address a pleasant, amply wide sidewalk than Houston. Rice Village is walkable because it has a street grid and its strip malls are smushed close together, but it fails the "pleasant and amply wide sidewalk" part of the equation - especially since pedestrians have to weave their way around parked cars and traffic. It's much easier to find this kind of experience in other large Texas cities or smaller places like Brenham, Bellville, Bay City etc., especially if they have courthouse squares. Even the Rio Grande border cities have reasonably active and interesting (I wouldn't necessarily say "charming") downtown walkable retail areas.

I think this goes back to the concept in Houston that a "nice" retail area could only possibly be a physically separated strip center with a large front parking lot. For a long time, the presence of pedestrians on a public sidewalk marked a place as "dodgy." A modern, people-oriented city like Houston should be oriented toward parking, parking, parking. Oh, and driving fast. That's how you create value. The remaining older commercial structures that didn't fit this mold were left to rot, so most have been lost. And sidewalks were ignored for decades.

It's only recently (last 10 years mainly) that this attitude has started to change and a few more walking-oriented developments (hard for them to be "charming" or "quaint" when they're so new) have started. Since there's so few cohesive historically walkable districts to fix up, we'll have to be satisfied with new developments that by default require mostly chain, "credit-worthy" tenants. Local independents usually can't afford the rent or meet other financial requirements to be tenants in such new developments. Houston has plenty of these kinds of local businesses; they just tend to locate in older parking-oriented strip malls from the 1970s-1980s that many find aesthetically unappealing. Space is cheap in those kinds of structures.

The biggest basic problem is that the cities in our region are trying to learn how to design streets and sidewalks that are more comfortable and convenient for pedestrians. They went so far in the other direction for so long, it's going to take awhile to make a meaningful impact in terms of walkability. And to be honest, I think there's still a large portion of the region's population that doesn't see the point anyway - they just want faster traffic flow and a bigger quantity of free parking next to the door of their destination. Pedestrians just get in the way.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by GoBlue8

thanks for the input and replies...... it sounds like quaint is out of the question.

Unfortunate for us, but we'll have to get use to it, like anything it will mean some change.

I guess it is hard to describe an old new England town for some window shopping, a cocktail a nice meal, cup of coffee. The neighborhoods in Boston, Portsmouth NH, Portland / Freeport Maine. They are awesome if you've been.

How about large developed outdoor shopping experience. Shops, food, entertainment and some residential. A step up from an outlet mall strip described earlier.

There's not much, if any of these NE type places in Texas. Downtown Fredericksburg and the stand on Galveston island come to mind though.
As far as the outdoor shopping/dining experience with residences nearby, any of these "city centers" and little "town squares" and similar that have been developed the last several years would fit. There you have those in The Woodlands, SugarLand, and the one at the Beltway & I-10. I've known people who live close enough to the one in Rice Village and in the neighborhood across from the one in SugarLand that they can easily bike, maybe even walk to them.

[OducksFTW!]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

I think this goes back to the concept in Houston that a "nice" retail area could only possibly be a physically separated strip center with a large front parking lot. For a long time, the presence of pedestrians on a public sidewalk marked a place as "dodgy." A modern, people-oriented city like Houston should be oriented toward parking, parking, parking. Oh, and driving fast. That's how you create value. The remaining older commercial structures that didn't fit this mold were left to rot, so most have been lost. And sidewalks were ignored for decades.

It's only recently (last 10 years mainly) that this attitude has started to change and a few more walking-oriented developments (hard for them to be "charming" or "quaint" when they're so new) have started. Since there's so few cohesive historically walkable districts to fix up, we'll have to be satisfied with new developments that by default require mostly chain, "credit-worthy" tenants. Local independents usually can't afford the rent or meet other financial requirements to be tenants in such new developments. Houston has plenty of these kinds of local businesses; they just tend to locate in older parking-oriented strip malls from the 1970s-1980s that many find aesthetically unappealing. Space is cheap in those kinds of structures.

The biggest basic problem is that the cities in our region are trying to learn how to design streets and sidewalks that are more comfortable and convenient for pedestrians. They went so far in the other direction for so long, it's going to take awhile to make a meaningful impact in terms of walkability. And to be honest, I think there's still a large portion of the region's population that doesn't see the point anyway - they just want faster traffic flow and a bigger quantity of free parking next to the door of their destination. Pedestrians just get in the way.

Nailed it on the head. The city managers and developers from the previous decades are still in the old southern mentality of 'you only walk if you dont have a car'.

But now we see that walkability, public transportation, a sense of charm and quaintness is actually something people want. Having the ability to meet someone at a coffee shop or restaurant at the spur of the moment with just a walk down the block is something foreign to Houstonians, and the south in general.

This coupled with the abundant space,greedy developers, and no zoning have caused Houston to explode in any which way possible.

And dont get me started on the lack of public transportation. How Houston has become the 4th/3rd largest city in the country without a decent rail line system is beyond me. Unbelievable oversight and somewhat sad.

[fnh]

Ah, quaint. Thank you EasilyAmused, that is the perfect term for what I assumed the OP was seeking when suburbs were mentioned, which is why I mentioned a place like Brenham. However, I do feel that major cities certainly can be quite charming as well. Few would say San Francisco, London, Paris etc. lack charm.

Excellent input, LocalPlanner, I'm so glad you chimed in from your experienced perspective. Yes Houston has a lot of catching up to do in this regard, but I do hope that eventually people will see the 'value' in attractive streetscapes. I think places like the Woodlands Market Street and CityCentre are definitely progress but I would love to see more developments like these that are truly integrated with surrounding residential.

sxrckr brought up Sugar Land, I completely forgot about the Town Center there. I don't know much about it but perhaps it is something the OP should look into on the southwest side of town.

OducksFTW, I hear ya when it comes to public transportation. It seems like a no-brainer, and I can't understand why we don't just bite the bullet. I don't think the population in Houston realizes just how much a good public transit system can improve everyone's quality of life.

To the OP, best of luck with the move!

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by GoBlue8

thanks for the input and replies...... it sounds like quaint is out of the question.

Unfortunate for us, but we'll have to get use to it, like anything it will mean some change.

I am a northeast native who lived in Houston for 26 years and just returned back to the northeast two years ago. There is much truth in the posts on this thread. You will NOT find anything resembling New England in the Houston metro. If you are like me, the long humid summers will take some getting used to, as well. As you wisely note, it will mean some change (if not cluture shock!).

Change is not a bad thing, however. Houston will grow on you if you take it for what it is and give it a chance. There is excellent culture and great restaurants. You will need to drive to them however, and if you live in the suburbs, this will mean lots of time stuck in freeway traffic. Unless you are wedded to the suburbs, I'd encourage you to look inside the 610 loop where your drives will be less burdensome and you'll be more inclined to venture out in a car. If you are a typical New Englander and lean towards the more liberal side of the fence, you will find more like-minded folks Inside the Loop, as well, if that is a consideration. Neighborhoods already mentioned that I second are Montrose, The Heights and Rice U area.

Best of luck!