Posts Tagged ‘Urbanism’
Houston Tomorrow Form-Based Codes Presentation
This was an interesting presentation, though somewhat limited in its applicability to Houston. While form-based code is extremely relevant for Houston, most of the panel presenters were focused on understanding the difference between conventional zoning and form-based code, and they spent most of their time talking about the processes and challenges involved in transitioning from conventional [...]
Property Value Theory, Part 3: Places that Attract People
My Property Value Theory In urban settings the root value of all property is its attractiveness to human use, which I call “people-productivity“. This is different from resource-productivity, which is the basis for rural land values. There are two major things that attract people in a macro level: natural conditions (good weather, beautiful scenery, etc) [...]
Three Interesting Reads
Houston Transit in an Alternate Universe Christof Imagines what it would be like if Houston’s plans from 1983 had come to fruition. China Vies to be a Leader in Electric Vehicles It’s scary how far behind the curve we’re getting. 20/20 Segment on Private Roads From Market Urbanism, a look at the difference between public [...]
De Lange Conference: Day One
Well that was fun! I just got back from day one of the De Lange Conference. This week I’ll be looking at the conference and the speakers, giving some recaps of what they had to say, and in many cases adding some additional background and commentary. Later in the week I’ll try and really dig [...]
The Urban Corridors Debate
Yesterday I attended the Livable Houston lunch meeting put together by the Houston Tomorrow foundation. The topic was Houston’s Urban Corridors program, and the discussion was pretty good. Here’s an overview: The city’s current development codes make truly urban, pedestrian-oriented development extremely difficult outside of the CBD. Meanwhile, METRO is building a massive new light-rail [...]
ULI-Houston Mayoral Candidate Forum
Today I had the chance to attend the ULI-Houston Mayoral Candidate Forum. Since this was a members-only event for ULI, most of Houston didn’t get to be there (which is a shame, really, because it was a great event!). So, knowing my readers would probably have appreciated knowing what was discussed, I took the best [...]
Peter Newman Presentation at Houston Tomorrow
I attended Peter Newman’s presentation at Houston Tomorrow last night. It was an interesting talk; I didn’t find any of it to be shockingly original information, but it was a great overview of the situation we’re in right now and how the city can be made better. There are two critical points Newman illustrated. These [...]
A lesson from Dallas
Well, it’s been about a month since I’ve had time to write. I’ve been busy getting married and going on a honeymoon, which was great fun, so I’m not too sorry about the absence Now then, my wife and I (that’s neat to say!) were in Dallas this past weekend. While we were there I [...]
McGowen Green
So, over the years there has been a lot of discussion about what to do with the “superblock” at McGowen and Main. Lots of people have wanted to see a major mixed-use development go in there, and I think that would be an acceptable use of the land. However, as we’ve recently seen with Discovery [...]
Markets rally, people wait in line
Yesterday was a good day for the markets, according to the New York Times. Oil dipped below $120 a barrel, which is starting to seem like the ‘panic price’. The Dow was up 331 points at the end of the day. This wavering roller coaster of oil and economy makes me even more interested in [...]