I know what you’re thinking. Am I really writing a post about the famed sprawl capital of the Sunbelt? A city capable of mistaking its freeway map for a massive spider web? The kind of city that spawned the cult film Office Space for its miles of limited-access pavement marked with strip malls, office parks, and chain restaurants. Well, yes. I am.
From the millennial perspective, we can talk as much as we want about ‘the greats’ like Portland, Brooklyn, Boston, and other livable metros of the like…but in practice, every city has strengths and weaknesses. Since the economy has been less than stellar, millennial mobility has been in the doldrums. Every person I know who has moved to Portland in search of better pastures (urbanism, more beer, better scenery) has found job opportunities limited and food trucks the most exciting and practical option. The same result inevitably follows a spontaneous move to New York, where affordability is low and quality of life is laughable until you make it into the top 1%.
I’m starting to feel as though a city needs a little bit of everything to truly make it livable. And by that I mean: the good, the bad, and the ugly. That keeps it grounded, keeps it real. Houston, like many cities, has it all. You probably already know the bad and the ugly, which unfortunately comprise the majority of metropolitan Houston. Crime, sprawl, traffic, income inequality, a subculture of service workers and undocumented immigrants. To the horror of my urban planning friends, Houston also doesn’t have any coordinated zoning or growth-management plan, which is why skyscrapers sprout near neighborhoods, for an oddly patchy skyline.
What isn’t as well-publicized is tucked away, mostly in the areas west and southwest of Downtown Houston. Montrose, Midtown, and River Oaks are strong neighborhoods, with both historic and modern housing stock, good restaurants, parks, proximity to renowned museums and shopping, and even near higher education (Rice University!).
Houston has a light rail line that connects Downtown with Midtown, the Rice campus, and the Reliant Astrodome. It is bolstered by a massive network of managed freeway lanes where buses have priority. I’m not saying I would use it everyday, but if I lived near it, it would be convenient for evenings out. Several large green spaces dot the area, hosting the Houston Zoo, the Museum of Fine Art, and numerous running trails.
Amongst all this is a wide variety of urban housing that is compact enough for walkability and large enough for personal space. A couple of my Streetview favorites:
803 Branard Street
1316 Bomar Street
5353 South Fannin Street
and 709 Colquitt Street
Shopping is a curious story in Houston. The Galleria solely serves local upscale shopping tastes with the only Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom in the region. However, each of those is a tome to the fashion conscious (see photo below). It also houses brands like Bottega Veneta, Miu Miu, and Yves Saint Laurent, some of which only have a handful of boutiques worldwide. This in comparison to Dallas’ three major luxury malls. And, Houston’s sole Hermès boutique is up the street from the Galleria, in a lone retail strip, next to a New Balance store. What?! Unfathomable!
But that’s why I like it. The city feels like it breaks its own stereotypes about urbanism, about housing, about neighborhoods, and about retail. It’s a brutal, gritty concrete wasteland that maintains a healthy historic center and west side, punctuated by pockets of wealth, high fashion, urban living, and downright socialist transportation options. Nothing groundbreaking but also nothing expected.
I’m not hopping on the next Southwest flight to Houston by any means. Lately, I’ve just enjoyed getting to know a little more about the city and all it has to offer to its young, educated, progressive professionals. You can see a map of all the spots I’ve mentioned here on the Google Map I created for the city.