How Houston Regulates Land Use
I lived in Houston for several years, and there&#x27;s a lot of great things happening there. I&#x27;ve always liked the lack of zoning, while also hating how common and strict the private covenants are (I never knew why they were more onerous in Houston, but knew they were).<p>I also think Houston is well-placed to become one of the truly great American cities with only minor shifts in policy.<p>Those huge roads? Shrink the lanes and paint on bike lanes (which is effectively free, since the lines are repainted every few years anyway), and you&#x27;ve got green urban transit options everywhere. It&#x27;s already relatively safe to bike most places in Houston, certainly in all the neighborhoods, because the roads are big enough to accommodate bikes even without lanes specifically marked. I used to bike to class when I was in college...about 10 miles each way. None of it was particularly hairy or scary, even compared to &quot;bike-friendly&quot; towns like Austin.<p>There&#x27;s also a surprisingly large amount of green and park space in Houston. The bayous that are concrete-filled could be ripped up (some parts of the Houston bayou system were concreted over in the 70s and 80s, as a failed attempt at flood management), and turned into hike&#x2F;bike trails (they already get used that way...there&#x27;s dirt foot paths along the top of every Houston bayou I can remember).<p>The train and bus system needs <i>massive</i> improvement (or, it did when I last lived there or visited), and the car culture needs to be killed, as this author notes. But, there are some very good, very walkable neighborhoods in Houston. I couldn&#x27;t afford to live in them, but I enjoyed the street festivals and such that happened in them. Again, some minor tweaks to policy could allow more of those neighborhoods to thrive. The lack of zoning means that retail and restaurants often exist right along side neighborhoods; which is the ideal for a walkable neighborhood.<p>Traffic is obviously a huge problem for Houston, but that&#x27;s true of every major American city. It was particularly pronounced while I was living there, as two of the biggest highways were under construction for several years (also common in growing cities).<p>In short: I&#x27;d love to see Houston get more of these things right. It was a good city that treated me well. My first attempt to get a real job turned out great, the cost of living is on the low side given the scale of opportunities available and the benefits of living in such a big city (great art scene, great music scene, great food, etc.). I moved to Austin after a few years in Houston, and while Austin also has a lot going for it (I would even say it&#x27;s the first and only city I&#x27;ve ever really <i>loved</i>), it has felt like it&#x27;s been going the wrong direction the whole time I lived there and the years when I didn&#x27;t. Every once in a while, it&#x27;ll get something right (like going to a 10-1 district-based city council instead of at-large, or being pretty good about bike lanes and bike safety), but on the whole the things that make Austin great are in decline. Artists and musicians are leaving because they can&#x27;t afford it, black and brown folks have been pushed out to Round Rock or Georgetown or other surrounding cities again because they can&#x27;t afford it, and music venues are shutting down left and right because they can&#x27;t afford it and the new (very wealthy) downtown and surrounding area residents don&#x27;t like the noise. My desire to live in or visit Austin has dropped to almost nil in recent years.