Houston to pass Chicago as third largest city in the USA

[ChicosBailBonds]

Interesting article in the paper today.  Wil pass by Chicago in 8 to 10 years.  I remember when LA passed Chicago when I was a kid.

http://news.yahoo.com/americas-city-rankings-set-texas-sized-shake-houston-130507316.html

[warrior_rugby15]

As a Chicagoan this doesn't surprise me at all with lower cost of living, better weather, and better employment opportunities.

Is Austin still Texas' fastest growing city?

[HouWarrior]

I remember when we passed Detroit and Philly on this list. Yes, Detroit was once a top 5 city!

There will be those that note city population vs Metro area (in which Chicago will still lead) ....but then again, ask someone from cowtown Fort Worth how much he considers himself from snooty Dallas. lol . Dallas grabbed Ft Worth to its metro area mainly to compete with arch rival, but bigger Houston.

What is good in this article is the referenced diversity that Houston thrives on:..."Apart from domestic migration, about one in five Houstonians is foreign born and more than 90 languages are spoken in the city...."

It also notes our strange anomoly...No Zoning. We built homes almost everywhere by subdivisions (which enforce their own use/appearance restrictions by HOA's) and commercial development has been along main thoroughfares. Aside from Downtown, and Uptown (Galleria), we have about 8-10 other major office areas. The geographic space of Houston's sprawl is about 70 miles EW and 50 miles NS .
Most come to Houston for a great job, then find a large affordable house in a great neighborhood, located in a good school district (N,NW,W,SW), and enjoy going out to eat in one of the most restaurant crazy towns on earth. To me its just a great place to live.
See:
http://www.businessinsider.com/houston-best-city-in-america-2014-6?op=1

BTW, it may be early, but this is the first of my many Houston promos leading up to the Final Four in H-Town --2016

[4everwarriors]

Weather sucks ass doe, ai na?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

The handful of times I have been to Houston, I have found it much nicer than I thought it would be.  The week I spent there in July was hellish.

[HouWarrior]

Weather sucks ass doe, ai na?

Sure does...lol...we suffer through lush subtropical warm weather (70s at night; 80-90s daytime) for about 10 months a year.
Its like a Wisconsin summertime for ten months, and Wisc.'s "October" weather during our "chilly" December-January winter.

The regular rain leaves foliage/lawns very green and lush, but I do need a Mexmow every week.

We have no snow, no Ice, no shovelling, no rust on cars, no winter coats, etc...so I guess on those points,... I miss your weather....NOT!!

[MU82]

OK, I'll move back to Chicago to keep this from happening!

[ChicosBailBonds]

I remember when we passed Detroit and Philly on this list. Yes, Detroit was once a top 5 city!

There will be those that note city population vs Metro area (in which Chicago will still lead) ....but then again, ask someone from cowtown Fort Worth how much he considers himself from snooty Dallas. lol . Dallas grabbed Ft Worth to its metro area mainly to compete with arch rival, but bigger Houston.

What is good in this article is the referenced diversity that Houston thrives on:..."Apart from domestic migration, about one in five Houstonians is foreign born and more than 90 languages are spoken in the city...."

It also notes our strange anomoly...No Zoning. We built homes almost everywhere by subdivisions (which enforce their own use/appearance restrictions by HOA's) and commercial development has been along main thoroughfares. Aside from Downtown, and Uptown (Galleria), we have about 8-10 other major office areas. The geographic space of Houston's sprawl is about 70 miles EW and 50 miles NS .
Most come to Houston for a great job, then find a large affordable house in a great neighborhood, located in a good school district (N,NW,W,SW), and enjoy going out to eat in one of the most restaurant crazy towns on earth. To me its just a great place to live.
See:
http://www.businessinsider.com/houston-best-city-in-america-2014-6?op=1

BTW, it may be early, but this is the first of my many Houston promos leading up to the Final Four in H-Town --2016

Funny thing is, I doubt that 25% of the country knows Houston is the 4th largest city in this country.  25% might actually be high.

We should have a beer sometime Houston, I get down there a few times a year as my bro-in-law lives in Magnolia.

[HouWarrior]

Funny thing is, I doubt that 25% of the country knows Houston is the 4th largest city in this country.  25% might actually be high.

We should have a beer sometime Houston, I get down there a few times a year as my bro-in-law lives in Magnolia.

These 25% join the same group that actually knows where MU is located, as...
..based on the questions I get...  about 75% of folks would guess Marquette Univ. is located in Michigan. The "smart" ones even guess that its in the UP.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Funny thing is, I doubt that 25% of the country knows Houston is the 4th largest city in this country.  25% might actually be high.

We should have a beer sometime Houston, I get down there a few times a year as my bro-in-law lives in Magnolia.

I thought Dallas was 4th to he honest.

[Galway Eagle]

There's loads of spots Chicago could take in if the burbs would be interested in joining. Cicero, Berwyn, Burbank, Dillon, robins, Harvey, heck even parts of oak park and Evanston were up for debate years ago. Houston is newer and doesn't need to deal with the same metro problems of expanding that Chicago does. Even if it surpasses it Chicago is still a much greater city and any architecture nerd will agree (yours truly)

[Eldon]

I thought Dallas was 4th to he honest.

Dallas is the fourth biggest MSA (city proper plus the burbs).  It will be a while before the Houston MSA surpasses the Dallas MSA in population.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

There's loads of spots Chicago could take in if the burbs would be interested in joining. Cicero, Berwyn, Burbank, Dillon, robins, Harvey, heck even parts of oak park and Evanston were up for debate years ago. Houston is newer and doesn't need to deal with the same metro problems of expanding that Chicago does. Even if it surpasses it Chicago is still a much greater city and any architecture nerd will agree (yours truly)

Chicago is what Chicago is.  Houston is what Houston is.  "Much greater city" is simply a subjective opinion and nothing more.

[keefe]

We should have a beer sometime Houston, I get down there a few times a year as my bro-in-law lives in Magnolia.

Does Houston have a back yard?

[Benny B]

Sure does...lol...we suffer through lush subtropical warm weather (70s at night; 80-90s daytime) for about 10 months a year.
Its like a Wisconsin summertime for ten months, and Wisc.'s "October" weather during our "chilly" December-January winter.

The regular rain leaves foliage/lawns very green and lush, but I do need a Mexmow every week.

We have no snow, no Ice, no shovelling, no rust on cars, no winter coats, etc...so I guess on those points,... I miss your weather....NOT!!

I'll rest more comfortably at night knowing that a storm brewing over Lake Michigan doesn't have the "wrath-of-God" potential that our neighbors along the Gulf coast experience every few years.

[🏀]

No ice? The last time I was in Houston, the entire city was shut down due to ice.

Also, hate Houston's development. Urban sprawl at it's worst. A city center with four different Napervilles around it.

[Galway Eagle]

No ice? The last time I was in Houston, the entire city was shut down due to ice.

Also, hate Houston's development. Urban sprawl at it's worst. A city center with four different Napervilles around it.

Nice point about urban sprawl at its worst. It's density is 3,600/sq mi. That's really spread out in fact that's more spread out than Naperville's 4,000/sq mi.   

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

No ice? The last time I was in Houston, the entire city was shut down due to ice.

Also, hate Houston's development. Urban sprawl at it's worst. A city center with four different Napervilles around it.

I was so disappointed by a visit to Houston for work two years ago.
Disjointed urban sprawl is being kind.  Lack of zoning was bizarre.
The only place I saw air pollution worse than Houston was in China and that includes comparing it to LA & Mexico City.
For a city that size they need to move a little quicker on implementing the mass transit besides the one short rail line.  Took me 50+ minutes to get to Minute Maid Park from the hotel and took me like 12-15 minutes after the game to get back.
And don't get me started on those giant heads of "Great Americans" where the highway enters the city.

I did like the hot Florida-like weather in September.  I always like that.
I also liked Minute Maid Park.  Since the Astros sucked bad in 2013 it was cool to walk up to the gate and spend $20 for ticket, one row from the field that also got me a soda & hot dog with the ticket.

[Celtic Truth]

I was so disappointed by a visit to Houston for work two years ago.
Disjointed urban sprawl is being kind.  Lack of zoning was bizarre.
The only place I saw air pollution worse than Houston was in China and that includes comparing it to LA & Mexico City.
For a city that size they need to move a little quicker on implementing the mass transit besides the one short rail line.  Took me 50+ minutes to get to Minute Maid Park from the hotel and took me like 12-15 minutes after the game to get back.
And don't get me started on those giant heads of "Great Americans" where the highway enters the city.

I did like the hot Florida-like weather in September.  I always like that.
I also liked Minute Maid Park.  Since the Astros sucked bad in 2013 it was cool to walk up to the gate and spend $20 for ticket, one row from the field that also got me a soda & hot dog with the ticket.

I've never been to Houston but I just don't like cities that are developed this way. They're just a financial downtown with skyscrapers surrounded by miles and miles of generic looking sprawling suburban neighborhoods that are still considered to be in "the city". Urban and dynamic neighborhoods are to me what give a city it's character. Give me a real urban city like NY, Boston, or Chicago over Places like Houston, Phoenix, and Dallas all day.

This being said I really hope to be in Houston this spring for some BBQ and a Marquette national championship

[Benny B]

I've never been to Houston but I just don't like cities that are developed this way. They're just a financial downtown with skyscrapers surrounded by miles and miles of generic looking sprawling suburban neighborhoods that are still considered to be in "the city". Urban and dynamic neighborhoods are to me what give a city it's character. Give me a real urban city like NY, Boston, or Chicago over Places like Houston, Phoenix, and Dallas all day.

This being said I really hope to be in Houston this spring for some BBQ and a Marquette national championship

Keep in mind the "cities" you cited are ones that were established well before Henry Ford was cranking his wares off the line en masse.  Places like Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas (and the like) are still teenagers, relatively speaking, which means they were all developed from the pretext that every household had an automobile.

In other words, urban sprawl wasn't a choice for these cities, it was a response.

[Celtic Truth]

Keep in mind the "cities" you cited are ones that were established well before Henry Ford was cranking his wares off the line en masse.  Places like Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas (and the like) are still teenagers, relatively speaking, which means they were all developed from the pretext that every household had an automobile.

In other words, urban sprawl wasn't a choice for these cities, it was a response.

Of course, bostons current city streets were the results of cow paths way back in the day. All cities are the way they are for all kinds of different reasons. I just strongly prefer the real urban ones. Henry ford changed the way we live drastically. As did Eisenhower by developing our interstate highway system. For better or for worse, it just depends on who you ask

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Of course, bostons current city streets were the results of cow paths way back in the day. All cities are the way they are for all kinds of different reasons. I just strongly prefer the real urban ones. Henry ford changed the way we live drastically. As did Eisenhower by developing our interstate highway system. For better or for worse, it just depends on who you ask

Makes you really appreciate what Burnham did. I can name every major east west street from Howard all the way to downtown. Really an incredible layout and grid.

[Celtic Truth]

Makes you really appreciate what Burnham did. I can name every major east west street from Howard all the way to downtown. Really an incredible layout and grid.

Chicago is unique because they essentially got a mulligan. The city developed at an extreme rate in the 19th century then obviously burnt down and they got to see what was the best way to develop an American city by learning from their own mistakes and by looking at what did and didn't work for other American cities in regards to development.

[Benny B]

Chicago is unique because they essentially got a mulligan. The city developed at an extreme rate in the 19th century then obviously burnt down and they got to see what was the best way to develop an American city by learning from their own mistakes and by looking at what did and didn't work for other American cities in regards to development.

I don't know... burning down Houston seems a bit drastic.  Not to mention, you know, the logistics of having to do so with all that urban sprawl and stuff.

[Galway Eagle]

Makes you really appreciate what Burnham did. I can name every major east west street from Howard all the way to downtown. Really an incredible layout and grid.

Burnham yes but the others too, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Adler and more. All these "teenager cities" are just cookie cutters. It's like putting any barrington or naperville subdivision around a city center. And even the sky scrappers have no character to them.