Earth To Houston: Wake Up And Smell The Greenhouse Gas Emissions

"I hold no personal grudge against Houston. I'm agnostic about its lack of zoning - I'm no fan of development regulations that have fostered sprawl throughout the US in the last six decades. I applaud compact development in downtown Houston and efforts to build New Urbanism in the city (Duany Plater-Zyberk designed three projects in 2007 and other new urbanists are working in Houston as well).

That said, Houston is no place for the rest of the nation to emulate in terms of land use policies."

"Given the lack of transportation choices, moderate-income families in Houston have little alternative to pouring nearly a third of their pay into automotive expenses. Unlike housing, which can build household equity, transportation dollars go down the gas tank. With rising oil prices during the last eight years, this problem is getting steadily worse."

"I don't mean to pick on Houston. There's sprawl everywhere in America. I have hopes that Houston, like the rest of the US, can change. My problem is with a group bent on perpetuating automobile and oil dependency, and foisting a potentially catastrophic global warming on future generations. That sounds to me like an American nightmare."

Thanks to The Intrepid Staff