It's really hard to reconcile the differences between dense walkable cities where streets were laid down long before the car existed and living and Houston wher

It's really hard to reconcile the differences between dense walkable cities where streets were laid down long before the car existed and living and Houston where land is (dirt) cheap, the city didn't really begin growing quickly until the 1960's when A/C made life bearable and after a series of hurricanes in the preceding decades made the port of Galveston less and less attractive idea, the shifting of oil companies from Lake Charles to Houston, a constant stream of low cost workers from Mexico, international oil money. Houston is as unique as Silicon Valley. People who talk about making Houston walkable or changing the setbacks and lot requirements are just fooling themselves. Houston has a character and plenty of people like it. They get offended that you might want to make it any more like Boston, NY, Chicago or DC. I'm personally glad to be leaving Houston for one of those dense walkable cities, but I'm giving up a nice big house that was very inexpensive, the ability to be lazy and drive anywhere, the discretionary income to own a nice car, and great food. What I gain is personal but having grown up in Texas I do not expect people there to want anything but what Houston is. It didn't get to be like it is because people hated it. Keep in mind, all those neighborhoods, stores, and office parks are there because individuals and businesses voted with their dollars and they continue to do so.