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Houston has an underground tunnel system that's larger than Chicago's: https://www.downtownhouston.org/district/downtown-tunnels/ https://www.downtownhouston.or

Houston has an underground tunnel system that's larger than Chicago's: https://www.downtownhouston.org/district/downtown-tunnels/ https://www.downtownhouston.org/district/downtown-tunnels/ Having lived in both cities, Houston's is actually more accessible and useful as well. Also a point of differentiation is that its main touted advantage is avoiding the disgusting heat and humidity that settles on the city for most of the year, rather than avoiding the cold.

jamiesonbecker 9y ago
Houston skyscrapers used to lower their air pressure to pull free A/C from their neighbors. (citation needed, can't track one down quickly). But, it's a huge system, approximately seven miles long[4]. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_tunnel_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_tunnel_system 1. Pictures: https://www.google.com/search?q=houston+tunnels+system https://www.google.com/search?q=houston+tunnels+system 2. NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/us/21tunnel.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1201964533-giDOI7EQDa42VtvtwDFuEg http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/us/21tunnel.html?_r=1&adxn... Startups have launched in the Houston tunnels: 3. http://www.chron.com/business/article/Downtown-tunnel-system-still-drawing-entrepreneurs-1736690.php#page-2 http://www.chron.com/business/article/Downtown-tunnel-system... Eye-popping costs of up to $15,000 per linear foot to build, and yet it's all funded by the building developers themselves: 4. https://web.archive.org/web/20081231041758/http://www.discoverhoustontours.com/Welcome%20to%20the%20Downtown%20Houston%20Tunnel%20System%20020722.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20081231041758/http://www.discov... (Out of all large cities in America, Houston is unique in that it has no zoning; skyscrapers are clustered together mostly because they're lonely, and not at all because there are inherent advantages in being near other like-minded buildings. The weirdest photographs to come from no zoning laws, which I think is actually extremely cool: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Weirdest-images-from-Houston-s-lack-of-zoning-laws-9171688.php#photo-10795066 http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Weir... )
- hexane360 9y ago
  "Nearly 180 years since the city was founded, nobody is really sure whether Houston's lack of zoning laws is a point of pride or not."
- mjevans 9y ago
  I think this explains the feature of having entry-ways exposed to outside air-pressure; if anyone tries to suck in, they just fill the common area and their own building with heat.
technofiend 9y ago
>main touted advantage is avoiding the disgusting heat and humidity And to avoid the monsoon-like rains; downtown Houston is ~45 miles north west of Galveston Bay. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Houston https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Houston >Rainfall is the most common form of precipitation in Houston. The wettest month is June, with an average of 5.93 inches (151 mm) of rain.[1] Houston normally receives 49.77 inches (1,264 mm) of precipitation on 104.0 days annually.[1] The most precipitation to fall in one year was 83.02 inches (2,108.7 mm) which occurred in 1979. Houston has received less than 20 inches (510 mm) of rain only once: 17.66 inches in 1917.[21] Flash flood warnings are common all year, and due to the flat landscape, heavy rains often threaten life and property in the city. Sea breeze showers which are monsoon-like (especially during the summer months from a mesoscale convective cycle where the polar jet stream usually forms an omega block) are common throughout the Texas Gulf Coast area (from Brownsville to the Florida Peninsula) which has a similar climate to areas like Mumbai and Kolkata - locals refer to the sea breeze showers as the Gulf Coast Monsoon (also called the Gulf of Mexico or the Texas Monsoon), despite Houston being 50 feet above sea level. The sea breeze showers are also a contributor to the North American Monsoon.
always_good 9y ago
My dad brought me through the Houston tunnel system when I was a young teen and I really enjoyed the hustle and bustle around lunch time. I remember sitting in a small coffee shop and pretending I was in the wing of a space station. I'm reminded of the feeling every time I read a sci-fi book like the first book of The Expanse series.
- madengr 9y ago
  Ever read Asimov’s Robot series? Future cities are underground or domed. Earthlings no longer venture outside.
riffic 9y ago
Chicago has a disused freight tunnel system larger than either of these pedestrian tunnel systems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tunnel_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tunnel_Company
- fencepost 9y ago
  Which many Chicagoans learned about when someone drove pilings into it allowing the river to drain into the tunnels. It was huge business news at the time, because basically all of downtown Chicago was shut down for a week or more since power, etc is delivered to the buildings through those flooded basements. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_flood https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_flood

jamiesonbecker 9y ago

Houston skyscrapers used to lower their air pressure to pull free A/C from their neighbors. (citation needed, can't track one down quickly). But, it's a huge system, approximately seven miles long[4]. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_tunnel_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_tunnel_system 1. Pictures: https://www.google.com/search?q=houston+tunnels+system https://www.google.com/search?q=houston+tunnels+system 2. NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/us/21tunnel.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1201964533-giDOI7EQDa42VtvtwDFuEg http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/us/21tunnel.html?_r=1&adxn... Startups have launched in the Houston tunnels: 3. http://www.chron.com/business/article/Downtown-tunnel-system-still-drawing-entrepreneurs-1736690.php#page-2 http://www.chron.com/business/article/Downtown-tunnel-system... Eye-popping costs of up to $15,000 per linear foot to build, and yet it's all funded by the building developers themselves: 4. https://web.archive.org/web/20081231041758/http://www.discoverhoustontours.com/Welcome%20to%20the%20Downtown%20Houston%20Tunnel%20System%20020722.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20081231041758/http://www.discov... (Out of all large cities in America, Houston is unique in that it has no zoning; skyscrapers are clustered together mostly because they're lonely, and not at all because there are inherent advantages in being near other like-minded buildings. The weirdest photographs to come from no zoning laws, which I think is actually extremely cool: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Weirdest-images-from-Houston-s-lack-of-zoning-laws-9171688.php#photo-10795066 http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Weir... )

hexane360 9y ago
"Nearly 180 years since the city was founded, nobody is really sure whether Houston's lack of zoning laws is a point of pride or not."
mjevans 9y ago
I think this explains the feature of having entry-ways exposed to outside air-pressure; if anyone tries to suck in, they just fill the common area and their own building with heat.

technofiend 9y ago

>main touted advantage is avoiding the disgusting heat and humidity And to avoid the monsoon-like rains; downtown Houston is ~45 miles north west of Galveston Bay. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Houston https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Houston >Rainfall is the most common form of precipitation in Houston. The wettest month is June, with an average of 5.93 inches (151 mm) of rain.[1] Houston normally receives 49.77 inches (1,264 mm) of precipitation on 104.0 days annually.[1] The most precipitation to fall in one year was 83.02 inches (2,108.7 mm) which occurred in 1979. Houston has received less than 20 inches (510 mm) of rain only once: 17.66 inches in 1917.[21] Flash flood warnings are common all year, and due to the flat landscape, heavy rains often threaten life and property in the city. Sea breeze showers which are monsoon-like (especially during the summer months from a mesoscale convective cycle where the polar jet stream usually forms an omega block) are common throughout the Texas Gulf Coast area (from Brownsville to the Florida Peninsula) which has a similar climate to areas like Mumbai and Kolkata - locals refer to the sea breeze showers as the Gulf Coast Monsoon (also called the Gulf of Mexico or the Texas Monsoon), despite Houston being 50 feet above sea level. The sea breeze showers are also a contributor to the North American Monsoon.

always_good 9y ago

My dad brought me through the Houston tunnel system when I was a young teen and I really enjoyed the hustle and bustle around lunch time. I remember sitting in a small coffee shop and pretending I was in the wing of a space station. I'm reminded of the feeling every time I read a sci-fi book like the first book of The Expanse series.

madengr 9y ago
Ever read Asimov’s Robot series? Future cities are underground or domed. Earthlings no longer venture outside.

riffic 9y ago

Chicago has a disused freight tunnel system larger than either of these pedestrian tunnel systems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tunnel_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tunnel_Company

fencepost 9y ago
Which many Chicagoans learned about when someone drove pilings into it allowing the river to drain into the tunnels. It was huge business news at the time, because basically all of downtown Chicago was shut down for a week or more since power, etc is delivered to the buildings through those flooded basements. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_flood https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_flood