3 ms·

apples and oranges. Houston is over 600 sq miles, the metro area is 1000S. If you’re going to compare SF and Texas, start with Highland Park, Bunker Hill, 7874

apples and oranges. Houston is over 600 sq miles, the metro area is 1000S. If you’re going to compare SF and Texas, start with Highland Park, Bunker Hill, 78746 or the Montrose.

davidw 8y ago
Houston's answer to affordability is sprawl, which has some big problems of its own. But add housing they do, something the Bay Area has failed miserably at.
- rayiner 8y ago
  Fun fact: the Houston-Sugarland Metropolitan Statistical Area (“MSA”) is 50% more dense than the San Francisco-Oakland MSA. But the former is still vastly more affordable.
  - pcwalton 8y ago
    Huh? Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land has 6,892,427 people living in 8,258 mi^2 for a population density of 834 people/mi^2 [1]. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward has 4,727,357 people living in 2,474 mi^2 for a population density of 1,910 people/mi^2 [2]. That's remarkable, given the fact that the Santa Cruz Mountains make a lot of the land unsuitable for development, while pretty much everywhere around Houston that isn't part of the Gulf is suitable for sprawl. Also fun fact: Los Angeles easily beats both regions, with 13,353,907 people living in 4,848 mi^2 for a population density of 2,755 people/mi^2. L.A. is a lot more dense than people think. Weighted density is a better calculation, in any case. With those figures the sprawl of Houston becomes even more apparent: SF comes in at 2 of 34 (plus L.A. at 3 and San Diego at 9), while Houston is ranked 23 [4]. I grew up not far from Houston. Say what you will about Texans, but urbanists they are not. :) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Houston#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Houston#Demographics [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco%E2%80%93Oakland%E2%80%93Hayward,_CA_Metropolitan_Statistical_Area#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco%E2%80%93Oakland%... [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_metropolitan_area#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_metropolitan_area#... [4]: https://austinzoning.typepad.com/austincontrarian/2008/03/weighted-densit.html https://austinzoning.typepad.com/austincontrarian/2008/03/we...

apples and oranges. Houston is over 600 sq miles, the metro area is 1000S. If you’re going to compare SF and Texas, start with Highland Park, Bunker Hill, 78746 or the Montrose.

davidw 8y ago

Houston's answer to affordability is sprawl, which has some big problems of its own. But add housing they do, something the Bay Area has failed miserably at.

rayiner 8y ago
Fun fact: the Houston-Sugarland Metropolitan Statistical Area (“MSA”) is 50% more dense than the San Francisco-Oakland MSA. But the former is still vastly more affordable.
- pcwalton 8y ago
  Huh? Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land has 6,892,427 people living in 8,258 mi^2 for a population density of 834 people/mi^2 [1]. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward has 4,727,357 people living in 2,474 mi^2 for a population density of 1,910 people/mi^2 [2]. That's remarkable, given the fact that the Santa Cruz Mountains make a lot of the land unsuitable for development, while pretty much everywhere around Houston that isn't part of the Gulf is suitable for sprawl. Also fun fact: Los Angeles easily beats both regions, with 13,353,907 people living in 4,848 mi^2 for a population density of 2,755 people/mi^2. L.A. is a lot more dense than people think. Weighted density is a better calculation, in any case. With those figures the sprawl of Houston becomes even more apparent: SF comes in at 2 of 34 (plus L.A. at 3 and San Diego at 9), while Houston is ranked 23 [4]. I grew up not far from Houston. Say what you will about Texans, but urbanists they are not. :) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Houston#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Houston#Demographics [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco%E2%80%93Oakland%E2%80%93Hayward,_CA_Metropolitan_Statistical_Area#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco%E2%80%93Oakland%... [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_metropolitan_area#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_metropolitan_area#... [4]: https://austinzoning.typepad.com/austincontrarian/2008/03/weighted-densit.html https://austinzoning.typepad.com/austincontrarian/2008/03/we...