4 ms·

Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Montevideo, San Juan (PR) are all tropical cities hotter than Houston, roughly the same size, and are very walkable

Nicholas_C 2y ago
I don't know the distinct history of those cities but Houston's population didn't hit 1 million until the 1960s, nearly all of its growth has taken place in a car-centric world. At least 3/4 four of those cities have been around for a long time pre-car and I suspect weren't designed with cars in mind.
- hammock 2y ago
  How about Miami, e.g Miami Beach and downtown Miami, both extremely walkable? Like Houston, Miami did not reach 1 million pop until the 60s. Or Panama City, did not reach 1 mil until the 90s And "designed with cars in mind" is part of the problem, is it not? Using that as a filter is like saying "there are no parking garages with good canoeing routes"
  - underlipton 2y ago
    Depends on the time of year, I suppose. https://www.google.com/search?q=miami+flooding&udm=2 https://www.google.com/search?q=miami+flooding&udm=2
- nostrademons 2y ago
  More to the point, nearly all of that growth has taken place in an air-conditioned world. Urbanization of the U.S. South really only took off once the air-conditioner became mainstream. Those other cities have a population that is adjusted to the heat - they grew up with it, their ancestors grew up with it, they're genetically and culturally adjusted to the climate. By contrast, the U.S. South includes a large number of immigrants who are only there because air conditioning exists. It's a mystery why anyone would want to walk around in 100 degree heat with 90% humidity, because they certainly wouldn't.
- Too 2y ago
  Singapore is no doubt developed in recent times and has one of the world’s best underground metro. It’s not for lack of cars in mind it looks the way it does. In fact the opposite, Singapore has a quota on total number of cars in the country, making other forms of transport a necessity to provide, including metro, buses, bike lanes, covered walkways.
- ijlx 2y ago
  2/4 had massive growth in the 50s/60s/70s (KL and Singapore). I'll give you Montevideo and San Juan, but let's not pretend it's just timing that made Houston the way it is. It's a matter of choices that were made, to prioritize car infrastructure over all else.
Ostrogoth 2y ago
Based on historical averages, none of these cities are hotter than Houston. They might have more humidity, but Houston averages are higher AND regularly experiences sustained daily highs during summer in excess of 100°F/38°C. https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/9247~114655~27814~113829~29220/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Houston-Singapore-San-Juan-Kuala-Lumpur-and-Montevideo https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/9247~114655~27814~113829~...
mikrotikker 2y ago
I can't even fathom how those people can survive the heat and humidity let alone walk in it.
- filoleg 2y ago
  Agreed. No matter how good the biking infrastructure in major cities in Japan is (and apparently it was good enough for me to see someone biking at almost any given moment, so I assume it was pretty good), I cannot fathom how people did it. You open a door to the outside, and you feel like you got blasted with a human-sized heatgun. Just standing outside for more than a few minutes, and you pretty much gotta take a shower after. And no, I am not ultra-sensitive to it, as I managed to survive 90F summers in Seattle with no AC just fine before.
  - hammock 2y ago
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9281079/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9281079/ The simple answer is, you adapt (homeostasis)
  - presentation 2y ago
    Don’t worry, Japanese people complain about it all summer. You’re not alone!
  - cinntaile 2y ago
    Japan is also a very car-centric country. Most of the time you get to bike on the sidewalk, together with the people on foot.
    - hammock 2y ago
      Germany is the same way, the bike lane is often on the sidewalk, however it tends to be a very bike-friendly place
      - filoleg 2y ago
        In Japan it wasn’t the case, it was straight up just people bicycling on the sidewalk in-between people walking. They just somehow figured out how to do it in a way that doesn’t disrupt the pedestrians, and I am still not sure how.
GFischer 2y ago
I'm from Montevideo, I wouldn't call it "tropical" but yeah, compared to an US city it's absolutely a million times more walkable. We do have humidity and heat and I don't enjoy it and I use A/C several months a year. There's a big push for more cycling-centric and more cycling lanes, and the bus infrastructure is obviously a lot better than the US. I don't have a car by choice. I haven't been to Houston but I have been to Dallas and it was an extremely frustrating experience and it feels like an awful soulless city to me.
- Nicholas_C 2y ago
  Dallas’ big criticism from Texans (and especially Houstonians, there is a bit of a rivalry) is that it’s soulless… so you nailed it.
_lvbh 2y ago
I’m from Malaysia and I can tell you barely anyone walks in the dense parts of cities. I do like walking but the smell of sewage and car exhaust is overwhelming. Much prefer the UK

Nicholas_C 2y ago

I don't know the distinct history of those cities but Houston's population didn't hit 1 million until the 1960s, nearly all of its growth has taken place in a car-centric world. At least 3/4 four of those cities have been around for a long time pre-car and I suspect weren't designed with cars in mind.

hammock 2y ago
How about Miami, e.g Miami Beach and downtown Miami, both extremely walkable? Like Houston, Miami did not reach 1 million pop until the 60s. Or Panama City, did not reach 1 mil until the 90s And "designed with cars in mind" is part of the problem, is it not? Using that as a filter is like saying "there are no parking garages with good canoeing routes"
- underlipton 2y ago
  Depends on the time of year, I suppose. https://www.google.com/search?q=miami+flooding&udm=2 https://www.google.com/search?q=miami+flooding&udm=2
nostrademons 2y ago
More to the point, nearly all of that growth has taken place in an air-conditioned world. Urbanization of the U.S. South really only took off once the air-conditioner became mainstream. Those other cities have a population that is adjusted to the heat - they grew up with it, their ancestors grew up with it, they're genetically and culturally adjusted to the climate. By contrast, the U.S. South includes a large number of immigrants who are only there because air conditioning exists. It's a mystery why anyone would want to walk around in 100 degree heat with 90% humidity, because they certainly wouldn't.
Too 2y ago
Singapore is no doubt developed in recent times and has one of the world’s best underground metro. It’s not for lack of cars in mind it looks the way it does. In fact the opposite, Singapore has a quota on total number of cars in the country, making other forms of transport a necessity to provide, including metro, buses, bike lanes, covered walkways.
ijlx 2y ago
2/4 had massive growth in the 50s/60s/70s (KL and Singapore). I'll give you Montevideo and San Juan, but let's not pretend it's just timing that made Houston the way it is. It's a matter of choices that were made, to prioritize car infrastructure over all else.

Ostrogoth 2y ago

Based on historical averages, none of these cities are hotter than Houston. They might have more humidity, but Houston averages are higher AND regularly experiences sustained daily highs during summer in excess of 100°F/38°C. https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/9247~114655~27814~113829~29220/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Houston-Singapore-San-Juan-Kuala-Lumpur-and-Montevideo https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/9247~114655~27814~113829~...

mikrotikker 2y ago

I can't even fathom how those people can survive the heat and humidity let alone walk in it.

filoleg 2y ago
Agreed. No matter how good the biking infrastructure in major cities in Japan is (and apparently it was good enough for me to see someone biking at almost any given moment, so I assume it was pretty good), I cannot fathom how people did it. You open a door to the outside, and you feel like you got blasted with a human-sized heatgun. Just standing outside for more than a few minutes, and you pretty much gotta take a shower after. And no, I am not ultra-sensitive to it, as I managed to survive 90F summers in Seattle with no AC just fine before.
- hammock 2y ago
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9281079/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9281079/ The simple answer is, you adapt (homeostasis)
- presentation 2y ago
  Don’t worry, Japanese people complain about it all summer. You’re not alone!
- cinntaile 2y ago
  Japan is also a very car-centric country. Most of the time you get to bike on the sidewalk, together with the people on foot.
  - hammock 2y ago
    Germany is the same way, the bike lane is often on the sidewalk, however it tends to be a very bike-friendly place
    - filoleg 2y ago
      In Japan it wasn’t the case, it was straight up just people bicycling on the sidewalk in-between people walking. They just somehow figured out how to do it in a way that doesn’t disrupt the pedestrians, and I am still not sure how.

GFischer 2y ago

I'm from Montevideo, I wouldn't call it "tropical" but yeah, compared to an US city it's absolutely a million times more walkable. We do have humidity and heat and I don't enjoy it and I use A/C several months a year. There's a big push for more cycling-centric and more cycling lanes, and the bus infrastructure is obviously a lot better than the US. I don't have a car by choice. I haven't been to Houston but I have been to Dallas and it was an extremely frustrating experience and it feels like an awful soulless city to me.

Nicholas_C 2y ago
Dallas’ big criticism from Texans (and especially Houstonians, there is a bit of a rivalry) is that it’s soulless… so you nailed it.

_lvbh 2y ago

I’m from Malaysia and I can tell you barely anyone walks in the dense parts of cities. I do like walking but the smell of sewage and car exhaust is overwhelming. Much prefer the UK