Why City Design is Important (and why I hate Houston)
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- Опубликовано: 28 апр 2024
- Watch this video ad-free on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/not-just-bik...
I'm not an urban planner, so you might ask, why do I run a RUclips channel about urban planning and walkable cities? It all comes down to a life of travel, and a terrible walk in the suburbs of Houston.
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References and Related Reading
Federal Highway Association National Household Travel Survey
nhts.ornl.gov/vehicle-trips
What's wrong with comparing Seattle to Houston?
www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
Out of Control - Houston’s roads, drivers are country’s most deadly
Houston Chronical
www.houstonchronicle.com/news...
Eerste van der Helststraat
Stadsarchief Amsterdam
archief.amsterdam/beeldbank/d...
Historical Photos of London, Ontario
images.ourontario.ca/london/7...
images.ourontario.ca/london/7...
images.ourontario.ca/london/2...
images.ourontario.ca/london/2...
images.ourontario.ca/london/2...
Historic Photos of Houston
digitalcollections.lib.uh.edu...
digitalcollections.lib.uh.edu...
Giant Brontosaurus Rib: 5 Must-Try BBQ Dishes at Mighty Quinn's
Tasty (RUclips)
• Giant Brontosaurus Rib...
High Frequency: Why Houston is Back on the Bus
Streetfilms (RUclips)
• High Frequency: Why Ho...
A Year After Bus Redesign, METRO Houston Ridership is Up
kinder.rice.edu/2016/08/16/a-...
Houston just dramatically improved its mass transit system without spending a dime
www.vox.com/2015/2/18/8056039...
Houston Rolling Back Parking Requirements
usa.streetsblog.org/2019/07/1...
How does Houston plan without zoning?
City Beautiful (RUclips)
• How does Houston plan ...
The Energy Corridor District unveils west Houston's first protected intersection
www.houstonchronicle.com/neig...
More performative pedestrian infrastructure
cityobservatory.org/more_myth...
No, Houston isn’t a walkable city, but you have to start somewhere
kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/202...
Katy Freeway by Aliciak3yz - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Katy Freeway by Socrate76 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Reducing congestion: Katy didn’t
City Commentary
cityobservatory.org/reducing-...
What Dallas, Houston, Louisville & Rochester can teach us about widening freeways: Don’t!
www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
Houston commute times quickly increasing
www.click2houston.com/news/20...
Houston’s $7 billion solution to gridlock is more highways
Curbed.com
archive.curbed.com/2019/8/5/2...
North Houston Highway Improvement Project
www.ih45northandmore.com/pub_h...
The big picture for a big plan
kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/201...
“The truth about a city's aspirations isn't found in its vision. It's found in its budget.” - Brent Toderian
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Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:05 A Brief History
1:19 Living car-free when unemployed
2:23 Insane amounts of travel
3:42 A fateful trip to Houston
4:25 The walk in Houston (Willowbrook)
7:26 Urban planning and history
9:00 Forgetting those who don't drive
11:13 Houston: sprawl and average BBQ
11:51 What Houston is doing right
13:12 There's still a long ways to go
15:19 Conclusion
16:29 Patreon shout-out
16:40 Outro
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My dad on his bike got hit by a pick-up truck on a stroad and ended up in hospital for months.
The investigating officer tried to convince me that it wasn't my dad who was hit by a truck, but it was the truck that got hit by my dad.
Thanks for doing this.
Oh wow I'm sorry to hear that. This is what I meant by "it will be *your* fault if you're hit by a car." I hear these stories all the time. I hope your dad recovers soon!
Walking in the US feels like you're committing a crime because everyone looks at you from their cars like you're the weird one for using your feet.
YES!
People will assume you’re a criminal or lost your license!
It’s insane
Maybe you are just thinking too much about it? People generally look at all kinds of things and just because people look in your general direction doesn't mean they are thinking anything in particular about you. What makes you think anyone cares you are walking? I haven't had a car for over a year now and I walk and ride the bus a lot. I live in Ohio near Dayton and while my city has decent walking infrastructure plenty of places I walk outside of my city but close to it don't No one really cares. They most likely look at you to make sure they aren't going to hit you. When I was driving and saw someone walking I never once thought to myself, "you know that person is weird and probably is a horrible individual" lol!!! I mean what in the world would possibly make you think that people think you are weird for walking?!
In my city a huge percentage of travel can be enjoyed on foot or public transit.
People look at you like your homeless…don’t even get me started on how the homeless are treated here 😑
they are weird.
I’m an Uber Driver here in Houston, and up to 80% of my clients in some parts of the city are minimum-wage workers who cannot afford a car.
80% of you clients are broke bums
@@OmegaRedFan 80% of your brain is smooth.
@@OmegaRedFan Post your real name and your real job so we can see that you aren’t a broke bum yourself.
@@lilporky8565 I'd say you didn't have to fucking kill him like that, but I think he legally already qualifies as brain dead
That's sad to hear about.
As a Houston resident, one of our most common complaints that you hear from people living here is "There's nowhere to just go walk around, even downtown"
Well also, the fact that this time of year it is so damn hot outside that nobody wants to walk anyway lol. The heat index from my weather station has been an average of 111 degrees this summer. Ridiculously hot
Memorial Park 🤷♂️
@@johnh8705 No! That park has too many Shoobies.
I recently just moved to Kingwood a suburb of Houston. I have no intention of going to downtown Houston unless someone else drives, I don't like the city, and that may because US cities are not human friendly. That being said my neighborhood has miles and miles of bike and walking trails. The odd part is in order to get to them I have to walk in the street out of my neighborhood. I will soon put a back gate in my backyard for quick access to the Greenbelt and to keep my out of the street.
@@fireandiron4181 less asphalt all over the place would theoretically decrease city temperatures.
As a European visiting the USA, my first cultural shock was an airbnb host who told me with a lot of enthusiasm: "this neighborhood is great because it's walkable!". I thought it was a joke. It was like saying "I love this restaurant, the food is edible!".
Well What’s new Europeans love talking trash to America
well, neighborhood is walkable but apartments are not livable LOL choose your poison
As an Asian, the food is not even edible in the US......Just look at the shelves in the shops
@@NitroCheng not even sure what’s supposed to mean
@@rafangille i think they’re referring to how processed most foods are, and how they’re inedible
Being younger than 16 in Houston is like being under house arrest until you’re old enough to have a license.
Even then you have to dodge crazy drivers
This is one of the things that gets forgotten so often in this conversation. Walkable/bikeable neighbourhoods gives enormous independence to children and teenagers, which is extremely valuable to both them and their parents. The Dutch have the worlds happiest teens, largely because they get so much more independence than most places (I think NJB has a video on that). The youth don't get to vote either so they tend to get ignored in this whole urban planning conversation.
No skating! Mic'21
Working as designed. They don't want you taking the bus with the poors.
Not me when I was 14 15 I use to be everywhere on my bike
I live in Houston, I'm 17, in a single parent household. My mom is too blind to drive, so my entire life my family has never had a car. We still don't. I ended up missing out on a lot of experiences going on, and I hardly ever got the chance to go to places. Often times when my family needs to go grocery shopping, we go walking to the Walmart nearby. That one grocery trip takes up the whole day. Sometimes when were finished shopping, it's already dark out, and we ask our relatives if they can give us a ride home, even though they live 30 minutes away. We do that because it's just not safe to walk back in the dark for 30 minutes. There's no street lamps, and we live in an unsafe neighborhood. There used to be a bus going to the Walmart, which helped us a lot, but they shut it down.
I've asked my aunts and uncles to teach me how to drive but its always "you live far away and I'm too busy" It feels at times as if I'm stuck. I can't learn how to drive without a car. And we're not financially stable enough to even afford a car. It's hard for me to get a job and help out because, well, how am I supposed to go to work. I ask for rides, and lately we've been relying a lot on ubers just to live. It gets expensive, making it even harder to save up for a car. My mom takes the Metro in the morning to work, and an uber at night. I've been looking for cars online, but everything good is way out of our budget. And if we get one too cheap then it'll be too expensive to keep up with it. I've had a friend trying to teach me how to drive, but she lives almost an hour away so we've only been doing lessons once a week. And I still need to go to a driving school and get my permit. Its hard living here without a car. I feel stuck. I feel like I'm trapped into a small bubble and being able to leave it is an expensive luxury we cant always afford. When I was younger I thought I would have fixed our situation, but I was so wrong.
Honestly, I'd try signing up for a driving school. Form what I heard, some will come and pick you up and you spend your time in the car with the teacher and other students taking turns practicing. It's really a shame they took drivers ed out of school.
What part of town are you from? I have many friends from this city since I've been here since highschool (college student now) if I know anyone near you I could ask if they're willing to help
I think motorbike or electric bike can be your solution.... Its cheaper and you must have known how to ride it... instead of walking or taking uber to go anywhere
Ask your aunts and uncles to buy you an electric unicycle (EUC)
I'm so sorry, that's no way to live a childhood. And it's not your fault, or your parents' fault. I imagine that you will feel some guilt if you decide to leave Houston and not be able to take care of your family. But honestly if you don't, nothing will ever change or get better, it will only slowly get worse. You will never make much more than minimum wage if you're stuck doing retail or whatever is available within walking distance or if you need to Uber to work, and you will never get out of the trap of poverty. University isn't really affordable for most people, and going into debt is a bad idea without an ironclad long term career plan. You can always call admissions at a local community college to see if they offer something you'd be willing to do and if the prices are reasonable. They all have informative websites and people happy to talk to prospective students or offer tours. Alternatively, look at trade school or apprenticeships, which often let you work while studying and get paid while still training, and lead to very high paying work. There are also easy to get certificates that let you get your foot in the door in offices, and even hospitals and schools, which usually pays better than retail and is actually a benefit to society.
When we visited (from the UK) my daughter who was living in Atlanta, we thought we would walk to a nearby supermarket. This was difficult because there were no pavements. When we reached the store, we couldn't find the entrance. Eventually we realised we had to go into a multi storey car park - the store entrance was in the basement of the car park. There was NO provision for a pedestrian to access the shop.
in a stunning turn of events, it's actually Houston who has a problem
clever!
hahaha well played
I wondered where the "Houston, we have a problem" comment would be! :D
Once they resolve the transportation issue, they will realize that Houston has another problem: terrible weather.
this is the best youtube comment I think I've ever read
"[These cities] weren't designed for the car, they were bulldozed for the car." Great line.
Is it any wonder? It's the home of the oil industry.
We need to spread all this knowledge!!
😂
@@lemonfish1890 Yes, it is true for Houston. The video was shot in the city of Houston, Texas. Most of Houston is not downtown.
@@lemonfish1890 That's true. It made me think of other cemented parts of Houston, though. If you look at a satellite image, you see a lot of land covered in concrete.
Ive never actually visited the US, but once had a layover at Houston on my trip from the Netherlands to Argentina. We had about 6 hours to spend at the airport, so we thought of having a walk around just to kill some of the time. I was so confused when you simply couldn't. There was nowhere to walk to, and nothing to walk on, it was a huge culture shock within the first minutes.
Wait when?
@@adjudicator4766 this was in 2015, has it changed since? I also thought it was really odd that it had carpet everywhere. Its hard to keep that clean in your home if its just you walking on it, cant imagine how nasty it gets in just one day with thousands of people. Seems like such a weird choice for an airport. But anyway, thats besides the point.
USA is very diverse. NYC, Houston, Miami, Seattle, are different from each other. There’s plenty of states/cities where they have side walks and bike lanes.
@@jamilsuriel4406 I dont know, ive been all over Europe and i dare to say its an even more diverse place. Yet ive never found a place that did not have side walks, its not like an optional thing youd have to specify, theyre just there...
@@msjodh88
You're comparing a whole continent to one country. The US is like 50 countries within one country with well over a 100 differently designed cities, etc......
I am a disabled individual. I literally cannot operate a motor vehicle in a legal capacity. I cannot live in most US cities because of the lack of public transport and inability to walk places. I WANT THIS TO CHANGE. I am visually impaired, but I want this to change not only for me, but others like me whose disability would not hinder their life nearly as much if the cities they lived in were walkable cities. This would also benefit the mental and physical health of future generations, granting younger people the opportunity to see more of their home town in a safer environment.
I’m a Houston native and you omitted one HUGE HUGE problem; flooding. There is so much concrete that covers Houston that when it rains, it floods, because there is no soil to absorb the large amount of water from a large storm. The water has nowhere to go. Sure, drainage systems are built but as expansive as they are, they are still unable to accommodate the occasional hurricane or tropical depression that plague our coastal city.
I was thinking the same thing- that all that bulldozing of land and paving of parking lots and wider highways contributed to the flooding issues.
It's not it's not that it's covered in concrete instead it used to be a swamp and it's supposed to be under water That's why there's so many mosquitoes and the roads are designed to flood to carry the water away.
@@PatrickPecoraro sounds like the roads are designed inadequately
People literally drown all the time when something like highway 288 fills with water and people get trapped in their cars on the freeway.
@@kabrinaw3029 no your fighting Mother Nature trying to mitigate natural disasters and the ecosystem of the area.
For those who don't already know, 800m is roughly half a mile. In a sensibly designed environment, it's about 10 minutes walk.
Everyday I would walk .8 miles to school. A rather pleasant 12 to 15 minute walk. Definitely would not have been the case if we lacked sidewalks on the road.
Why do some people use obsolete units of measurement?
@@gamermapper Because they grew up with it and have a better mental model for for those units as compared with metric. Metric is a superior system for most purposes, but I can more easily imagine five feet than 1.5m, even though they're (very roughly) the same distance.
@@KaasSchaaf666 That's really not very helpful; when someone basically says "I grew up with the Imperial system and it's been ingrained in my head since birth so I have a much clearer concept of what those units are" and your advice is "just change", you're really not offering anything that will help that person make that change, and you're replying to someone who acknowledges that the Metric system is superior so you're clearly talking to someone who already wants to make that change.
@@gamermapper the numbers are more rounded. you walk 5 miles per hour, bike 15 miles per hour and cars go 25 miles per hour. 8 km per hour is harder to remember isn't it? edit: I grew up on the metric unit in Toronto and went to college for MSE...
I had a friend in the US make some long explanation about why it was important that jaywalking was illegal and punishable by pretty large fines (at least for the context). I was just gobsmacked until I realised it was just because he was so reliant on his car, he wasnt even thinking about the pedestrian that probably had nowhere to walk or cross the street
Regardless of how unwalkable US cities are, there's zero excuse for criminalizing crossing the road. Unless it's crossing the free way, no one should be fined or put in jail for crossing the road.
@@Purpletrident I mean they shouldn’t be jailed for crossing the freeway either, if they are they are desperate and have some problem and needed or need help
@@mareksicinski3726 Jailed? Who's being jailed?!?! I'm pretty sure you only receive a ticket for jaywalking.. Unless you have outstanding warrants for other crimes, LOL.
@@lizjoe21750 Imagine not being able to pay the ticket.. what happens then?
Too bad for them, right?
@@lizjoe21750 Yea I mean it's not like there are people living in poverty who can't afford these fines, right?
Honestly, I LOVE walking everywhere and I am from Houston. I’ve always had to walk everywhere since I was in middle school. Luckily, nothing was more than 4-5 miles away from my home. When I stumbled across your video, it hadn’t occurred to me that we have drastically failed to put sidewalks/bike lanes for pedestrians. I guess being raised in Houston it was normal for me to just walk on grass and across random little areas that were dangerous. I’m glad you’ve brought this to attention. The older I’ve gotten, them more I’ve thought about where my taxes go? Why do we have to drive everywhere? Why is America so different than the rest of the world? And the answer is always the same: it’s all for business. Time to make change and I’m all for it!!
@@Willowtree82 I recommend watching more videos from this channel. You'll realize that it's not some kind of natural law that a country with overall low population density such as the USA is so incredibly dependent on cars.
I'm from Houston and also love walking, and I would love to make our city more pedestrian and bike friendly. Biking here is basically suicidal.
@@Willowtree82 Did you even watch this video? You honestly just ignored everything and started seeking excuses.
@@Willowtree82 US is big and spread out on average. But cities tend to be dense. You should still be able to walk or bus to/from/within the city, and also drive (or preferably train) to faraway places. There is no excuse for little to no public transit.
The homeless/criminal problems in America’s public transit systems is because of low budgets and maintenance. The cities do not care. They only want cars.
I’m in Houston and honestly I love it and nobody say I did not watch the video because I did I’m just saying that I live in Houston and I love it you don’t have to
One thing this shows is that travelling teaches not just about foreign countries but also your own.
If anything it teaches you mostly about your own country. When you've travelled a lot and seen many cities/countries, coming back to your own with a different perspective each time will truly make you see your city/country the way it actually is.
Feelin patriotic yet?
"The world is a great book and those who do not travel read only the first page."
The Navy took me around the world, and I've been blessed to have been able to travel on my own. There's so much that I've learned as a result.
@@1958zed Probably another reason Americans are kept poor: corporate interests don't want us to see what life could be like
This cheap wrangler can't afford a car
“Houston is a hellscape.”
“Yeah, but at least our-“
“And I’ve had better brisket in New York.”
Brutal.
Literally said ow when he said that
Lived here for 6 years and I have never seen a city so poorly designed
are you just gonna sit there and let your brisket get insulted?? what's wrong with you??
same thing that's wrong with most, the food isn't worth fighting over right?? LMAO!!! [i'm joking sheesh]
Better brisket?
not south carolina brisket? he's he mistaken?
This reminds me of the time we had an exchange student from the US over here in Germany and he was literally in shock because people *walked places* and that we had sidewalks connecting businesses and shops.
If Houston is widening the widest road in the US, they're doing something wrong!
What are you gonna do
You know what WIDE roads can actually have? " Drum roll" A Bus lane!
@@acdc5507 We can't have that! That would be giving subsidies to the poor! Instead let's add another car lane so I can drive my personal car on a publicly funded expressway into the city that subsidizes the infrastructure of the suburban neighborhood I live in!
All the poor persons, who will be forced to find a new home now... In earlier times, this happened at such a high degree, only if an overmighty conqueror has attacked your country, and was slaying everyone on his way to the country-center !!!
Walking on the edge of many American business or loop roads feels like a revolutionary act. "Hi car dealership I'm just walking through your lot because you don't have a sidewalk"
I’m from suburban Houston and the most insane part is people will honk and yell at you for walking along the road. And you feel so out of place because there are hardly any sidewalks and you will be pretty much the only person you see walking.
@@LatestSquash Hey Joe if someone yells "loser" from their car at you as happens to me once a year yell back "Follower!"
@@jojo-gy9pp like they will hear you...
I’ve done this experiment while walking around in Atlanta. Lots of dangerous roadway walking conditions. Kind of shocked me since I grew up in Philadelphia where you can easily walk in Philly from one part of the city to another.
I’m a New Yorker so every time I’m out of the city and some place was within walking distance, me and my friends would just walk even if that meant walking on the roads. People would look at us like we’re crazy
Freedom doesn't mean that everyone can drive with their cars anywhere. Freedom means that people can choose not to have a car and still be able to get around.
Yes, as I've said in a previous video, I want the "freedom to not to have to drive."
@@nielskorpel8860 Singapore?
@@nielskorpel8860 Apple hardware? :-)
US Americans have a different concept of freedom. Like the freedom to can't afford a health insurance or the freedom to get shot any time.
@@NotJustBikes Freedom as implemented by American cities looks more like slavery of the car
My relatives came from Madrid to visit us in Oklahoma City they wanted to walk from the airport to our suburb which is like 35 minutes by freeway, they tried to walk and people were honking at them ,, then they sat in our front yard in a lawn chair and someone called the police on them
crazy
Five days in Paris convinced me that I have to get out of the US as fast as possible. Thanks for succinctly giving me the words to describe why.
and even then paris is pretty car-centric for european standards. now it's becoming much better for walking and biking because of new legislation, and even though it's still a far cry from somewhere like amsterdam it's infinitely better than many american cities
Paris convinced you?! I've been in many European countries and cities and Paris has BY FAR the worst drivers (or traffic design, not sure). But then I imagine Paris is much better than what you find in America, especially that the center of Paris is actually not that bad.
I live in Paris and it’s the worst for traffic (even though it’s getting better), you convinced never to step a foot in the US haha
Sounds like a good idea. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
@@jasonrodgers9063 "Waaa waaa you can't leave this shithole country, it's the best in the world waaa"
"You shouldn't HAVE to own a car to participate in society." Well said sir.
I feld that so hard.
Im legal not allowed to handle a car because of my eyesight. So this sentence was sooo good to hear.
Not taking the car industry's side here, but one would feel differently if one were a car sales rep working on commission.
@@ebinrock Maybe, but the salesman should also be aware that they are in a VERY cutthroat business with no guarantees. Plus, even if they have good intentions, they’re being paid to manipulate. Kinda fucked up.
You shouldn't have to live in an overpriced municipality where everyone rents and owns nothing to participate in society either.
@@ebinrock Car sales rep are the biggest thieves after the banks. They literally rob anyone clean that wants to buy cars with their scam policies, kind of weird why you would empathize with them I would be happy they would be losing their business.
"Houston isn't even the worst city in this regard."
*Shows background of Phoenix*
Entirely fair.
ever since visiting more people-friendly cities, I can't help but be astonished every time I come back to Phoenix and notice just how massive the Valley actually is. you really can't walk anywhere here because it's just one absolutely gigantic suburbia from North Phoenix to South Chandler. I can't go virtually anywhere without getting on a highway!
South Florida is the same way save for one path cyclists can use to get from South Miami to Coconut Grove
@@jakejaramillo i've gotten lost in the suburbs here multiple times driving around. it's hell. you take one wrong turn and suddenly you don't know where you are, everything is the same, and you have no hope of ever finding your way back without gps. I've gotten lost in suburbs ALL around the valley (like 15 miles apart) and they literally are the exact same visually.
And then you get into a nice neighborhood and it's all cute little houses, nice stucco, some shops, even a sidewalk, then another 1.5 miles and you're in another shitty suburb and it's like you haven't gone anywhere at all.
As a Phoenician, I feel attack lol
Houston is not the worst by far. Baton Rouge makes Houston feel like pedestrian Shangri-La.
I moved to Tokyo about two months ago, after living in the metro detroit area for my entire 30 years of existence. I can’t imagine going back to live in America. I absolutely love being able to walk everywhere/take trains and not have to worry about (or pay for) a car.
BRUHHH ON GOD!!!! Michigan (for the supposed motor state) is such ass for drivers. I can't wait to move to Japan too xD
Galveston is one of the only cities in Texas where you can still go around without a car being an absolute necessity, theres always people walking on sidewalks and the streets never feel abandoned, there's always a store or people nearby. Its like a time capsule from what Houston once was.
Me as a fellow Houstonian: I have never been more offended with something I agree with
what a heel of a place you live in mate
I'm from McAllen, Texas. It's just like Houston. You NEED a car. There is no public transportation, and street streets are designed for cars only.
Bruh dead ass I was getting mad asf watching this video dawg😂 but I agree too😂
I feel you bro lol
He's right but that barbecue take deserves a slap in the face. This man has sinful tastebuds
As a disabled houstonian I love this video. This city is highly and I mean HIGHLY inaccessible for wheelchairs. I sometimes have to ride on the side of the road risking my life because there is no sidewalk on the way to my destination. It's incredibly frustrating and depressing.
*Yes. Houston is depressing. I hate this city.*
I feel you, if you can afford, move to other places, even Austin makes infrastructure changes and they have activist there!
I always think about this- even the sidewalks there in the suburbs are covered by people parking their cars over the edge of their driveways.
Yep. Anyone on crutches with an injured leg, or with a cane, or using another mobility aid like a walker or white canes used by visually impaired people, you have a pram with you, etc - trying to use those pavements is basically announcing they have a death wish 👀 it's crazy to me that the pavement can just....... end, with no indicators, no markers, no (deliberate) textural difference on the road etc.
Stage a protest.....make it a public issue.
Because if you don't....it won't change.
Best wishes and stay safe.
Dude the walk in Houston is insane.
Where are the sidewalks?
Where is vegetation?
Where are noise shields?
How the fuck did Americans manage to build a country where moving around without a car is actually next to impossible?
they spent all their money on israel, iraq, and ukraine
How? Zoning, convenience, weather.
I dont care if Texas has perfectly viable bike lanes and footpaths everywhere, I'm not biking or walking if I'm GOING somewhere, unless its incredibly close. The southern half of this state spends 75% of the year in 85+ temps and half of it over 90. Its 1am right now, and its still in the 80s with 74% humidity.
As an employer, I'm not at all interested in hiring people who need to take a shower when they get to work because they walked 6 miles in 95 degree heat at 8am. I'm also not keen on every day being an adventure of how fast I'll sweat through literally every piece of clothing I am in. I do that in Florida for a few weeks a year, I'm good. Give me cars with AC in this place any day of the week, and the advantage of being in the suburbs is free? Ill take it.
Tf is a noise shield?
Easy. We just buy cars. Not exactly rocket science. lmfao
@@Barraind.Faylestar I promise you people living in functional infrastructures don't generally walk to work, either.
I was once walking to Mc Donald’s as a teenager with my friends family and j walked across a stroad like I’d done many times. My friends dad got mad at us and told us to use the crosswalk from now on. On our way back, he narrowly avoided being hit by a car turning right on red. He never said anything about jay walking after that.
True story. When I was nineteen (I'm from ireland) I moved to the suburbs of Chicago. I decided to go for 'a walk'. I met NOBODY on my 30 minute walk. It was surreal. I felt like I was being watched even through the quiet streets. When I pressed the button to cross the street I nearly got run over by a car because they could turn left on red or something. A cop pulled me the same day for Jay walking. It's honestly so stressful just to go for a stroll in suburban America
When I was in Chicago, I stayed in a cheap airbnb in the suburbs and ended up walking along the side of the highway every day to get to the train station, cos I was young and poor and couldn't afford ubers into the city. There were no sidewalks for 5km of the 8km walk to the train station
The US is a 3rd world country
Yeah when I moved to Albany temporarily from NYC it was really strange to never see people walking around
So sorry you went through that, especially being stopped by a cop. In my experience Jay walking is ABSOLUTELY a lot safer than waiting at a cross walk. As you mentioned, sometimes the goddamn left turn is a "yield" turn and cars aren't looking for or are too distracted to notice possible pedestrians. Then cars can also turn right at any time that might otherwise be a good time for a pedestrian to cross. I've seen pedestrian lights literally go on for 3 seconds, people take a couple steps forward, then it goes back to the red hand again and cars start trying to enter the intersection
Luckily I was never seen / stopped, but honestly. It's so much safer to stand somewhere where you can VERY CLEARLY see any incoming traffic, icky gave to look left and right and glance at nearby driveways / exit areas to check they're clear, and HURRY across (even then too many people shuffle along as they walk, looking at their phones) than it is to wait for traffic in 4 directions to be clear, and then still have to worry about people speeding past a red light or turning right or making u turns
Bro that's cause your in goddamn suburban Chicago lmao. That's to be expected. Try going to Manhatten which is also semi car dependent but has a much larger subway and public transport system than most major cities. In the five boroughs most people don't own cars,they either walk or take the subway to Manhatten. private parking in Manhatten is incredibly expensive and parking on the street is unreliable and expensive,so most people simply can't own a car. It is true that most cities are car centric New York is not one of them.
This also severely chokes and takes away independence from children and the elderly due to the poor public transportation and over reliance on cars because of our auto industry owning our government.
It really sucks... I've taken 2 hour school bus routes when i was in middle for in houston and switched over to metro. that dropped it down to an hour bus ride and a half hr walk. Additionally, I've had co workers and friends who can't drive, yet need to get to work or school or public services so they have to schedule metro ride trips and wait in 30 minute intervals to get picked up.
I live in Phoenix and it’s just like Houston. You have to drive everywhere, the public transportation sucks, etc. I’m moving out of this state luckily.
Which also forces elderly to drive cars when it's not safe for them to be operating a vehicle
i couldn't help but imagine how stranded anyone in a wheelchair must feel living in a city without sidewalks. also people with vision impairment, elderly people, and anyone who struggles with driving and can't walk across uneven ground like the grassy areas NJB was forced to walk along. it makes me so upset to think about how our society makes it exponentially harder for them to even exist.
@@picksey4736 well, even though wheelchairs are hard to use longer distances in US, most shops and business are made to be accessible to disabled and elderly, along with handicap parking. Also street crossings are typically very safe with lights and walking lanes, along with ramps. I know when I was living in Italy I struggled to get around even as a fit man with how uneven roads could be and stairs were horrible, and there simply weren't any crossing lights or ramps most anywhere.
After coming to Hiroshima Japan I was surprised by how well the streets were designed for bikers, and walkers. Having grown up around Houston, and loving biking and to bike places I was very annoyed by how it was difficult to do even in residential areas. In Japan I have had a vastly better experience biking and walking to places I need to go without worrying about getting run over.
It’s infuriating and sickening how they destroy things for cars. It is just sick
Cities that prioritize people’s safety is a must. I got hit by a car two years ago on a stroad but even though no evidence pointed at it being my fault I wasn’t covered by insurance and the police labeled it as my fault. I was 15 and just wanted to go to the library, I didn’t deserve a permanent disability for riding a bike. That area was a place 2 people died before I was even hit but it still hasn’t been changed until now. How do you let 2 people die and 1 person get hospitalized without budgeting a change.
''Government"
Lmao, meanwhile here in Germany, the default assumption is that drivers have to look out for pedestrians.
So it's usually really hard to not be blamed as the guy in the car. You can always be more careful after all.
america is such a fucked up place
This just made me realise why Jaywalking is a crime in America.
It's to protect the driver in case an accident does happen on the road, even if they're at fault.
wtf
@@kappalhu3574 Jaywalking is when someone walks across the middle of the road instead of the sidewalk or cross walk.
I live in Houston and I had a friend who had immigrated from Japan. She asked me why I drove to school since I lived 10 minutes away. I told her it’s because I didn’t want to cross 10 lanes of traffic with no sidewalk.
Japan is also 'hot AF'
@@douglasmcdonald501 Japan is hot...but it's not Houston hot
This. In [Tokyo], 90F is the hottest it'll ever get in the summer. In Houston, 90 is the standard for at least 8 months.
@@Raphie009 you talk about Japan as if it was a city like Houston.
True kids have to cross a entre high way if they walk to my school.
My god, man… I live in Brazil and here we have the same philosophy for building by our cities. When I watch your videos I’m taken by a raging feeling. I makes me so fucking angry that we value cars more than people, seriously I feel like I’ll have a heart attack
It's baffling how in the US you basically need to possess your own 2 ton fosil fuel-consuming metal machine in order to do literally anything.
The obvious cut in "dont you think this guy would appreciate a sidewalk" fucking killed me
That and the " there is even people walking on google earth" or whatever he said LOL
«They weren't designed for the car: they were bulldozed for the car.»
heart breaking, especially if you consider how absolutely ugly US cities are. And they only get worse with age.
💯💯💯💯
Terrible, and one of the reasons why affordable living is not a thing anymore.
That’s pure capitalism for you
ut oh
This is a damm good video. I lived 2 years in Dubai, and I used to laugh at Ferraris and Lamborghinis being drove at 5 kms per hour most of the time because of traffic when these cars are designed to go 200 km per hour. When I visited Amsterdam on a business trip I loved that city with all its bike and pedestrian culture. But my reality is that I am stuck in El Salvador, where most people dream about visiting Dubai instead of Amsterdam.
I am from and live in Houston and *everything* in this video is true. Also, drivers are absurdly aggressive and bad. I blame the cancerous growth of convoluted highways here getting people used to making last second lane changes and normalizing other bad driving behavior.
The lack of walking areas actually makes DRIVING much worse, because now traffic is crazy even in small towns, because of people driving half a mile to the store.
I can imagine
I would say vice verse. I am from Europe, and it is much easier to drive in Houston as at least people don't walk/run/cross the roads without looking around and trying to die in a car accident.
On a science channel that was talking up the benefits of self-driving cars, I pointed out that we needed to transition to walkable cities to solve the real problems with cars. I was told that to change American cities to be more walkable would be impossible, that they would need to demolish millions of homes. Turns out no, they're already demolishing houses and more for freeways.
@@vaibhavshirole You don't know what's in my head, and I don't know where you're getting your information from, so you're going to have to elaborate on both things that you said if you want to make an actual point.
I live in Seattle and we've made some of our widest streets walkable retroactively.
Unfortunately here it seems like you can only get a raised walkway erected if someone dies in a car accident, but still it demonstrates that it's possible. Even if you only have a couple meters of sidewalk width, you can absolutely connect the two sides of the street with a raised walkway. In fact, with a little more space, you can have a helical ramp making it wheelchair accessible.
We've split the atom and connected the whole world. It's time we stop pretending that making public works and walkways for everyone is somehow impossible when so many people have managed to do so even in difficult conditions.
Finally, I found people who share my value: car dependency is a violation of human rights and the No. 1 enemy of freedom in a civilized world!
“they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”
As a teen growing up in Houston, I’ve never considered that everything described in the video is unusual or dangerous in any way, it’s just all I’ve ever known. I’ve always had to walk on grass, rocks, over railings, narrow strips of concrete across bridges, etc. Of course that’s just when I walk places, but I usually have to get somebody to drive me when I want to go someplace. And I guess it is surprising that my school is an hour and a half walk away considering I live in a rather densely populated suburban area. This video was very eye opening for me, great video Not Just Bikes!
Yeah if I walked to school it’d take about an hour and a half but driving is about 20 minutes😬 I live about 25 minutes from downtown houston and the last time I ever walked to school was in middle school because my school was in a housing community that had a lot of sidewalks. It’s literally be impossible to walk to my hs because there’s a giant freeway that cuts near it. Fun.
I grew up in Amsterdam and I had the exact opposite experience. As a teen I was lucky enough to get accepted into a very good school on the other side of the city and I biked there every day for 45 minutes. Now I take the train to go to college in a different city. It takes an hour and a half at most and costs me nothing because public transport is free for students. The ferry that connects my part of town to the rest of Amsterdam is free for everybody, which always confuses tourists. I guess I never realized how good I had it until I watched these videos and read your comment.
@@elmer4090 Ever since my grandparents took me to Germany when I was 16, I realized how much shittier my childhood was. It’s sort of a weird sensation since you sorta believe “america is a developed nation” until you go abroad and realize how much is yet to be done and how far we are from it. It is a desolating sensation, I have no hope for this country and believe the infrastructure will never be fixed, outside of maybe a few initiatives here and there that won’t go anywhere.
(Edit) Source: I also grew up in Houston
@@homedepot. same but i can bike it in 30
@@justpassinby4477 I traveled abroad to Berlin Germany last year for a fall semester, and compared to rural Vermont, they amount of freedom I had was incredible. I felt more at home when I was abroad than I did when I was actually home.
I'm a truck driver, and I could not have agreed more with your statement about American cities all looking the same.
Random question: what's a favorite of yours to drive through in terms of scenery?
@@Frichilsasta08 Honestly, Pennsylvania has had some of the most picturesque places I've been through.
The catch is, often the places with the nicest scenery are also the biggest pains in the ass to pilot an 18 wheeler through. Arkansas and Colorado also come to mind. Beautiful scenery, a hassle to drive through it in a big rig.
As far as cities, hard to beat Las Vegas as far cool looking buildings and whatnot to look at. It is Vegas, if they know anything, it's showmanship, even in their architecture.
Eh. Growing up in Miami… I disagree. I’ve lived in Miami, Boston, New York, Detroit and Atlanta. I just moved out here to Dallas Texas and it looks nothing like anything I’ve live in on the Eastcoast. It’s a culture shock to me honestly. Miami is the South just like Dallas… but these two cities are complete opposite.
@@WHYOSHO do you live in the city of Dallas? I've been a few times and it appears to be a placeyground for the wealthy. So many buildings and restaurants/bars.
I've seen pictures of many American and Canadian cities, and honestly... The only cities that stands out are Québec city and Montréal (and I live - and was born - in MTL, so I have a lot of love fot that city) because of their European style and the fact that they aren't as car centric as other towns.
Yup, I’m born and raised of Houston, we are all very proud of our city but no one has ever acknowledged the dangerous and expensive hellscape that is our city’s design 😩 I’ve since moved away to a much smaller city and get to avoid the driving stress that comes from living in Houston 😊
Not only can you not walk in Houston, the Houston drivers also make driving extremely dangerous
Where did you move to ?
Yep even as a teenager I’ve seen people texting and driving and quite often I’d flip them off as my parents pass them I’m hoping people drive better in the Midwest so
I used to have to go to Houston all the time to visit relatives. Not only was it a terribly designed place, it was also home to the worst drivers I’d ever encountered in the US. I would posit that the road design makes the drivers mean. When my relatives no longer lived there, I was delighted that I would never have to go to Houston again for the rest of my life.
Makes them mean and forces them to drive
Even if they’re not good at or don’t like driving. This whole thjf necessitates lower standards for drivers license
Where do you live now ?
@@remy012356 SF East Bay. It's been getting worse here, but not vicious the way it is there.
"This is Houston in the 1970's. No, it wasn't bombed, they did this to themselves." Beautiful.
@@lemonfish1890 For most people in Houston, it would be prohibitively difficult and dangerous to walk or ride a bicycle to either of those places anyway. Check out other parts of Houston surrounded by busy streets and highways that do not take pedestrians or cyclists into account. Better yet, imagine walking or riding a bike across the city in any direction. I would join you for the challenge, but we would probably call it off after a finding a place to take a break! :P
@@JA238979 4 people were run over in the last week trying to cross freeways . . .
@@lemonfish1890 "Downtown Houston has wonderful Hike/Bike Connectivity..." Then why don't more people use it?
@@lemonfish1890 "Connectivity from the suburbs is spotty, the bike lanes downtown are scary to me on weekdays..." That sounds like the opposite of nice and easy lol
@@lemonfish1890 No, I asked why _more_ people don't use them. And you gave quite a satisfactory answer, thank you.
Living in Houston, the Parks and Rec line, “This city was planned?” gets a lot of mileage.
Oooh, I love it. D'you know which episode that's from?
@@catbeara Season 2, episode 5 - where the officials from Baroqua come to visit. “This city was planned? On the drive in, I saw a tattoo parlor, next to a school next to a Taco Bell. It looks like it was designed by a very stupid rodent.”
@@SamBrasher oh, thank you! 🥰
@@olegstacie Curious to know how a rural city with a population of 70k compares to cities with 2 and 10 million people? How totally innocent and genuine of you. Why don’t you look it up? Go ahead and format it like an email forward from the 90’s and you’ll be all set.
@@RyanCarteret Man, that whole story is Texan! Just put “GUNS” on any sign and you’re bound to have all day foot traffic.
I know this is an old video, but man is it prescient! My poor mother is legally blind, 92 years old, but otherwise in great health. She loves to walk. Sadly, after my father passed recently, she and we have come to recognize how shitty living in suburbia is when you are utterly trapped in your own home when you can't drive on your own. She is immensely frustrated and angry at her current situation. Although she does have private transport twice a week, and two of her kids (inc. me) take time away from work to get her to inflexible appointments, etc, it's still a little prison-esque for her. I do not want to be in the same situation when I'm retired. great video!
Okay I live in Houston. Have my whole life actually. And you’re completely right. When I got into a wreck and didn’t have my car for 3 months my whole life turned upside down it felt like. If I didn’t have the help from my family. I’d have lost my job and everything else I’ve worked so hard for just because I didn’t have a car to get anywhere.
I actually put your theory to the test. I moved to within 5 miles of where I worked in downtown Houston. I bought a bike and mapped out my route along buffalo bayou. I had bells, a flashing light, mirrors, etc. Within 2 months I got hit by a car, full speed, at an on ramp that is clearly marked a pedestrian crossing just before Christmas. It took me months of PT and pain killers just to get near normal.
If you want to bike in America, you either have to either own a $1MM apartment in a big city or plan your life around it in a small community. I've been to Amsterdam, Valencia, Vienna, París...they all got the bike thing on lock. This wasn't even my last experience with walkability. This even affects the livelihood of people I know. America needs to up it's game!
Oh side note, I actually walked that exact route before around Willowbrook so I know how it is in your shoes and it's terrifying. "Oh I'll just walk to the whataburger from the mall, no big deal..." Ah ha ha...oh boy.
Wait, were you actually cycling on that pedestrian crossing? Not sure about US regulations but in Europe you have to get off your bike and slowly walk with it to make a pedestrian crossing. For obvious reasons.
@@dubkds Naw, bikes here are kind of just expected to do whatever is best to keep themselves alive. Not many rules or infrastructure for them make any road here like the old chaotic mess they used to be for every mode of transportation, but instead just for bikes.
@@bigj3508 That is Willowbrook all day! I remember when Toys R us was there... when in traffic, I act like it is a video game and people are trying to hit me... CATCH ME Outside! .. there is a reason for all the ghost bikes... I am glad you healed up.
A cyclist getting hit in a pedestrian crossing. Don't see a problem here. Cyclists aren't pedestrians and shouldn't be using their areas.
When we first moved to Houston, my father was stopped by a cop when walking on a thin sidewalk and asked for identification. It's just not normal seeing people walk here. I've watched your video twice now, and love it every time I rewatch. Funny I recognize every areas you point out on the video. Very educational and reflective.
Wow. Imagine getting stopped by ca copper for walking. The states are absurd.
And everyone else thinks you're crazy for walking. We live in a crazy world where the normal are considered "crazy". Welcome to Houston (it is a great city, but it does have its flaws)!
Their excuse is for your "safety" I went through the same thing when I decided to walk home from school than taking the bus.
The cop was _"Why would you want to walk when the school bus can take you home!"_ I guess I couldn't have a choice and needed to be treated like a child at 16
@@link2442 Honestly, I'd argue that it's better to walk than take the bus. School buses often don't even have seat belts and kids miss their stop all the time, and kids have absolutely no control if the bus driver is bad at driving. If Houston was a little more pedestrian friendly and I was still going to high/middle school, and if my parents were cool with it, I'd rather walk home than ride in a sweaty bus or wait hours outside for my mom to pick me up from school.
@@link2442 The irony being that cop was probably holding up a lane of traffic to say it ain't safe to walk lol
My job working in city planning suddenly looks more interesting to people. Thanks for that!
I live in Houston without a car and you are correct. Houston planners hate pedestrians. We simply don't exist in this city, crossing the street is so dangerous and scary just as you stated that most people run for their lives and get killed anyway. The city doesn't care about people it never did. I'm getting out of here asap.🙏
As a disabled person who can’t drive that was born and raised in Houston, I cannot adequately articulate just how utterly trapped I feel in this city. I can’t even get my own groceries, man. Its like I’m not allowed to be an adult here because cars are *that* required for normal life. :(
not having a car in houston makes you feel like less of a person.
I know EXACTLY how you feel Bon Hill, because I am in the same situation, even though I don't live in Houston, but in the suburbs of metro-Detroit (Oakland County) which is basically the same in terms of the utter lack of options and infrastructure for those who cannot drive.
At least now, thankfully because of Instacart, Shipt, and other grocery delivery services I can get groceries even if/when I don't have family able to get them, or take me to get them. But for so many years, especially when I was living on my own (for a few years in my 20s when I was living in an apartment) it was PURE HELL.
Even though the closest grocery store at that time was about 2 miles away (at some point, after I had moved out of that apartment, a grocery chain opened a branch literally just across the street and a couple buildings down from the entrance to my apartment complex) because I couldn't drive, and there weren't sidewalks/bike paths the entire way and part of the way there, was a design similar to the situation (not a bridge, but some other obstacle, I can't recall what though, as its been 20 years) like to the guy in this video on that narrow stretch of road, that made it difficult if not impossible to walk while lugging even a rolling cart with groceries.
So my family who lived like 20 or 30 minutes drive away would have to come by once a week or once every couple weeks to drive me 2 miles away to the grocery store. Its RIDICULOUS!
How much time and gas wasted driving so much, just to take me to the grocery store, when a few bus routes or even just decent sidewalks could conserve that!
There's metro lift for that. You have to make appointments but it's there.
@Jeremiah Madsen and you would do what to fix it? Get mad bro. That's really helpful.
@@danielmellott7754 you know NOTHING about what you're talking about!
Do you have ANY idea HOW IMPOSSIBLE it is to even GET appointments for that??
I'm not in Houston, but SE. Michigan, and our service like that requires people to:
1.) Call 2 days in advance for an appointment (so forget if you need to go somewhere urgently at the spur of the moment!)
2.) They start taking reservations at 7AM sharp, but EVERY TIME I call, at 6 : 59 I get a recorded message that the office is closed and to call back at 7 AM, and when I dial the phone the second the digit on the clock turns to 7 AM, I get a message saying that I'm the 10th or 15th or 20th, or 25th caller in the line and a representative will get to me when the next one is available. Then I am on hold for the next 20, or 30 or 40 minutes. and by the time I get a human on the phone to book an appointment, they say, "Sorry we're all booked for that day, Try calling back tomorrow"
Then the same thing happens the next day, and the next, and the next and on and on!
So for you to suggest that as a viable alternative to DECENT public transit, walkability and bike paths is outrageous and offensive!
I cannot believe I lost a huge document I was working on, just to read such an asinine comment!!! 🤬🤬🤬
I can't imagine what living in a place like this has to be like when you are a kid. You legit have to ask your parents or somebody to give you a lift everytime you want to get anywhere. Also this explains why the driving age is lower in USA than in most place in Europe I guess. Driver licence is basically like having an ID here. You just cannot function without it in a society
Currently experiencing this as a 16yo in rural USA. It honestly sucks and takes a toll on you until you get your license.
I live in Portugal. 21 and never even thought of driving a car. Why would I?
@@naxygene2269 People waste a lot of money on unnecessary shit. Specially when they are forced to do it, like the video showed. What I was implying is that I can go anywhere in my country without a car. And I most definitely do not need one to go about in my city as everything is close to everyone.
@@naxygene2269 id rather my taxes go to making my city walkable and enjoyable than wherever the fuck they're going now
Me and my family moved to Houston when I was around 8 year old. Before moving to Houston we lived in Gainesville, Georgia , it kind of had the same problems as Houston but in my memory it was really fun growing up. I remember that we could take a bus to the main area of the town and after that we could easily walk to the park, go to school, go to the grocery store, every thing was much closer to each other. Then when we moved to Houston and I literally couldn't go out side 1 because it was to hot or 2 there was literally no place to go because we didn't have a car. I'm 16 years old still living in the same neighborhood in Houston and honestly it really depressing growing up here. It feels like my teenage years are going to waist, and I'm barely learning how to drive and I don't feel safe driving on my own here because of crazy drivers and asking my parents to give me a ride is a no because my dad comes back from work @ around 7 and my mom can't drive. Living in Houston as a teen ( with no car and no driver license) is like living in a cage.
I had 5 hours to kill once waiting for a bus in portland's airport and could not physically leave the airport on foot without either trespassing or walking on a road, its insane.
I agree with you a lot. I am from Russia. After getting married an American, I moved to Houston. I have never felt needs of car, or driving license bcs our public transportation is developed very well. And once I moved in this city , the first thing I noticed is how people are uncommunicative. The smile or nice fake “hiiiiii” doesn’t make them close. Everybody by themselves. I am 5 month here and can’t go out bcs feel weird. Staying at home all days and nights. This city is designed for roughly business ideas. Not for people to live, communicate, have a nice walk by the evening.
The worst disappointment I have even had about anything, bcs to get visa for this country cost me more than 10 years of my life.
Houston is a cultural desert. It's cheap, but that's about it.
Unfortunately yeah, our country is all about dehumanized efficiency.
Couldn't agree more.
I hope more and more people won't be able to "unsee" that horrifying contrast between hostile and livable cities.
Agreed. I was redpilled by Strong Towns. I will never look at suburbia the same way ever again.
@@NotJustBikes Based and Strongtowned
@@NotJustBikes I would highly recommend James Howard Kunstler's "The Geography of Nowhere," if you haven't read it already.
@@alexdobma4694 you can either take the strongtownpill or the stroadpill
like 1000
It does beg the question: how much have car manufacturers spent on lobbying for regulations since the beginning of the twentieth century?
Probably only slightly more than they've spent denying climate change and denying the effects of leaded gasoline, I suspect.
@@NotJustBikes Ah yes, really doing their best to compete with the tobacco industry for being the biggest bunch of lying dicks. At least their jaywalking propaganda campaign was kind of clever and creative...
countries that don't have car industry have way better bike and pedestrians infrastructure. ( in general) its way safer to bike in Denmark then Sweden ( in general) its way safer to bike and walk in Amsterdam then Berlin . Sweden and Germany and France have car brands and much more pressure from the car lobbyist, they ( the car lobbyist) push the biking helmets campaigns to make biking look as something dangerous , even studies prouve that head trama is way more frequent inside of the car then outside of one.
@@m.p.baldnessdyslexic88 So…. Berlin is nót in Germany?!? 😵💫
@@m.p.baldnessdyslexic88 well, who would've thought our car industry going bankrupt was actually beneficial in the long run.
Houston is absolutely BRUTAL to everyone who doesn’t drive. Their bus service is beyond awful - and that ‘improved’ service has been the most convoluted confusing mess. Only reason ridership increased was temporary free fares. But even WORSE than H-town are the small towns around it … Humble, Kingwood, Woodlands, Katy - all of them are either drive or stumble through the ditches. So glad I don’t live there anymore
As someone born and raised in Houston, it was surreal seeing the Willowbrook area, a place I went to probably hundreds of times, in your video. It really is awful, though. I have a relative with severe ADHD who doesn’t feel like they would be a safe driver and has (responsibly) decided not to get their license but now how are they going to get to work?? It’s a nightmare.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that transportation insecurity is a big issue here. There are entire charities whose sole purpose is to help people get rides to doctor’s appointments. Food insecurity is on the rise because people can’t get to grocery stores. Lack of transportation = lack of access to so many other necessities
This happened to me just yesterday. Needed to go to Walmart. Only 0.8 miles away or 10 min walk.
But if I walked it meant I’d have to walk along highway 6 (like 6 lanes wide). So I opted for an Uber. For a 0.8 mile walk
Thats strange🤔:
In Tampa, Walmart stations their stores in walkable/bikable distances from neighborhoods, and most of ones i've seen are somehow connected to the bus lines....no in fact:
*One walmart sits north of a Tampa bus station* 🤣😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣
That's depressing
Hahaha single mother problems hahahahaha
That is wrong on so many levels. I agree that city planning like that is borderline criminal.
@@JuggaloBeats wrong. Don’t assume.
Until the end I didn't realize how incomplete that Houston walk was without a ford mustang deafening you with that ripping farting sound while still failing to accelerate away fast enough.
That ain't no Mustang buddy. Pretty sure it's a Dodge
@@OnionChoppingNinja Exactly, a Dodge Challenger
That’s a challenger
accelerating hard, until he hits the brakes hard at the next traffic light. That's the way those guys drive.
@@martian9999 those guys always got something to prove: and that something is being the first one to hit a red light.
I'm from England. I've lived in Minnesota (Rochester) and I now live in France (South West, near Bordeaux). I swear that you could starve to death in Minnesota if your car broke down. Just like the Houston experience, a walk to a shop would involve (a) a very long walk and (b) a very dangerous walk.
Mainland Europe (even more so than the UK) still includes city centres which were created centuries ago, by civilisations that knew how to live, eat and socialise, but were created 2,000 years before the car.
The US kind of grew up around the car but just because you have lots of space doesn't mean you shouldn't have a busy social centre to a city.
Bordeaux is a wonderful, hectic, mix of Cafe's bars, restaurants, Trams, buses, bikes, pedestrians.... all getting along. They got it right.
I lived in Houston for a year and it was depressing. One time I had to get to a health center two miles from my apt and it took 30 minutes to get there! Then I moved to San Angelo - a smaller Texas city in the center of Texas. At night I tried to walk around the neighborhood. I was assaulted by barking dogs every time I passed a fence. No one was outside. It was strange. I lived in NYC for a few years. Walking most places was just fine although sometimes you need a car. Thanks for the vid.
I lived in Houston all my life, so I've never even known or thought about how this city is car dependent. It wasn't until I got into my first car wreck that I realized driving everywhere sucks and is dangerous. And this video opened my eyes even more on how this it's getting out of hand.
Yeah. I like houston, but driving does suck and public transportation is safer than driving a car on average!
Car dealerships have the city by the balls. They lobby so hard against public transportation and better infrastructure to get more people to buy cars.
That's not even including all the money they make after a hurricane or a bad storm.
Now all our roads and highways are wearing and tearing at an enourmous rate.
Soo much car theft too. Every minute I see a car with paper plates which a lot are fake according to the police.
@@fallinggravity9964 Yes! The fake paper plates, something has to be done about this..
if you can't even drive a car, what makes you think that you are intelligent enough to ride a bike, and not get hurt?
@@ericbuzard349
Sorry but what kind of backwards logic is that
I had the same frustration when I, naively, tried to walk from the airport in San Diego to my hotel, just 500 metres. I crossed the oversized parking lot and ran into a bunch of uncrossable highways, it just wasn't possible, even though I could basically see the hotel. Went back to the airport to ask, they confirmed it wasn't possible and I had to take a shuttle bus 🙄.
That’s… that’s just dumb. Who would even design something like that I often wonder
@@Jan_Iedema All of North America!!
Its so sad
Sounds like that scene in Planes Trains and Automobiles when Steve Martin's character had to walk across *a runway* to get from the rental car lot back to the terminal
SD Native, can confirm. The Airport might as well be on an island.
I grew up only knowing car dependency and didnt see a problem with it. But there are definitely times where I go out for a drink and really wish i could just walk home, and now with gas at over $5 a gallon, it would be a dream to simply walk everywhere. Driving a car can suck. If everything i needed was within a 15 minute walk, my life would be way better.
Thank you for clarifying that the city is just called “London” and not actually “Fake London”. As a misinformed American I genuinely assumed Canada used “fake” the way the US uses new i.e. New York, which I shall now refer to as Fake York
Bro Im from England and once I did this thing in school around the time you'd call 8th grade where we had to name towns and cities or whatever. This girl told me I was wrong when I wrote down 'York' and tried to correct me to 'New York', that's how ubiquitous NYC is even outside the US.
😆
Fake Amsterdam first.
@@gertvanderstraaten6352 whats fake Amsterdam? 😆
"It's possible to design cities where not only you don't need to drive, you won't even want to drive"
Print this in every city planning office
“Not maintaining the roads is the way against global warming.”
My city
@@Ballin4Vengeance
Well that's stupid of your city. That just leaves people with absolutely no way to get around whatsoever. If it's neither walkable, nor bikeable, nor traversable by bus or train or even car, then you're essentially just stuck at home.
@@Ballin4Vengeance
By not maintaining roads, they're headed in that direction. You need infrastructure.
Except companies move in, move out, go out of business, etc…
Vro, you know some people actually enjoy driving and offroading and not being carted around everywhere on a bus where youre gonna get coughed on.
I used to hitchhike (I wasn't homeless, just wanted to travel cheaply) and it meant I had to walk a lot through towns and cities in the US. I can't begin to tell you how many dangerous situations I got into because I just wanted to pass directly through a town. Dog attacks, cars brushing me, stumbling upon crack dens, slipping through mud or scratching myself through brambles. You'd think I was travelling through some mad max wasteland, but actually I was just trying to get from one store to another.
LOL I had to walk to a friends house to pick up my car after a house party (someone had to drive me home because I was too drunk) and I literally fell in a ditch/river. For reference it was a 15 minute drive at most but walking along the highway took 3 hours. I felt like Indiana Jones exploring through a jungle.
Dog attack are becoming a problem for because who knows if someone has a fence for the dog!
Live in florida for reference. I live in an apartment comunity, was walking to Publix that is just across the street and all of a sudden a PIT BULL charges at me, trying to play. It’s six in the morning however, and I’m trying to keep calm and show the dog I’m not about it. My heart fell to the floor. Stupid owners can’t keep their dogs on a leash.
LOL so true
Haha this is making me excited for my Europe trip, I’ve only been to cities in north and Central America and can’t even begin to imagine how life can be so different in Europe
I was born and raised in The Netherlands. My family can go for weeks without using a car. We walk to the beach, we do our groceries walking, we cycle to work, we take these shared electric scooters when we feel lazy. We visit other cities by train hundreds of km's from our town. And yes we do own a car, we use it to visit family with our newborn or when we take a trip to France, Germany or Italy. I've never realised how fortunate we are before my first trip to the US (a country I l do love for a lot of reasons), and also these video's help explain a lot of why I would never want to leave this country. Thanks!
As a Houstonian, this is the main reason I want to move to Europe.
I’ve lived in Houston most of my life. I’m in a wheelchair. I don’t have a car. Getting a modifications for car (not the car just the modifications) can cost anywhere from $80,000-$100,00. Without insurance that’s nearly impossible. Public transit and paratransit is shit. So you could imagine how trapped I’ve felt here. I’ve experienced the sidewalk cutting off on me. At least for people that can walk, you can walk in grass or other terrain but as a wheelchair user I’ve been stranded when this happens. Houston you can do better!
Sometimes I wonder how the US expects people to survive. It’s becoming clear that they simply do not care about people. Someone could tell you “Oh just move!l But moving can be expensive and difficult, especially in your situation.
I hope things get better for you!
I know!! Wheelchair vans 40 000 to 100 000 dollars. And modifications cost 15 000 to 30 000 dollars.
Very expensive.
I'm not american, but can't you try suing your city under the Americans with Disabilities Act? Something something you feel discriminated against because your city isn't wheelchair accessible? heh
You should really move here in the Netherlands we are a weelchair friendly country our busses and trains have special places only for weelchair users.
Also why is everything in America so damn expensive? $80,000 that's insane.
@@DidierWierdsma6335 It doesn't cost 80,000$ for a car a paralyzed person can drive. That's just a lie.
The quality of the walk is so important. It can make me feel like an intruder. The loud traffic, the hard pavement with little shade or greenery, even the rush of air as large vehicles go by. And how lovely to walk across a large asphalt parking lot! These have a big effect on my desire to walk.
4.9K car sellers disliked the video
Why would you want to walk to a place where you can only get the shopping done and that its 6-10km away from your house? The points of this vid are so stupid. American cities are made to hold huge populations in dispersed quiet residential areas. All the amenities you need to walk to are in the residential area, if you need anything else, you drive.
@@gabrielalbeldaochoa8234 It'd be nice if there was a grocery store about 5-10 minutes away that I can just go out for a quick walk to to quickly grab a couple of groceries as I need em
@@HyenaBlank that only happens in the centre of European cities and in small towns, if you live in the suburbs of any European city you are most likely not gonna have that advantage.
@@gabrielalbeldaochoa8234 Euopean Cities have no suburbs. That's the point.
I’m studying to become an urban and regional planner in Texas after college. There’s is much to fix in my home state, and I’m hoping the state government will consider doing more to lessen the sprawl, protect rural areas and get cities to build up.
It's so weird. How do you go for a walk to relax? How do you go for a walk with your baby in a stroller? How do you walk with your dog? Do you drive somewhere to take a walk?
What happens if your car is broken, and you don't have it for 1-2 weeks?
"Nobody should have to own a car just to participate in society."
Nailed it.
We live in a car dependent society - the Jocar
That's what happens when your government is corrupted by the oil and auto lobbies.
@@jcsrst ^
I don't understand how people can't afford cars. I make $8-14k/year in California and I've never had to go without a car. I have 5 in fact. They are all bad cars to be fair. One of them runs. You'd have to be outright homeless to not be able to pay for the cost and even then you'd probably live in your car.
@@filonin2 to be fair in the USA over 70% of the population has under $1k in their savings
As a Dutchie, I visited Florida some years ago. After checking in in our hotel, we went to the diner across the street (which was terrible to cross by foot). When we were finished at the diner, we decided to not go directly back to the hotel, but to make a little evening stroll (and get partially rid of the hamburger calories). When we walked next te the road, we noticed that the people in the cars where strangely looking at us. At some moment, even a lady in a car stopped next to us and asked if we where ok..! What??! Then we fullly realized how unusual pedestrians are in the US except in city centers or national parks.
I'm curious about the colour of your skin. Normally if you were black they probably would have called the police on you.
My Uncle went for a walk in the US once, got stopped by the police and driven back to the hotel.
@@rcmrcm3370 Part of me wants to guess that Max van Meerten is the whitest Dutchie/European ever enivisioned by man and that the people driving by were really confused by that. Probably not the case, but it's somehow fun to think about.
I had that sort of experience in Mountain View, CA. Got to my hotel, awful 5-minute walk to a diner, and a teenage girl looked at me from her car as though asking "What is he doing with his legs? Is he... commuting?!"
What?? I can't imagine anyone would have even glanced at you for walking, let alone pulled over. It must have been something else. Were you visibly on drugs? Bleeding? Bruised?
what you didnt really mention, what is astonishing to me as a german is that there is no shade anywhere. thinking to walk 30 minutes on the side off the road while the sun constantly shines directly on you must be brutal
I'm from the Netherlands (Twente area to be more exact), and while I'm familiar with city layouts in other countries, some by experience, some through friends and countless media (movies, shows, youtube) like the US, and your channel has completely changed my perception and brought some things to my attention I did not notice before.
Growing up in NL, I've always had the freedom of taking my bicycle basically anywhere in the city, or even the next city over, or neighboring towns, or even take public transport.
I could walk to the playground, park, or even supermarket (20 minute walk) safely. I've also always rode my bicycle to school, from elementary school all the way up to highschool and sometimes college.
The lack of people-friendly infrastructure in NA is severely disappointing and does not set a great precedent for the state of our climate in the years to come.
All in all, thanks to you, I appreciate living in the Netherlands way more than I ever have, and I've even started leaving my car more and more (though I rarely use it anyway, maybe once a week) and for now, take a GO sharing bicycle anywhere I need to go, until I get my company-paid-for e-bike late August, which is mine to keep and only cost me $35 for delivery.
Love your videos, and I keep recommending them in passing conversations with friends and colleagues lately!
“This…is fundamentally wrong. Nobody should have to own a car just to participate in society. And designing a city that way on purpose…is criminal.” Exactly. Even your pauses…are true!
Why, these city planners are college graduates! They have degrees! They’re educated! They have vision! They are our experts!...now, we discover they’ve been criminal? I’m shocked! Shocked!
We're all too busy thinking that we're the envy of the world to realize just how far behind we have fallen. I'm embarrassed and ashamed.
Too bad we can't trust city planners or our representatives in the city council. I feel like they're living in a parallel world while there are plenty of examples around the world to learn from.
@@sprague49 A lot of city planners *want* better cycling infrastructure and more walkable cities. They present designs all the time when redevelopment is proposed. but they are often hamstrung by coffers, politicians, city council members, and the citizens themselves. Many citizens get into NIMBYism every time a sensible road diet plan is presented. This just happened for the 2nd time in a few years about a road diet plan for Central Ave. in Phoenix. It's currently considered a "bike boulvard" but is a high speed arterial with zero bike lanes. It's totally laughable that this road has signage calling itself the "Sonoran Bikeway", lol. The road diet was killed again because of citizens complaining that it would cut into their commute times. Drivers almost always win. Citizens commonly vote against their own best interest. And city council members are frequently corrupt. Let's not throw well meaning people in city planning departments under the bus so eagerly.
ok
Looking at Houston I think having no trees in the city is even worse than having no sidewalks. It's like a gigant frying pan.
The park of Houston that I live in has a lot of trees in it. There’s 2 gigantic parks that got separated by I-10.
@@aerookz Makes no difference. Unless you live in the park. The places you visit the most have no shadow.
We have a 1 mile lake behind our house with huge mature trees to stay in the shade. Eagles come by occasionally. So it’s not all concrete frying pan
@@dbc7772011 I live in midtown, we get our shade from high rise apartments. Trees are such an inconvenience here, they shed their filth onto our roads!
@@DeathByCactus I hope you are saying that as a joke
Back in the 80s, I moved to Houston, taking my 10-speed bicycle with me. I was 30 years old and loved riding that bike for miles in my old home town. Found our very quickly that there was literally no place to ride it, other than, you guessed it, driving to a city park. I finally tried to sell it, but could find no one to buy it. I I ended up giving it to a charity. As for walking, I found a health club that had a roof top track. Twenty laps equaled a mile.
I could never ever live in a car-dependable city. It's totally the opposite of the natural human behavior, in my opinion. Human needs to walk around, socialize, meet people... It's natural for us to live in human-centered environments. Big roads and cities are a necessity, but they don't need to be hostile or demand a specific type of transportation that is not natural for the human being, like a car.
6:12 This is perhaps one of the most frustrating things about US infrastructure. A sidewalk can just.... end. Just like that. No warning, no way out, you are just dumped into the gutter on the street and expected to deal with it.
Same thing with bike lanes and bike paths. And often during road construction they only make temporary detours for cars and neglect bikes completely.
I've seen those near parks, how do parents with strollers deal that...idk.
@@Gerbera726 You tough it out and push your stroller hard through whatever is in front of you, if you can. I’ve dealt with this many many times. It sucks and has ruined cheaper strollers for me before. Or you can turn around and go back the way you came.
@@Gerbera726 Now you know why they sell strollers with big treaded wheels.
I've got an intersection down the road that has crosswalks (signals, painted lines, sloped curbs, the whole deal) but no side walks on either road for a least a mile both directions.
I've been to (and driven through) a lot of large and medium sized cities in the USA and I want to say 90% of them look just like this. All big and open and boring and pavement everywhere and hardly and trees. It really takes the fun out of traveling to a new place when you can't tell 1 city from the next and you don't dare try walking around.
Yes, I've driven across across the US 7 times. It really is a lot of the same thing over and over. It's so different from driving across Europe.
@@NotJustBikes Can you make a video about Atlanta
I agree with the sentiments here. But the narrative that ALL US cities are this way is an embellishment. There is no doubt the majority of US suburbs are this way but there are a lot of older cities that don’t follow this blueprint. My hometown of Chicago being one.
The real root cause for this is government policies that for years have favored the oil and auto lobbyists as a means of economic growth. Ensuring people HAD to buy cars and thereby gas as you stated. FWIW there is a lot of resistance to this idea now but certainly not enough. It is disappointing. But we still do have some amazing cities and urban areas in the US.
In my opinion every city and state i have been to has been different and had a different type of atmosphere.
@@pleasemisguideme345 yeah i agree. Im from south Louisiana , so chicago and most states like that are completely foreign to me
As a Dutchie, I never realized how special it was to have sidewalks, busses and bike lanes all over town. But videos like these show how grateful we need to be for the infrastructure here. I can't imagine owning a car in the near future, just because I can bike or take public transport all over the country. Cars and fuel here are so freaking expensive these days. Houston probably has some good areas but based on this video, I would probably get depressed if I had to live in such an environment. Biking and walking gives me the ultimate feeling of freedom.
Thank you for the content. I'm amazed how I've lived my whole life in car-centric US places without even realizing it. I'm not a city person, as I much prefer rural living for the privacy and silence. I can't live without a car here, but I absolutely support your campaign for changing urban and suburban design to work for humans, rather than for cars. If I ever change my mind about rural living, I'd definitely seek a city that prioritizes humans.
I recently moved to Houston and decided to try running to my gym because it's only a mile or so away and holy shit, it took me like 30 minutes of running though parking lots and drainage ditches to avoid bridges on busy roads with no side walks and back tracking and literally having to side skirt through someone's yard to get there... like wtf
sounds like a nightmare
That sounds like a nightmare. You sure you need to live in Houston? 30 minutes of running for a location a mile away means you nearly got your workout done before you can get to your workout.
You know it’s bad when I feel the same way about Houston and I’ve only visited briefly maybe 3 times
ahahahahah LOL (laughing in European)
YES, I travel through Houston with no car I feel like a conquerer because I have to travel through Highways, Parking Lots and under bridges and then a small hill under a highway with trash thrown in the sides just to go home, Mind you it's a 15 min drive but walking?..... 🥲
It’s a huge business. Highway contracts are given to private companies making asphalt, concrete, steel, road signs and markers. Cars are expensive and support the financial industry (car loans), tire companies, Big Oil, and the insurance companies. All the while the average American gets more in debt (car payment, depreciation, insurance, accident costs) and more obese which leads to higher medical costs with no health insurance. It’s a big club and you ain’t in it!
Couldn’t have said it better myself
There is no such thing as "big oil"
Oil companies don't make even 1/10th of the money off oil, most of it goes to the government
You’re just regurgitating what you’ve heard. You can buy a used cheap car and eat healthy. Americans are lazy and like having a nice car to keep up with the neighbors.
The cities are fundamentally shaped wrong. No amount of frugality will make them more pleasant. You'll just be marginally increasing your life expectancy in the same depressing design.
I bike to work and save a ton of money but the grid (or lack thereof) is unavoidable. It's better than driving, but nothing like well-designed cities for human feet.
@@victorkreig6089 Exxon made $300 billion in 2018. Try again, sweetheart :/
I have been living in Houston since 2002 and I agree 100% with the video. When I came in 2002, I had to travel 18 miles to U of H. The public transportation system is so bad that it took me almost 3 hours and 3-4 bus transfers to get to U of H from Alief area. Apart from no walking areas, most of the traffic lights are out of service, big huge pot holes everywhere and extremely bad drivers racing on the main highways. Sometimes you will even find people with shopping cart or just walking on these highways. I saw many times people walking on 1960 (The same road you were walking).