[Magdalen] Houston

[Jay Weigel]

The joke I've always heard is that Houston traffic really IS what you were
told LA traffic was.....

On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 5:16 PM, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Seems that way (I'll be interested in Lynn's answer): I've driven down a
> winding major street that passes mainly apartment complexes and then a
> subdivision of small homes, and suddenly there will be a car wash in the
> middle of all this. Too many strip malls, in general. Some very lovely
> areas as well. There's a definite downtown and a general pattern to the
> city (concentric circles are part of it) but wow, is it huge. The ride from
> Hobby Airport up to our abbey (in Lynn's general vicinity) is a long one
> even at high speeds on I-45. Chicago is something like 22 miles top to
> bottom; Houston must be 35-40? And you're still in the city.
>
> And it isn't ALL concrete...every single-family home has a lawn or garden
> at least, but I guess there really need to be larger undeveloped areas
> where water can be absorbed rather than accumulate. Over to you, science!
>
> On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 4:01 PM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Lynn, is it still true that Houston has no zoning? I know that used to be
> > the case.
> >
> > On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 2:06 PM, Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > ...I call the "efforts" to accommodate too much concrete (new outer
> loops
> > > and tollways, 100s of new subdivisions , to name a few) by the USArmy
> > corps
> > > of Engineers
> > > : "TX mathmagic".
> > > They forecast scenarios, calculate "additional run-off" added to the
> > > existing "area" loosely defined, then come up with formulas for
> widening
> > > already existing rivers, creeks and bayous (words often used
> > > interchangeably), and/or digging huge sloped sided grass-planted
> basins,
> > > also based on mathemagical calculations, that "confirm" safe retention
> of
> > > water in case of flooding (??!!?) for new communities, which are then
> > often
> > > dug larger and deeper so they can become a "water feature" of the new
> > > community, which still conforms to the formula because they've dug it
> > > larger to accommodate the water they're adding for decorative purposes.
> > >
> > > No one knows or wants to say ENOUGH, NO MORE, so the city and the area
> E,
> > > W, and N keep building and expanding.
> > > When I moved in 1987 the middle class subdivisions in the
> unincorporated
> > > areas 20+ miles from the city were very transient- corporate employers
> > > transferring people in and out, sometimes in just a few years. People
> had
> > > no sense of potential tragedy in the form of nature events if they
> didn't
> > > actually experience them. The '90s saw more new residents who moved in
> > for
> > > long term OR like us, transferries laid off and unable to move without
> a
> > > job at the other end in a new location.
> > >
> > > Such is life. I have been thinking for a while about moving away from
> TX
> > > but it is complicated.
> > >
> > > Have confirmed Sunday tickets home (for now at least), have figured out
> > > the rest of our itinerary- blessed to be seeing even more family and
> old
> > > friends than our original scenario included. My house/condo is still
> > dry. I
> > > am blessed.
> > > Lynn
> > >
> > >
> > > On Aug 30, 2017, at 9:40 AM, ME Michaud <michaudme at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > One of our local meteorologists (that is, he's a college instructor,
> not
> > > someone on teevee) commented on the amount of Houston that's been paved
> > > over because of rapid overdevelopment.
> > > (Lynn's part of town has more undeveloped land than downtown.)
> > >
> > > He wrote:
> > > Dump a glass of water on a granite counter.
> > > Dump a glass of water on a sponge.
> > > Note the difference.
> > > -M
> > >
> > > On Wednesday, August 30, 2017, Roger Stokes <
> > roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com
> > > >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > The problem is the sheer volume of water that has to be dispersed. I
> > read
> > > > that there has been something like 6 cubic miles of water dumped on
> > > Houston
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Scott R. Knitter
> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
>