Houston's Sprawl
The city of Houston covers 620 square miles,” he says. “You could put inside the city limits of Houston, simultaneously — I kid you not — the cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago and Detroit.”
More from NPR about taming this monster. Is the sprawl a bad way to build a city? Yeah, but…
Noting the addition of a million people in 10 years, Glaeser says the city succeeds “by providing middle-income Americans with a really astonishingly high quality of life.”
Among the town’s advantages are an average work commute of less than 30 minutes and low housing costs. The National Association of Realtors puts the city’s average home price at around $150,000, Glaeser says. Other perks include a lack of state income tax and a vibrant restaurant scene.
Granted, it’s likely you’ll have to drive 45 minutes to get form on restaurant to the next.
Having grown up in Houston, it does rank as probably the most affordable BIG city that I can think of, but the sprawl is too big. If you live in the suburbs and like the downtown nightlife, then expect a long exhausting ride home after a night out.
We need smaller more densely populated cities that are walkable. They’re easier and more enjoyable to live in.
Commutes suck!