[DF9sLGSU]

That's correct. I also mentioned that in one of my earlier posts.

I take your usage of "lovely" to imply that the lack of zoning in Houston is responsible for its poor aesthetic appearance. The picture you used is just one of many images of Houston. In fact, from the same Wikipedia article comes this image:



That would be the MetroRail system in the downtown area.

But even going aside from that, do I need to point out the rather obvious fact that there are so many other cities that look similar, and in many cases, much worse, than Houston? All of those cities have zoning. Does that make zoning responsible for the unappealing parts of Phoenix, Detroit, New Orleans, St. Louis, Los Angeles (I could go on and on here) that we so often criticize on this forum?

Let's say those cities aesthetics were a nonissue, and that we're only talking about Houston here. What exactly does Houston do so much worse than zoned cities? If you read that Wikipedia article, you'd see that apparently, it does a lot of things pretty well:

Houston is internationally known for its energy (particularly oil) and aeronautics industries, and for its ship channel. The Port of Houston ranks first in the country in international commerce and is the sixth-largest port in the world. Second only to New York City in Fortune 500 headquarters, Houston is the seat of the Texas Medical Center, which contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions.

Houston is ranked as one of 11 U.S. world-class cities by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network. The city has an active visual and performing arts scene as Houston is one of the few U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts. In addition, the Houston Theater District is ranked second in the country for the number of theatre seats in a concentrated downtown area per capita.

[...]

Locations in Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside Interstate 610, known as the "610 Loop" or "the Loop." Inside the loop encompasses the central business district and many residential neighborhoods that pre-date World War II. More recently, new higher-density residential development has resulted in an urban lifestyle and state of mind. The appellation “inner loop Houston” carries with it the expectations of cosmopolitan-style city life.

[...]

Houston, being the largest city in the United States without zoning laws, has grown in an unusual manner. Rather than a single "downtown" as the center of the city's employment, five additional business districts have grown throughout the city—they are Uptown, Texas Medical Center, Greenway Plaza, Westchase, and Greenspoint. If these business districts were combined, they would form the third-largest downtown in the United States.

Houston ranks second in employment growth rate and fourth in nominal employment growth among the 10 most populous metro areas. In 2006, the Houston metropolitan area ranked first in Texas and third in the U.S. within the category of "Best Places for Business and Careers" by Forbes.

[...]

Having an active visual and performing arts scene, Houston's Theater District has the second largest number of theatre seats in a concentrated downtown area in the United States, with 12,948 seats for live performances and 1,480 movie seats. The Theater District is located in the center of downtown and is home to nine of Houston's performing arts organizations and six performance halls. Houston is one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines: opera (Houston Grand Opera), ballet (Houston Ballet), music (Houston Symphony Orchestra), and theatre (The Alley Theatre). In addition to its visual and performing arts organizations, the city is host to local folk art such as its art cars. Houston is recognized as an important city for contemporary visual arts. The city is a prime stop for touring companies from Broadway, concerts, shows, and exhibitions for a variety of interests, ranging from the nation's largest quilting show to auto, boat, home, and gun shows.

[...]

Houston's skyline has been ranked fourth-most impressive in the United States when ranked primarily by height, being the country's third-tallest skyline (after Chicago and New York City) and one of the top 10 in the world; however, because it is spread over a few miles, most pictures of the city show only the main downtown area. Houston has a system of tunnels and skywalks linking buildings in downtown. The tunnel system also includes shops, restaurants, and convenience stores. Is any of this sounding bad yet? And should I assume we've moved on from your points about Albania/South Italy?