Plenty of large public schools are in metros in the millions right in the middle of the main city and they have a “traditional” campus feel.
University of Texas and University of Washington are two examples.
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Agree. The metro argument holds no water. A lot of “traditional” schools are situated in large metro areas. Plenty of reasons why achieving traditional school milestones are challenges, but metro isn’t one.
UH can create the retail if they want - but they take the developer money and then the same developer has to make a profit by price gouging or the selected location doesn’t draw foot traffic
But does UH want to invest in a “social zone” is the real question considering the risks you take in as you’ll have to integrate it into the community for it to be successful
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lol, you consider those big cities?
Do they have freshman dorm mandates?
I don’t know if using state flagships are the best examples. Pitt is probably a better example
@norbert I don’t think they need mandates as they draw freshman from everywhere who don’t really have many other options really.
Technically there is a bar scene nearby - emancipation has plenty of bars and lounges (always have)
- do something to draw them there and you have a scene
Yes both Austin and Seattle are among the top 18 most populous cities in the United States of America.
They found a way…why can’t we?
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We are almost a century old public school in the state of Texas and UH main IS the flagship university of the UH system.
We will soon be better founded than the majority of the #1 state flagship schools in the SEC states not named Texas or Florida.
Time to CHANGE our narrative
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What’s our narrative?
Regional non traditional commuter school for area students who either have us as a lower choice, students who want to attend so they can transfer or older students who choose to have virtually zero involvement while here.
Traditional students, while growing, still constitute the minority % of our students.
We also do not have supporting developments around campus to support a 24-7 7 day a week 50,000 student size University. Other universities of our size, or smaller, do.
I’d change those narratives and go after suburb kids from other states that WANT to go away to Texas for college. Then we feed off those more traditional students and encourage development adjacent to campus
Our narrative has changed many times already (as have most campuses).
When my Dad attended UH in the 1970s we accepted a large % of students (refugees) from Vietnam that UH was jokingly referred to as the University of Hanoi .
Yea, let’s shut people like that out.
I wouldn’t go that far, Norbert.
Diversify is a great asset at the University of Houston. .I literally had classmates/ professors from all over the world and i really enjoyed that cultural diversity. We just need to surround that positive element wirh more traditional student element which is very UNDERREPRESENTED at UH
And about UH’s Vietnamese influence. This was true when i attended in the late 90s/early 2000s and it probably is still today…Nguyen is the most popular surnane for all students attending UH.
The Vietnamese community in Houston is still that prominent!
I like the idea of UH bettering itself and becoming more traditional and we’ve certainly done that. I’m proud of all the progress we’ve made at UH (in so many ways) since I graduated in 2007.
But we don’t need to do a 180 from who we are. I always find it strange that people want UH to be something so different than what they attended. Some wouldn’t even be able to attend if what they wanted were true.
I want us to be better yet still stay true to who we are. Commuting will likely always be part of school culture. That’s true at most urban schools (yes, there are exceptions) and I don’t expect that to be different here. That doesn’t mean I don’t want students living on campus. I do and we have seen huge growth there over the last 2 decades.
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There are plenty sports bars, restaurants and entertainment in EaDo (East of Downtown). All students have to do is take the Metro Rail for a 12 minute ride.
I believe fans from visiting schools frequent that area.
I agree, look at the points being brought up, Vietnamese refugees, suburban kids…Seems like they want a certain traditional demographic.
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More like UT which is diverse but accepts high ROI students of ALL ethnicities.
We are still accepting a majority low ROI students that never step back onto campus after their graduation
I think that’s going to be the best place for a strip heavily associated with UH, theoretically. But it’s still very industrial among the bars/restaurants and the rail stops arent really favorable to existing spots.
Well a lot of industrial sites in EaDo have been replaced by apartments, townhomes, restaurants and shops.
Most of those bars are 3 to 7 blocks from the rail station which is nothing to walk for a 20 year old. They walk futher than that across campus.
Now there is a major plan to bring more restaurants, shops and other mixed uses that will eliminate more warehouses.
Pagewood and Wile Interests plan to redevelop several warehouses in EaDo into a walkable district that will offer visitors a range of restaurants, shops, offices and green space.
When phase one is completed, East Blocks will feature 513,000 square feet of mixed-use space, including 196,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, 112,000 square feet of office space and 205,000 square feet of parking, with about 650 parking spaces.
Yep EaDo will be the place for visitors and UH students. Besides the restaurants and sports bars we know in the area, developers are adding more.
This is phase one and is breaking ground in the second quarter of 2024.
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I didn’t know about that development. Very cool. Nickel City, my favorite Fort Worth bar is planning an Eado location. Hope it’s part of this.