Yet both share similar crime statistics
1 Like
lmao w h a t
maybe specifically on-campus but basically immediately off-campus in any direction houston in general is substantially more dangerous than austin especially when it comes to violent crime
Slum? Have you seen a real slum? Houston doesn’t have a real urban presence like Chicago, etc
1 Like
as someone who just got back from chicago, lol. lmfao, even.
third ward, sunnyside, etc. go bar for bar with chicago’s worst
chicago has a higher murder rate but violent crime overall is twice as bad in houston
we’re also worse about property crime
1 Like
I agree. Across the freeway seems to far less political (still looking for legitimate policies against Third Ward gentrification) plus the UH administration has been less willing to encroach on Third Ward. My initial idea for the Finger’s Lot and points north toward Leeland. Also, the Macy’s Distribution Lot for Greeks and the likes.
The Lewis complex does not need to so plush, one grand stand would do and would be able to host NCAA Championship Level events and other TF events.
Please ignore the other UH reference in the image. Just my idea of the potential for the Macy Distribution Center lot,
Try visiting a few places like Dhaka, Bangladesh, Kabul, Afghanistan, or any large city in India.
Slums there put Chicago slums to shame.
Trust me. I’ve been there.
As for Houston….
Yes, the area adjacent to UH across Scott Street is definitely a dilapidated slum.
Nothing like the neighborhoods that surround UT.
1 Like
Mumbai has the worst conditions I have ever seen and I have been to 27 countries around the world. They also have people living in cardboard boxes up against the fence of some millionaires mansion.
1 Like
Here’s the difference between those slums and ghettos in the good ole USA…
From chatgpt…
Can you compare the homicide rates from the same year
Using 2024 data for both cities:
| City | Murders/Homicides | Population | Homicide Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai | 107 | ~12.5 million | ~0.9 per 100,000 |
| Houston | 320–322 | ~2.32 million | ~13.8 per 100,000 |
Mumbai recorded 107 murders in 2024.
Houston recorded about 320–322 homicides in 2024, corresponding to a homicide rate of approximately 13.8 per 100,000 residents.
Comparison:
- Houston’s homicide rate was about 15 times higher than Mumbai’s in 2024.
- Put another way, if Mumbai had Houston’s homicide rate, a city of 12.5 million people would have experienced roughly 1,700+ homicides instead of 107.
- Conversely, if Houston had Mumbai’s homicide rate, it would have had only about 20–25 homicides instead of more than 320.
1 Like
Homicides are undoubtedly worse.
But many large cities in South Asia (see the examples given), have poverty levels so extreme that they make slums in Houston and Chicago both look like picnic spots.
USC in Los Angeles is a close match to UH in terms of its proximity to a disadvantaged community. I have friends who attended UCLA and they hold their noses when talking about the area around USC. The biggest difference, of course, is that USC is a private university with a close to 9 billion dollar endowment and considered one of the finest universities in the US. Parents have no problem sending their kids there because of its prestige.Yale, UPenn and Duke and other elite schools are located in similar situations.
There’s two initiatives UH must take to continue its academic rise:
- raise admission standards (admit rate between 30 - 40%)
- create a student/alumni on-campus or close to campus zone with bars, restaurants, lougues etc. Rice has finalized a plan that blends Rice Village to their campus. Other universities have them naturally because they’re situated in small towns but bigger schools have built them artificially.
UH is making good progress but bold action needs to be made for UH to be taken more serious and to cultivate a sense of community. Right now, I feel many kids and their parents take UH for granted.
2 Likes
and why do you think that it?
Why is it that local politicians have made a living by keeping The Third Ward a dilapidated area?
Why is it that the City of Houston has not done more?
It all goes back to the local politicians.
3 Likes
The biggest difference between USC and U of H:
You are right to point out the endowment but here is where there is a fundamental difference.
USC and UH are basically downtown.
The Coliseum and the Sports Arena were the two iconic stadiums in a highly dangerous area.
When the idea of building a new Lakers arena the Los Angeles politicians decided to “renovate” the entire neighborhood. It is still not perfect but it is far more “pleasant” than it used to be.
The Third Ward is in the City of Houston.
The City of Houston have clearly “left” The Third Ward on its own while other areas in downtown Houston clearly are being/or have been highly gentrified.
A poster pointed out how valuable the land is where UH stands.
So wait a minute…UH, The Third Ward is located on highly valuable land but it is still highly dilapidated?
Yes, you know who is responsible for this.
2 Likes
The collective IQ of our city fathers ranges between a fir tree and a bowling ball. That is my point. It is a fool’s errand to sit here and wait for something (anything) to happen in the third ward. Cross the freeway and you can design what you want.
1 Like
You may be on to something.
The point I was trying to make is that the location of the campus won’t matter if you raise the profile of the university and make it more attractive to attend.
As far as revitalizing 3rd Ward, that’s a bigger issue that UH can’t solve on its own. I agree politicians have a role to play in this, but there are other factors as well. On a side note, I do wonder if UH has thought about buying land or lots around the campus.
I am 77. Third ward has been “in transition “ for 75 years. The East End actually has a functioning chamber of commerce. I wonder if they have ever approached UH. Or maybe some of our alumni should start quietly buying real estate while everyone is asleep or focused on the Third Ward.,
Focus on the number of low density facilities we have on campus. Relocating them would free up space while creating quit a “buzz” across the freeway. You have a great deal more potential there. Nothing will happen in the Third Ward. The politics will kill anything or you will get compromised so much you won’t recognize your original idea.
I worked with Coulson Tough as an undergraduate. He created the long range plan which we pretty much followed. Would be great if we had that kind of talent available to us now.
3 Likes
Ha. What an ignorant thing to say. Third Ward has more cultural history than the majority of Houston suburbs.
I assume you could even afford to live in a “post-gentrified” third ward?
While the other side of 45 looks very close on a map, it’s as far from the nearest classroom building or dorm (the Moores School of Music) as the Quad is on the opposite side of the campus. That is to say, there’s an amount of space in that direction roughly equivalent to the breadth of the core of the campus occupied primarily by parking and a soccer field.
If you want a “traditional” university, that can’t be allowed to persist. It’s inarguably the biggest difference between a “commuter” and a “traditional” school; neither Texas nor Georgia Tech nor Washington nor UCLA have the volume of surface lot parking that UH does, especially given that we have an even larger parking lot just on the opposite side of campus.
I disagree. Think lower use facilities. Baseball field is a good example. Using that space for classrooms and research enhances the traditional campus feel. You have to examine how often some facility is used and by how many people. The football stadium is a good example. It is used by a lot (should be more) and makes a huge contribution to the campus atmosphere. We got to forget about the Third Ward. It isn’t going to happen there. So where are you going to look. Moving the right mix across the freeway will enhance the traditional feel of the campus.
if we’re moving something based on use, shouldn’t it be the football stadium? it takes up an enormous amount of land that gets used like ten times a year, especially if you include the adjoining parking lot that exists in part to support it. it also has to support a ton of people coming from off-campus, the infrastructure for which interferes with the campus itself.
1 Like
I’m not talking about crime, I’m talking about living conditions.