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Houston has some of the worst urban sprawl in the country

by Rincey Abraham

suburban-community-housing-market-2016

Cities with urban sprawl are known for having low walkability and generally have grown with an emphasis on car compatibility over pedestrian and public transportations.

Thrillist recently ranked cities based on different walkability studies and Houston, unfortunately, makes the list. However, the site also notes that these cities are also working to provide solutions.

According to Thrillist, Houston makes the list for taking up 627 square miles, which is twice the physical size of Singapore but with half as many residents. Developers in Houston made the choice of sprawl because building horizontally is less risky than building vertically.

In order to combat its sprawl, Houston has been revamping its transit network by opening two light rail lines and expanding a third. By 2019, two more light rail lines are expected to be completed.

Houston has also been joining major cities like New York and Chicago by providing a bike sharing network. Currently, there are more than 300 bikes available with the hopes of dramatically increasing inventory to 1,000 by the end of 2017, the website reports.

Houston is not the only Texas city to make the list. Dallas was also mentioned because, similar to Houston, it was built purposefully horizontally and features city blocks that are longer than average, which discourage walking.

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