Small town streets downtown are often far from congested and ample parking is readily available.
I love old towns sprinkled throughout the landscape of the South, especially those that have worked to maintain their historical value. Livingston now has a historical committee that strives to keep the "old" alive and viable to today's society.
Greater Houston has bits and parts of the city that is dedicated to historical preservation, but the majority of the city is committed toward building the next structure bigger and better than the last. Property values in downtown Houston are so pricey that profits can only be increase by building upward. Sadly, that leaves many historical buildings vacant and floundering to the point of being condemned, which seems to be an actual business plan for many of downtown Houston's historic building owners.
They leave the building abandoned, even though it is in desperate need of renovations, and it falls into a rapid state of increased disrepair, until it is an eyesore and a hazard. It is sad to see some of these old buildings die a slow death instead of being restored to former glory.
In the big city, there is not much "glory" that comes with old age.
However, most of us learn through life's most valuable lessons that "newer" is not necessarily "better."
Age provides an increasing level of character to a building that new construction simply cannot capture.
I hope our little Texas town never sees the day where it wants to attract millions of people...I prefer our small town attract a dozen or so at one time and that it maintains low enough over-head that it will permit growth in spite of a slower pace. That's good enough for me.
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