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[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 44 points 2 weeks ago

Time to level that bunch of old hovels and finally build something sensible.

[-] hakase@lemmy.zip 39 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Surprisingly enough, the infrastructure needed to support millions of people is a lot larger than the infrastructure needed to support a few tens of thousands.

The enormous Gare du Nord, Paris, for example (also population 0):

[-] knatschus@discuss.tchncs.de 33 points 2 weeks ago

That looks alot smaller even with the buildings surrounding it.

[-] alcibiades@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 weeks ago

also transports significantly more people than a single of the dozens of interchanges in Houston

[-] VibeSurgeon@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago

This is comparing apples to oranges - Gare du Nord supports far, far more transportation than the highway interchange does.

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 37 points 2 weeks ago

You sure nobody's living under those ramps and overpasses?

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 24 points 2 weeks ago

I can confirm a population size of at least half a dozen. Drive under that spot regularly

[-] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 23 points 2 weeks ago

During rush hour (more like four hours), population swells to 50,000.

[-] ch00f@lemmy.world 30 points 2 weeks ago

Unlikely. Dropping it into GIMP, Just the straight highway section in the middle is only 509 x 12 pixels. Assume 1 car per pixel (at least since individual cars are visible), and that's still only 6,108.

And that's assuming that cars are literally covering every square inch of highway. Rough ballpark, I think it'd cap out at about 10,000 cars, which given this is Texas, would account for around 10,100 people.

[-] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 weeks ago

#TheyDidTheMath

(also...it was hyperbole for comedic purposes.)

[-] OldChicoAle@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

I just rolled my eyes so hard

[-] Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago

7.8 million people in the Houston metro area, no shit the infrastructure is huge.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago

It's also one of the least walkable cities in America, which is saying something

[-] Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago
[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago

Yes, but y'all have ungodly car infrastructure to accommodate for the lack of anything else. You make LA look like Europe

[-] ArsonButCute@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 weeks ago

Expand that out to the greater Houston area to include everyone who drives to work every day and you have a highway system that needs to accommodate 10s of millions of people using it every day.

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 weeks ago

needs to accomodate

Wants to accomodate. Induced demand is a thing.

It also works in reverse: Slowly remove lanes and sooner or later it will somehow accomodate everyone that needs to use it. Either by making the inner city more dense or by businesses moving away and distributing more.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 13 points 2 weeks ago

With this administration's time and dedication, you too can have 30,000 people living under an intersection.

[-] glimse@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

Anything but metric

[-] Steve@startrek.website 9 points 2 weeks ago

The highway has more green space

[-] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

America has so much land it can waste it. Italy needs it to live.

[-] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 weeks ago

One is beautiful, been there, seen it, it's amazing

The other is a horrendous post apocalyptic wasteland. Never been there, never will.

[-] knightly@pawb.social 4 points 2 weeks ago

I know that urban wasteland well. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see a green space until I was already a them. XD

[-] stupidcasey@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

True but that intersection is probably connecting between Houston and Austin which supports ~3M

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

That's a Houston interchange? No frontage road, no uturn lanes, no separated speeding zone? Texas has worse.

this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2026
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