Ashby high-rise inconvenient but crucial

Over the past few days, I have been quite amused by the posters that have sprung up on the way from my apartment to Rice: “Stop the Tower of Traffic.” I am amazed at the level of student support for these protests, especially considering Rice’s usually apathetic campus. I do not write, however, to join the throngs of student protesters. In fact, I disagree with them. The Ashby high-rise is a step in the right direction for Houston, and I am entirely in support of it.

Most people oppose the new high-rise because they think it will increase the volume of neighborhood traffic and ruin the aesthetic beauty of the area. Also, they fear the high-rise will bring lower property prices, the greatest nightmare of every homeowner. These are all valid reasons for opposing the construction, but despite the arguments, the long-term benefits of projects such as this one far outweigh the costs.

The current model of American living is not sustainable in the long term, with the world facing an imminent resource crunch. In cities like Houston, large numbers of middle-class dwellers live in large houses in suburbia. These houses consume large amounts of energy for both heating and cooling, due to sheer volume. In addition, it necessitates long commutes to the city center, for both work and pleasure, guzzling fuel and time and clogging highways all around.

Cities all around the world have adopted high-rises as an effective solution to urban sprawl. Firstly, they are extremely resource efficient. Today’s “green high-rise” technology can minimize waste by recycling water, harvesting rain and reducing energy costs using economies of scale. The Ashby tower’s LEED Silver rating will only further ensure energy efficiency.

Secondly, the closer people live near the city center, the lower the commuting costs. Also, public transport becomes a far more viable means of conveyance in this model.

Thirdly, high-rises provide many amenities within their confines, including shops, gyms and so on, further minimizing the need for people to drive those extra miles. In a world with a rapidly expanding population, particularly in the middle class, high-rises are the way of the future. The quicker we Houstonians accept it, the better.

Of course, my support for edifices like this tower does not come without a word of caution. High-rise construction cannot proceed uncontrolled. The increased traffic around these buildings has to be planned for. More importantly, we have to make sure there are enough “green spaces,” such as public parks, to make up for the loss of our beloved individual backyards. These issues can be resolved by careful planning. But opposing high-rise construction altogether is not the solution.

In the case of the Ashby high-rise, the protestors will most likely succeed. This is an upper-class neighborhood, and the politicians will listen. As with other cities, the developers will probably move to poorer neighborhoods and build there. The gentrification process will relegate those poor people further to the fringes of the city and society.

High-rises are inevitable in the future of every big city on this planet, and they should be welcomed as an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to urban sprawl. Beautiful backyards and sunlit neighborhoods close to a city center are hard things to give up, but in the big picture, I believe that it is a small price to pay.

Raj Bandyopadhyay is a computer science graduate student.

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