Chronicle Editorial Board

Feels like a local love letter

Jay Blazek Crossley, Jun 06, 12.

Tagged with transit, livability, creative class, htown

This past weekend, tens of thousands of youngsters, hipsters and rock stars attended the Free Press Summer Fest at Eleanor Tinsley Park, a music festival with a lineup spanning Willie Nelson to Snoop Dog and back. Event organizers estimated attendance at 92,000 (“FPSF 2012 attendance estimate breaks record,” 29-95.com, Monday).

Having completed its fourth year, the festival feels like a love letter to Houston. And that love of local was demonstrated not just in the eclectic band lineup or the Houston-centric food and drink offerings, but also in the political messages prevalent throughout the grounds. Rather than the usual youth-oriented political campaigns, such as Obama for President or ending the War on Drugs, these messages were all about Houston - notably, reforming the noise ordinance and improving METRO funding.

Between acts, the giant screens above the main stages cycled through a mini-slideshow explaining the problems with Houston’s noise ordinance (it lacks a clear, objective standard with which bars and music venues can comply) and what people can do about it (write City Hall). And among the crowd’s wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses was a smattering of T-shirts from HoustonTomorrow, advocating that transit taxes actually be used for mass transit.

These issues may seem more at home with political wonks than concert-goers, but for the young creative class in our city, they address regular concerns.

Houston rightly takes pride in being pro-business, but sometimes that attitude seems more tailored to large-scale companies and developers. To attract the next generation of business leaders, Houston needs to be a place where people don’t just have to live for a job, but want to live for the city. This means having a variety of transportation options beyond cars, such as an extensive mass transit system and citywide bike lanes.

Full Story: Editorial: Summer Fest feels like a local love letter
Source: Houston Chronicle, June 5, 2012

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