I wish that this was a joke, but our Local Media is busy with the Damned if You Do (give them streetlights) and Damned if you Don't (give them streetlights... )

HOUSTON - A report from Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, "Streetlights in the City: Understanding the Distribution of Houston Streetlights," says that of Houston's 173,724 streetlights, most are concentrated in black and Hispanic neighborhoods, as opposed to white neighborhoods, as of August 2015.

The report was prompted by the city's conversion to LED bulbs in streetlights.

“We think of streetlights as being a ubiquitous feature of the urban landscape, but I wanted to know if that was really true and whether some neighborhoods have greater access to this city service than others,” said Heather O’Connell, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Kinder Institute and the study’s author. “Since the city is already changing the bulbs in the streetlights, I thought it was a good time to look into this question.”

The university said the streetlight density was measured by dividing the number of streetlights in a census block group by the length of road miles within the block group.

During her research, O'Connell found that majority-white neighborhoods had an average streetlight density of 15 lights per mile of road, while black or Hispanic neighborhoods had an average of 18 streetlights per mile of road. The highest concentration of streetlights are found in the downtown area, with pockets of high streetlight density just east of downtown, toward the Houston Ship Channel, as well as fanning out in the northern area of the city, while the areas with fewer than five streetlights per mile of road are along all the edges of the city in all directions, as well as just east of Bellaire.

The report shows a neighborhood with a median income of $40,000 and a poverty rate of 15 percent had one more streetlight for every 3 miles compared with a neighborhood that had the same poverty rate but a median income of only $20,000.

O'Connell said her research suggests that as the city considers whether an area is sufficiently lit, it should consider whether an area may be overly lit, adding that excessive streetlights are considered by some to be a nuisance.

“Streetlights are meant to provide light to make navigation by drivers, bikers and pedestrians easier and safer at night,” O’Connell said. “That point is pretty straightforward, which could explain why we focus more on places with too few lights. But Houston may also have an issue with neighborhoods that have too many lights. You only need so many streetlights in order to accomplish their original purpose, so it seems like, at some point, there is a diminishing return to adding more lights. The city doesn’t need the added expense and there may even be negative impacts on residents if the extra light really is a nuisance.”

O'Connell said future research will gauge whether having more streetlights is, in fact, related to lower levels of crimes.

Copyright 2017 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.

So I guess they figure having more streetlights gives Gangs, Ho's and Drug Slingers more places to hang out on the streets at night?

I will pay attention when she maps the lights with crime stats.....

Yes, when it turns out that areas with large numbers of street lights (poor & minority) do have an extremely high crime correlation, then it will be up to the city to take out those "crime causing streetlights" and give those residents the equal "darkness" that the rich white neighborhoods enjoy (and the lack of crime that must follow from all that "rich white privilege darkness" ...

Well it seems like her researched showed which areas needed more lights like down town and major roads that go to the docks. Just coincidence that is where the thugs live.

Or maybe when those higher density light pole areas were built decades ago, bulb efficiency wasn't as high.   For an equal number of lumens in the out lying suburbs built recently, less lights per mile were needed.

Good grief...It's not always about racism, unless your wearing racist colored glasses.

So if I go to work for an Institute for Urban Research I basically get to do half assed data collection and conveniently ignore any factors that aren't convenient to consider then make as many wild ass correlations as possible?

Sounds like a pretty cool job actually.

That's racist... where is your location so we can send the OFA

This

And I'd guess no drug testing, which will be helpful if you like to work half in the bag

If her report had found the opposite to be true, they'd be complaining about "streetlight deserts" in minority areas.

(Street) Light Lives Matter!

OK, I'm really, really sorry for what I'm about to do: I am about to rant the shit out of myself..it's been building for a while, so don't hold me back...

This Rice study is just another bullshit sanctuary-city study...having been in Houston for four years, I am appalled at the lack of discipline this city shows in governing and controlling law and order.    Some examples:

1) Drive downtown to the SE part of the city, not far from the medical center...you will find places where over a 100 homeless people sleep in a gravel parking lot under the underpass....being a sanctuary city attracts these people and there is nowhere for them to go/get help, services are overrun...being a sanctuary city is not being "considerate" or "caring" or "empathetic to the homeless". Being a sanctuary city attracts them in numbers so large that they can't be helped... it's cruel. They roam the downtown area all the time.  Some parts of the city are plagued by 4 or more beggars at an intersection...seriously, it even looks ridiculous, not even NYC or SFO have that many beggars on the street.

2) Crime in this city is out of control.  My car has been broken into 3 times in 4 years.  The cops told me there are professional gangs of illegal mexicans who have operational plans and roam different neighborhoods on different nights, cleaning people out.  At City Centre Mall, there have been two incidents of armed stickups in broad daylight --- it's a very public place.  The Memorial area is experiencing bash-the-door-down forced home invasions.

3) I know of so many people who have been the victims of hit-and-run accidents.  I was one of them....I got a license plate number...guess what, the guy lives in a house on the mexican border with 20 other people, no insurance, no license, illegal alien, not his first hit-and-run rodeo.  What do the cops do? NOTHING...even with a license plate number handed to them and multiple witnesses describing the guy. NOTHING.  "Well, the license plate could be stolen" one cop says.  Riiiiight.  I got a PI and had the guy's address in 20 minutes.  That was the day I lost respect for cops here.  Not all of them, but now a cop has to prove to me they aren't an asshole first, then I'll trust them. The city spends more time giving parking tickets than doing anything about serious crime here.  Some neighborhoods have banded together and taken to paying the Sheriff's department on the side for faster-than-average response...how fucked up is that?  When asked to participate and pay my $300, I politely declined, explaining that the only situations in which I need the police will be for them to bring a mop and broom and a biohazard suit.  The lady organizing told me it's just because we don't pay enough and they're underfunded....riiiiiiiiiiight. Then take the 20 cops off construction duty on I10 and put their asses to work.

4) The Rice study fails to consider that lower-income neighborhoods are usually higher density and closer to the inner city, in higher crime areas where people and property depend on visibility for a number of safety reasons.  I am not going to say that people from lower incomes commit crimes at higher rates; I am saying that higher crime areas have lower property values and enable those less fortunate to be able to afford housing.  In addition, larger homes in affluent areas often maintain their own streetlights and opt for a lower level of lighting, which would naturally skew the data.  And finally, isn't it telling that the Rice study segregates the data between white and non-white lines?  There is no need for the Rice study to segregate the data between non-white and white housing, but they jumped in right away so they can fabricate yet another "social injustice" that will require yet another institutionalized governmental prejudice that must be over-sighted, measured and controlled to suit someone's political agenda.

Rice University used to be considered an institution of higher learning but it has fallen steadily into the typical politically correct and left leaning pit of doom.  This study is not a gleaming example of objective, fact-based policy analysis.  I'd put Rice right up there with the other ludicrous left-leaning and out-of-touch universities that have become irrelevant. As far as I'm concerned, they are not too different than a drunken idiot coming down the street telling me the earth is gonna be destroyed....they have no credibility because they've squandered it with politically-oriented, left wing propaganda that is not fact-based.  Anyone in their right mind funding these kinds of studies should reconsider the use of their investments.

Here is a listing of some of the Kinder Institute "urban studies":

    The Urban Edge explores the reasons behind the trends in this year's survey.
    Greater Houston is Becoming Increasingly Democratic, and Other Highlights From Our 2016 Survey
    Most Houstonians Support an Equal Rights Ordinance, Survey Finds. So Why'd They Vote Against It?
    Oil Prices Are Low. So Why Are Houstonians Optimistic About the Economy?
    Houston Policymakers – and Residents – Giving Criminal Justice Reform a Boost
    In Houston, the Land of Megachurches, Religious Service Attendance Declines
    Half of Houstonians Want to Live in Walkable Communities

Please read if you have time, but allow me to summarize for you: everything is done because of black/white differences, we should live like the Europeans and Religion is dead.  Couple twist of words and it could be coming directly from the ol' Communist Manifesto. So much for credibility.

5) I am considered a white gentleman by looks, but am Jewish and have both Native American and European bloodlines.  I have always been proud in my deep belief that all men are created equal and I have treated people accordingly to that belief.  My dad taught me to have respect for others and be humble, because you don't always know the circumstances of something you're observing and you aren't always the biggest/baddest/smartest/best at something.  Going to most city of Houston services places these days(DPS, court system, utilities, etc...) I get sneers and very basic, unfriendly treatment...but the black lady in front of me didn't get that....hmmmm...the hispanic guy didn't get that.  You know, it's just that sour face and the emotionless mask that comes over some people who have no concern about whether they truly help you.  Doesn't happen all the time, and there are still shining examples to counter that (thank you recent guy at the post office).  But it is happening more and more.  In the private sector too.  I know specifically of a Hispanic apartment manager caught red-handed purposely screwing up Asian people leasing contracts, parking permits and repair orders just so they will get frustrated and move out in order for her to get more Hispanic tenants in the building.  If that was a white person doing that, the federal housing authorities would be all over them and it would be front page on the Chronicle.  Here in Sanctuary City, 20 people can write letters and nothing happens.

So to sum this one up, my family wasn't here when your family was oppressed. I am not a racist just cause I'm white.  Equality means getting equal treatment so if you want to be treated fairly then treat others the same way.  Golden Rule Time folks.  I am coming around to understanding how you feel when someone treats you that way.  BUT...be careful what you wish for...I don't think you'd want me in a society where you try to treat me as a second class citizen.  I'm not going there in this rant, but trust me, you don't want that.
------

In summary,

There is a reason Donald Trump won the election. There is a reason people are pissed off and tired of excuses and stories.  How bad is it when 19 different people ran for the Presidency and we picked Trump because we knew he'd just fuck with everyone.

Politicians (all of them), media, George Soros, the liberal Silicon Valley, lefty Universities as well as Hollywood, take note: the people of the United States have rejected your vision that there are a few who should think for us all.  Your concept of government control does not coincide with our experiences as it relates to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  In this world of the internet, we can easily compare what you say to what you do.  Yes, there are a lot of people who are undereducated and not paying attention, but there are enough critical thinkers, enough who openly debate and enough who are paying attention to really fuck up your careers and your businesses.  Put more simply, you are losing credibility and becoming less relevant at a faster and faster pace.  Yes, that's you Nordstrom and Facebook too.

Now that you've lost, you want to throw roadblocks up to the people's agenda...well, good luck. I believe about four years and a month ago some dumbass said "elections have consequences"...so there you go, this one does too.  Ain't life a bitch.  Go ahead, try to stop things, have Chuckie and Nancy and the usual lame crowd stand up and tell us that we are racists, that we are too dumb to handle our own lives, that we need to pay for some vague idea of a Leninist-like collective good to the point of personal sacrifice. Yep, keep it up...because now there is enough momentum to steamroller over you (thanks for creating that precedent for massive Presidential Executive orders), and you don't even realize it because you believe your own bullshit and never come out of your little bubble to debate and have a fact-based discussion.  As they said in that movie, Good Luck and Good Night.

You know the one person I gained huge respect for during the last month? Jim Brown, the ex-pro NFL running back.  I don't exactly agree with all of Jim Brown's comments and approaches he's made of the years...but I listened to what he had to say when Trump was elected...he said he'd work with this guy and take him at his word that Trump wants to help the inner city flourish again.  He was eloquent and honest - he didn't agree with everything Trump was saying and he was taking Trump's words with a grain of salt...but he was willing to participate in the process of rebuilding.  I said to myself Hell Yes, this guy gets it. Chuckie and Nancy, spend a little time with Mr. Brown - I think he can teach you a little more than your predecessor Harry Reid taught you.  Like Trump, he just wants to get results.  Mitch and Paul, same goes to you guys too.

And for those of you local government officials who thinks these feelings don't trickle down, I am going to love watching your cities (mine included) lose federal funding.  I don't care if you pick up my garbage or not (oh, wait...that's already privatized)...so yep, start shutting it down...my streets are already pot-hole filled and the cops don't come and, well you get the idea...your incompetence has taught us that we can get along just fine without you.

And to all those Oprah-watchers, CNN and MSNBC devotees espousing political correctness for all these years...you failed to make me feel like a pariah, you failed to make me think my views were not valid and with reason.  You've failed to indoctrinate my kids (and now that school choice will go through we can enjoy the return of critical and objective thinking to all our kids).  In fact, my kids are probably more turned off from you than I am...hard to believe but true.  Yes, I..uh, what where your words? oh yes,  "held on bitterly to my guns and my religion".  Yep, still got'em so better luck next time. Me personally, I'm looking forward to all the repeals of the stupid laws you passed in the last eight years (and some even older).  Your day in the sun is over, so return to your decrepit, bankrupt and corrupt inner cities.  

Thank God the founding fathers of this country had the insight to create the electoral college to prevent a tyranny of the masses like you'd have us live under.

And finally, my apologies to the OP..I tramped all over your post and I apologize even before hitting this SUBMIT button.

All the best to you all,
RW

When those neighborhoods were first built, what demographic lived there?

So, new, whiter neighborhoods have less lights? Is that what is being said?

Most excellent rant 10/10

This has to be one of the dumbest studies I have ever heard about.


RoadWarrior...amen, brother!  That was the most well-thought rant I have read in a very long time.

Thank you gentlemen....

OP, thanks so much for bringing our attention to such a scientifically-bankrupt study.  Fuck you Rice University!

"And finally, my apologies to the OP..I tramped all over your post and I apologize even before hitting this SUBMIT button. "

No need to apologise for that excellent summation of the situation.

Houston used to be "The City That Worked"...

Now we get the FSA Democrats running & ruining the City and claiming discrimination at every single issue.

For God's Sake - Just look at the Houston district that keeps electing our very own "uber face palm generator", "The Queen" herself, Ms. Shelia Jackson Lee, back to congress year after year after year...

The stupid in the city hurts badly . Having just moved from 1960 to 99, there's a huge difference. Unfortunately, this area has new construction going on and I'm seeing the stupid seep up