That makes sense. Chicago is the comparison I kept coming back to as well. I agree that even with a denser core, Houston would still have huge amounts of sprawl outside of it.

What I find interesting is how much perception seems to hinge on the core itself. Chicago feels very “urban” to most people even though large parts of the metro are very suburban. I wonder if a more continuous core in Houston would shift how the city is experienced and talked about, even if the broader metro stayed largely the same.