Here Is The Simple Explanation As To Why Lubbock Is Ridiculously So Flat

Lubbock, Texas is so flat that you can watch your dog run away for three days.

The fact that Lubbock is flat is really two things, one shaped by the earth, and the other shaped by man.

Lubbock is built on the flatlands. It's just our geography. It's where the wagon broke down and people started to build (joking). None of that information should be surprising at all to you.

The fact of the matter is that Lubbock chooses to be flat. A long time ago, city leaders put a sign ordinance in effect that was very restrictive. That ordinance kept signs from exceeding certain heights and sizes. That ordinance has only been minimally changed over the years, so we've remained a city that is easy to "see over".

You could be generous and say that the lack of tall signs gives the city a sleek look, or you could be a bit negative and say it gives the city a really undeveloped small-town look.

Lubbock's flatness will become more striking to you as you travel. You may not even notice why something feels "off" to you, but trust me, it's the fact that you will have things looming over you. I recently made trips to both Austin and Dallas and even the smaller towns like Sweetwater, and even some of the itty-bitty ones, have a more developed and easy-to-navigate feel (you can just drive towards those tall signs).  This same sign ordinance also kept/keeps a very restricted amount of billboard space available.

I'm not sure if all of this flatness is a good thing or bad thing for the Hub City, and none of our city leaders ever really seems gung-ho to challenge it. Personally, I think the economic activity from a bunch of sign upgrades would be a good thing, but I'm not going to lose sleep over the issue one way or another.