Urban Planning

The Woodlands puts incorporation question up for a vote

The Houston suburb of The Woodlands has been called an “invisible city” for the dense tree canopy that shrouds the extent of its development. It is invisible perhaps in another way: It’s not a city at all, but rather a patchwork of special districts, service contracts and interlocal agreements—a tenuous marvel of public-private partnership. But that could soon change.

Texas cities are as sprawling as ever. But they’re also more dense.

The popular perception is that Texas’s metropolitan areas are sprawling all over the place because the state has so much land. The truth of the matter is a little more complicated, however. Yes, all the metros in Texas are sprawling – but they’re densifying as well. And when you “net it out,” the density is winning over the sprawl in the big metros – while the sprawl is winning over the density in the smaller ones.

How Houston plans to plant 4.6 million new trees by 2030

Trees can cool our cities and make them more resilient. Here’s a look at what is being done to grow and protect the urban forest in the Houston area.

Early concept shows how AI could help give urban planners, designers ground-level insight into flood resiliency

If urban planners could proactively and precisely identify which buildings and civil structures are less resilient to flooding, not only could interventions be better targeted and more effective, but communities could become more engaged in the process. An interactive, geospatial artificial intelligence-driven platform could be the answer.

Houston, the city of no zoning, lives to plan another day

The Texas Supreme Court has settled it: Houston's historic preservation ordinance is not a form of zoning, which is expressly banned in the city charter. The decision seems to clear the way for more local experimentation with urban design and development rules. Just don’t call it zoning.

Is Houston underrated as a bike city?

The city has eight months of ideal cycling weather each year and has taken some sizable steps in building out its bike infrastructure in the past decade. But is anyone outside of Houston paying attention?

How bikes paved the way for car dependency in America

And why there needs to be more investment in bicycle infrastructure in Houston and other cities.

In Houston and everywhere else, (lot) size matters

The development of townhomes in Houston predominantly has taken place in high-amenity neighborhoods where gentrification has already occurred. The latest report from the Kinder Institute also shows new townhome construction is growing in at-risk neighborhoods, a trend that appears to be speeding gentrification in those communities.

Texas Metropolitan Blueprint: A Policy Agenda to Secure the Competitiveness and Prosperity of Texas

The Texas Metropolitan Blueprint lays out recommendations for policies that address the most important economic development, land use, housing, infrastructure, and transportation challenges of the state’s metropolitan areas.

No, Houston isn’t a walkable city, but you have to start somewhere

When a west Houston intersection was retrofitted with infrastructure to protect pedestrians, City Observatory’s Joe Cortright called the redesign hollow and ‘performative.’ But it’s not that simple.

The new BikeHouston boss has a vision for safer streets for all

Whether you ride a bike full time or part time, just for fun or for transportation, BikeHouston’s new executive director wants to make it safer to ride a bike in Houston. It’s why he left New York to come here.

Do you have the ‘place gene’?

Urban planners and designers sometimes think they have an exclusive “lock” on an understanding of place. But in fact everybody can develop their own “place gene.”

Unflashy but effective ways to slow traffic and save lives

Pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 38% of all roadway deaths in Houston in 2019 — a 3% increase from 2018. Overall, 647 people were killed in fatal crashes in the Houston area in 2019, according to NHTSA data released in December. Prioritizing speed on local roads is the dangerous status quo in the U.S., but many cities are taking action to try and make safety the priority.

Big-city planners shouldn’t overlook the lessons of small-town design

Influenced by the Garden City movement, Badin, North Carolina, is a small gem of urban planning whose design called for green space, residential areas and commercial development in proportionate amounts. The planning of small towns like Badin can serve as an example for larger cities as they continue to grow.

Finding the small-scale urbanism his hometown lost to urban renewal

After a car-centric urban renewal plan irrevocably changed the town where he grew up, a young urbanist found the essence of Auburn, New York, in Southern California.