Vision Zero Action Plan Earns APA Gold Award |
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Next month, members of our team will travel, virtually, to Fort Worth to accept the Gold Award for 2021 Implementation Achievement by the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association. The award was given for our Vision Zero Action Plan!
Vision Zero is the idea that deaths and serious injuries caused by traffic crashes are avoidable. Our Vision Zero Action Plan calls for the elimination of these deaths and serious injuries by the year 2030. Initiated by Mayor Turner by an Executive Order, the VZ Executive Committee is comprised of partners across the transportation platform: public and private, professional and advocacy, road builders and users. The result of their work is a comprehensive and achievable action plan.
Are you aware that nearly 60% of traffic deaths and serious injuries occur on just 6% of Houston’s streets? These streets are called the High Injury Network. Furthermore, communities that are considered socially vulnerable include just 33% of our roadways, yet 52% of the High Injury Streets. These are sobering statistics and require serious attention. I am proud of our team and our City for taking on the job of protecting our neighbors. Getting an award from my state-wide colleagues while doing so is terrific gratification.
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Livable Places Focuses on Nationwide Best Practices |
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During the Oct. 5 Livable Places Action Committee meeting, existing single-family residential lot standards were discussed along with best practices from other cities. The Committee had a robust discussion and brought up issues related to infrastructure, drainage and detention, utilities that must be kept in perspective while we develop proposals. We are studying all aspects related to residential development in Houston, while making strides toward the goal of housing variety and affordability.
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The next Livable Places meeting will be held at
3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9. At this meeting, we will look at the current development patterns, assess the regulations and understand the challenges
they bring.
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Tanya Debose Receives Mayor's Historic Preservation Award |
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Mayor Sylvester Turner presented the Mayor's Historic Preservation Award to Tanya Debose at City Council's public session on Oct. 5. Debose was honored for her exemplary role in historic preservation, particularly in communities of color. She was recommended for this award by Minnette Boesel, Chair of the Houston Archeological and Historical Commission.
Debose is a fourth-generation resident of the Independent Heights community and an ardent advocate for her neighborhood. She chairs the Harris County African American Historical Commission; is an appointed member of the City’s Historic Preservation Appeals Board, and is Executive Director of the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council. She has worked tirelessly to protect its character and cultural heritage. She was not only a champion for historic preservation in Independence Heights, but she also engaged and organized other communities that were in jeopardy of losing their cultural heritage.
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Historic Preservation Officer Roman McAllen, HAHC Chair Minnette Boesel, Tanya Debose, Mayor Sylvester Turner. |
Debose led a three-year community initiative that resulted in the Independent Heights first written community plan. She also led the effort to have the Starkweather District within Independence Heights designated as a City Historic District and has partnered with numerous organizations, churches and community groups across the city to help further neighborhood pride and enhancement. |
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Lindsey Williams Receives AIA Houston Presidential Citation |
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Lindsey Williams, a Planner III with the Community and Regional Planning division, was awarded the 2021 AIA Houston Presidential Citation for leading the Houston 2020 Visions: Designing for Impact Initiative. While accepting the award, Williams was accompanied by her son, Jameson. She serves on both AIA Houston board of Directors and the Houston National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) board of directors. Williams recently spoke about the initiative at the 82nd Annual Texas Society of Architects conference in San Antonio.
About Designing for Impact:
Through a joint effort of the City of Houston, NOMA Houston and AIA Houston, architects, design professionals, students, community stakeholders, and residents worked together to generate project ideas for 10 historically underserved neighborhoods. Working closely with residents through a community engaged design process, volunteer teams generated executable visions for these communities. Over 400 residents, 100 design professional and students, and over 30 City of Houston employees across all departments participated in the series. Both participants and observers were able to see firsthand how designing for these underserved communities, with a community engaged design process, helps to build a more resilient fabric and sustainable community legacy. The engagement process helps identify ways to invest in the development of these communities and their current residents without promoting complete gentrification.
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Staff Introduces Map-Making 6th Graders to GIS Careers |
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Senior Geographic Information Systems Analyst Nicholas Batiste recently gave a virtual presentation to a sixth-grade class at Grace School in West Houston. The students were working on a project where they were required to map five Houston locations of their choice.
Batiste said he was fascinated by maps in his youth, and later came to rely on them during his service in the United States Army and in his former career as a police officer. Those experiences inspired him to pursue a career in Geographic Information Systems. Batiste gave students an overview of the important components of map-making, spoke about how data mapping helps City services, and gave a live web map demonstration. The students sent a hand-written thank you note that Batiste promptly displayed in his office.
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11th Street Bikeway Meetings |
Mark your calendars for upcoming meetings about the11th Street Bikeway, a 1.5-mile safety improvement project from Shepherd to Michaux in the Heights neighborhood. The project addresses community members' safety concerns walking, biking, driving, and using public transit along the corridor. The project is currently in the design phase and proposes to include a protected bikeway, pedestrian refuge islands to make it safer to cross 11th street, intersection enhancements to increase visibility and decrease confusion, and traffic signal adjustments to safely accommodate all modes of travel.
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Monday, Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m. Hosted by the Heights Association Land Use Committee. Email LandUse@HoustonHeights.org for the meeting invitation.
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Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. Hosted by the Greater Heights Super Neighborhood Meeting. Email ghsnc.sn15@gmail.com for the meeting invitation.
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Restaurants and bars along Main Street continue to take advantage of the More Space: Main Street program, which closes certain blocks of Main Street from Commerce to Rusk to vehicles (drivers can still cross Main Street on the side streets) and allows restaurants and bars to set up tables in the roadway to serve customers. Asa Hanrahan, of the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, applauded the benefits and popularity of the program, especially during the recent Astros playoff series. This program is a home run!
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October is National Community Planning Month |
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The Planning and Development Department's mission is to grow and preserve Houston's diverse communities to create a resilient city. From Transportation Planning to Historic Preservation, Community and Regional planning, Geographic Information Systems and our Development Services teams we work with Houstonians every day to achieve this mission. Internally, our finance, communications, administrative and policy teams support colleagues to keep the gears turning. It is our honor and privilege to serve Houston. These are some of the many the faces of Houston Planning: From left to right: Top row: Development Services team dresses as Men In Black for Halloween and Oct. 28 Planning Commission Meeting. Transportation Planning and Houston Public Works volunteers painted the intersection at Quitman & Fulton for better visibility. Staff from the Geographic Information Systems team show their Astros team spirit. Various staff pose at the PARKing Day, "Rolling into Fall," booth. Brian Smith tries out a Houston B-Cycle bike. Community and Regional Planning staff and planners at the Houston Permitting Center. Historic Preservation Planner Yasmin Arslan learns to rehab a historic wooden window frame.
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Department Calendar and Information
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611 Walker Street, 6th Floor,
Houston, TX 77002
832-393-6600
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