Houston

Anthony Flint reports on the Buffalo Bayou restoration project in Houston, where a remarkably green sensibility has infused the capital of fossil fuels.

It's been over 12 years since Houston last planned for denser development patterns, but an updated code is on the way to lure an ever growing population away from the suburbs.

Houston is leading the way in creating new public spaces. This article from The Project for Public Spaces looks at a few of the city's efforts.

The Project for Public Spaces says that despite its reputation as a sprawling, planning-free city, Houston is turning the lack of city planning to its advantage by inspiring a bottom-up approach.

Fast Company chooses Houston as its 2011 City of the Year, citing its sense of opportunity and general affordability as the major reasons for its selection.

That's Billy Burge of the Grand Parkway Association, referring to a plan in Houston, Texas to expand the city out into greenfields on the outskirts of the city.

Builder Magazine says the construction numbers have been all over the map from month to month, but a pattern is emerging that reveals several markets to be reliable hotbeds for the development of multifamily buildings.

Suburban areas are increasingly in the sights of planners and designers who are thinking of new ways to reform the sprawled out land use patterns. This interview looks at how those efforts relate to Houston.

The growth of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Continental Airlines' largest hub but also one of he principal destinations away from the coasts for international carriers, has vastly increased passenger traffic and allowed Houston's reinvention.

At a time when families across the country are facing fewer choices for fun, ambitious park projects like those in St. Louis, Detroit and Houston are "bringing urban centers back to life," according to JoAnn Greco.

Three cities -- St. Louis, Houston and Detroit -- have gained new urban parks that are playing big roles in reviving parts of town.

Houston is often the butt of many urban planners' jokes. With no formal zoning, wide roads and huge houses, it's often what urban planners are trying to move American cities away from. Joel Kotkin argues Houston is a model city for the U.S.

Despite being one of the largest cities in the U.S., public transit in Houston has not kept up with its population growth. Kristie Lewis offers five reasons why.

When five new board members will join the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority next month, they'll inherit a host of systemic problems and one of the toughest economic climates in decades.

Too much, too fast, is the analysis from The Transport Politic. Based on a voter-approved, Nov, 2003 plan funded by a one-cent sales tax, the transit plus HOV/HOT conversion plan has run into funding problems. This article focuses on LRT expansion.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker is considering a big shake-up of the city's public transportation, including the option of transitioning to a fare-free system.

Lisa Gray paints a picture of downtown Houston's inexorable evolution from a city full of ground level parking lots to a denser metropolis where multi-level garages are commonplace.

When it comes to Houston's light rail, Randal O'Toole says you're doing it wrong. Planners are trumpeting high ridership numbers, but O'Toole says the numbers show an overall decline in Houston's transit ridership.

A survey shows that 2/3rds of Houston residents are ready for stricter land use regulations. This follows a number of high-profile clashes between neighborhoods and developers who want to build in them.