Building on 2009's Transit Corridor Ordinance, Houston's Walkable Places Committee is creating a process for specific neighborhoods to adopt new rules emphasizing walkability.
Earlier this year, a Kinder Institute survey found rising support for a walkable lifestyle in Houston. Also writing for the Kinder Institute, Hilary Ybarra discusses a new initiative to rework building codes on a place-by-place basis to encourage walkability.
While Houston at large isn't very walkable, specific sections can be made more so. "Manhattan and San Francisco are walkable, but so is a thriving small town Main Street, activated by lively street fronts and safe sidewalks, easily accessible from residential neighborhoods."
Ybarra discusses the 2009 Transit Corridor Ordinance, which incentivized pedestrian-friendly construction. The recently established Walkable Places Committee takes a different approach. The committee "is currently focused on creating an application-based process to establish specific 'walkable place' areas. Under this new system, any neighborhood could voluntarily apply to become a 'walkable place' and in doing so establish their own set of self-defined unique rules for development to encourage walkability."
"But once adopted, unlike the Transit Corridor Ordinance, neighborhood- and site-specific building rules would be required, not optional, for all new development." The current target is to adopt a new ordinance in 2019. The trick, Ybarra notes, is to connect pockets of walkability on a citywide scale.
FULL STORY: HOW CAN WE MAKE SPRAWLING HOUSTON FEEL URBAN AND WALKABLE?
Promoting Infill Development for a Denser Houston
An advocacy group is calling for ‘sustainable, vertical’ mixed-use urbanism in the famously sprawling city.
Slideshow: Walkable Houston
The Houston Chronicle shares the views in the most walkable sections of the city of Houston.
Shifting Attitudes Toward Walkable Urbanism in Houston
According to this survey, many Houston residents increasingly prefer mixed-use areas over single-family suburbia. But there's only so much downtown available.
Research Links Urban Design and Human Happiness
An emerging field of ‘neuroarchitectural’ research is revealing how building facades and urban design impact the human brain and body.
Reimagining Your Street
How to use free online tools to redesign your local streetscape.
Research: Sprawl Linked to Poverty
Low-income families living in high-sprawl neighborhoods are limited in their access to education, jobs, and other amenities, often trapping them in a cycle of poverty.
Washington Lawmakers Eye Rent Stabilization
Democrats are pushing for a statewide rent stabilization bill that would give renters some protections while offering more flexibility for landlords than blanket rent control policies.
Wildfires Devastate LA Outdoor Education Spaces and Schools
The current Los Angeles wildfires have destroyed schools and outdoor education spaces like Eaton Canyon, displacing families and disrupting vital learning and community resources while highlighting the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters.
Research Affirms Safety of ‘Idaho Stop’
Allowing cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs does not negatively impact safety and can help people on bikes more effectively navigate roadways.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA)
Ada County Highway District
Charles County Government
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland