Mayor Sylvester Turner

Houston Metro

Can Houston Rein In Its Famous Sprawl?

The city's unabated growth has made it a bustling hub of industry and commerce, but can it sustain its unmitigated outward sprawl?

August 31, 2021 - Houston Chronicle

Traffic Safety

Vision Zero Action Plan Launched in Houston

In Houston, 60 percent of serious automobile crashes occur on 6 percent of the city's streets. A New Vision Zero Action Plan will focus safety improvements on those streets with a high density of traffic deaths and serious injuries.

December 21, 2020 - City of Houston Mayor's Office

Coronavirus Protest

California Rolls Back

The nation's most significant rollback to date of a state reopening plan occurred Monday when California Gov. Gavin Newsom closed seven categories of indoor businesses statewide and an additional six categories of indoor operations in 31 counties.

July 14, 2020 - San Francisco Chronicle

Houston Metro Bus

A First for Houston: Chief Transportation Planner

The newly created position of Chief Transportation Planner for the city of Houston is tasked with working with multiple levels of government to help shift Houston away from its car-centric model.

February 28, 2020 - Community Impact Newspaper

Flood Damaged Suburb

A Year After Harvey, Homes Still Going Up on Houston Flood Plain

Despite the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey, builders and buyers alike are sustaining a market for new construction on land likely to get flooded again.

October 8, 2018 - The Houston Chronicle

West Houston Floodplain

800 New Homes Approved for Houston's Floodplain

The city of Houston approved a new development that doesn't meet new elevations standards approved by the city of Houston earlier this month.

April 26, 2018 - Houston Chronicle

Texas Flood

Houston Seriously Tightens Rules on Floodplain Construction

It was the city's "first major regulatory response" to Hurricane Harvey.

April 9, 2018 - Houston Chronicle

Houston

Houston Unveils Blueprint for Equity

A city task force has proposed an ambitious public jobs program as a way to make an immediate impact.

December 1, 2017 - Urban Edge

Houston Flood

Opinion: Forget Zoning, Houston Needs a Floodplain Ordinance

Zoning might not have saved Houston from Harvey, but a strong floodplain ordinance would have, according to an opinion piece published in the Houston Chronicle.

October 3, 2017 - Houston Chronicle

Texas Flood

The Culprit of Houston Flooding: Sprawl, Not Lack of Zoning

As Houston's flood waters recede and attention turns from rescue to recovery and soon rebuilding, critics have pointed to the city's lack of zoning as the cause of the devastation. But are they looking in the right direction?

September 4, 2017 - New York Magazine

Houston Flood

Houston's Drainage Problem

Houston received over 50 inches of rain from Hurricane Harvey in five days. While no city could survive that drenching unscathed, Houston was not prepared to handle the floods due to decades of neglect of stormwater management planning.

August 31, 2017 - The Atlantic

Houston

Is Houston a City of the (Demographic) Future?

Bucking Texas political stereotypes, Houston is standing by its immigrant community. One reason: the city is one of country's most racially diverse.

May 18, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

The Fair Housing Battleground Returns to Texas

All eyes are on Texas to see whether fair housing policies enacted by the Obama Administration will have any chance to stick.

February 4, 2017 - Next City

New Houston Mayor Calls for a Paradigm Shift in Highway Planning

On the heels of the #NoNewRoads campaign, new Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner gave a "rousing" speech calling for the state of Texas to change its thinking about highway widening projects.

February 2, 2016 - Streetsblog USA

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.