Local residents and officials in Houston, TX met with representatives from Smart Growth America on April 17 and 18, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops aimed to give Houston the tools to develop a Complete Streets policy in their Museum Park Neighborhood, which will lay the foundation for future Complete Streets policies in other neighborhoods throughout the city.
“Museum Park, in partnership with the City of Houston’s Office of Sustainability anticipates that the Complete Streets workshop will take Houston a step closer to achieving a few of Mayor Parker’s stated goals for her second term, such as “sustainable development, public safety, infrastructure and quality of life,” said Kathleen O’Reilly, Vice President of the Museum Park Super Neighborhood. “Museum Park, with its mix of 14 museums, Hermann Park, 3,000 homes, schools, health care, churches and more offers the ideal mix to craft the highest standards for transit and quality of life in Houston. As we launch ReBuild Houston, the timing of this exciting collaborative effort couldn’t be better.”
On April 17, Houston residents and city officials gathered for an introductory presentation featuring a broad overview of Complete Streets policies. An all-day workshop followed the public presentation on April 18. Key stakeholders met with instructors from the National Complete Streets Coalition to discuss future implementation plans. Overall, the goal was to establish a set of tools and strategies so that Houston could take and apply them to other neighborhoods. The instructors discussed potential strategies and followed up with an outline for how the city could accomplish its vision.
In November 2012, Houston was one of 22 communities selected by Smart Growth America to participate in the free technical assistance program. Stretching from Maine to Washington State, these communities represent major cities, suburban centers, and rural towns alike.
The program, made possible through a five-year Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable Communities, seeks to develop local planning solutions that help communities grow in ways that benefit families and businesses, while protecting the environment and preserving a sense of place. Three other nonprofit organizations—Forterra, Global Green USA and Project for Public Spaces—also received competitively awarded grants under this program to help communities get the kinds of development they want.
Learn more about the workshop, and how the City of Houston is accomplishing its goals by reading through the documents below.
Workshop Materials:
- Blog Post: Houston, TX to host public workshop on implementing Complete Streets
- Complete Streets Tool Description (PDF)
- Evening Presentation (PDF)
- Houston: Next Steps Memo (PDF)
- Houston: Progress Report – 1 month (PDF)
- Houston: Progress Report – 6 months (PDF)
- Houston: Progress Report – 12 months (PDF)
Workshop Outcomes: