A Bright Spot In My Day: From the Planning Director |
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As a manager, one of my favorite phrases to hear is “on their own…”
On their own, they saw a problem and created a solution. It’s a phrase I hear often in the Planning & Development Department. On their own, our administrative staff created a new process for mailing notifications and have saved hours in the process. On their own, our historic preservation team is researching options for the repair and replacement of original historic windows in Mid-century houses. These options can save property owners hundreds of dollars and still meet the requirements to maintain the historic character. On their own, our transportation and GIS teams created a map-based application that prioritizes the construction of new bike lanes based on a number of critical factors.
I’m often asked by young professionals what important skills they need to advance their careers. Without exception my two answers are always curiosity and initiative. Yes, writing and critical thinking skills are important. But curious people with initiative have the ability to see a problem, seek solutions, transfer knowledge, put their ideas to work. We seek those qualities when we hire and you, our customers and partners in building this community, benefit from that every day.
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GIS Data Automation Project Prioritizes Bike Plan Upgrades, Construction |
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The Houston Bike Plan’s long-term vision creates a network of close to 1,800 miles of high-comfort bicycle facilities. To focus building and upgrading bike lanes in areas of the most need and highest demand, the PD Transportation and Geographic Information Systems teams collaborated with the Bicycle Advisory Committee to create and refine a prioritization methodology. BAC members were asked to give feedback. GIS staff refined the spatial and statistical analysis on weighted factors to create a priority list for future bicycle facilities.
“Working with the transportation team to get the criteria, GIS team members Andrew Sauls and Curtis Klinge have taken the spatial requirements for prioritizing the building of bike lanes, and created an automated GIS data model that crunches the line locations, overlays them with all the necessary criteria, sets the appropriate weights given from the bike committee, and generates a priority scale numeric value for each trail that is instantly mappable,” said Geographic Information Officer Larry Nierth.
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“Their automation takes less than 30 minutes to run and can be rerun anytime," Nierth said.
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Livable Places: Increasing Urban Density with Accessory Dwelling Units |
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Could the key to increasing urban density be in your backyard? The May 18 Livable Places Action Committee meeting explored ways to amend current ordinance language to allow housing types that fit all income levels and increase urban density. One way to accomplish those goals is to allow more than two units on a lot, and to simplify the process of adding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).
By updating certain requirements, Houston can increase the number of garage apartments, or additional units in established neighborhoods without significant development cost.
This can transform a typical single-family home lot into a multifamily property, provide steady income for homeowners and increase the amount of affordable housing in Houston.
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Mark your calendars for the June 15 meeting that will continue conversations about ADUs and encouraging small scale multi-family residential developments. For meeting details, visit www.letstalkhouston.org/livable-places.
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The Ion Hosts Vision Zero Hackathon |
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The City of Houston and The Ion partnered to advance the Vision Zero Action Plan with a unique, communications-focused hackathon earlier this month. The hackathon was intended to help the city communicate the importance of ending traffic deaths to a wide range of community members, from reporters to drivers and travelers by all modes.
Teams participated from around the world, but the winner, Harrison Self, lives right here in Houston.
Self’s solution for the Vision Zero Hackathon is to create a visual identity for high risk areas to increase awareness of crash-prone areas. A high-visibility graphic, while not creating distraction, can inform both pedestrians and motorists of when they are traveling through a high-incident area.
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Video: Watch Mayor Turner's 2021 State of Mobility Address |
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If you didn't get a chance to tune in, catch up on the 2021 State of Mobility address where Mayor Sylvester Turner highlights many of the city's ongoing programs and transportation accomplishments for the year. He describes the future of mobility in the city and region and the role that multimodal transportation plays in Houston's place as a destination city.
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HAHC Recommends First Protected Landmark in Settegast Heights |
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As we wrap up Historic Preservation Month, we're highlighting landmarks and protected landmarks in Houston. The latest protected landmark recommendation coming from the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission is the designation of The Brent House, 7977 Tate Street. This designation is the first landmark and first protected landmark in Settegast Heights.
The Brent House is a one-story, frame vernacular house built circa 1950 in the Settegast Gardens subdivision within the historic Settegast Heights neighborhood in northeast Houston. The house has been owned by the Brent family since the 1950s and was moved to its current location in 1957.
Founded in 1892 by J. W. Settegast, this community is located on the northeast side of Houston within 8 miles of downtown, and is one of the oldest African American Communities in Houston. Settegast Heights was a self-contained community with many black-owned businesses including grocery stores and shopping complexes, hair salons, eateries and entertainment venues
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The historic housing stock consists of predominantly vernacular architecture, which is characterized by features that include simple geometric forms, covered porches and balconies, uncomplicated roofs, walls clad with one dominant material (generally wood, stone or brick) and few stylistic details.
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HAHC Commissioner Steve Curry Talks Mid-Mod Preservation on June 24 |
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Join the Houston Office of Preservation at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 24 for a community presentation with Architect, Mid-Century Modern expert, and Houston Archeological and Historical Commissioner Steve Curry.
Commissioner Curry will give an overview of what makes the Mid-Century Modern Architecture featured in Glenbrook Valley so important to the history of our city and country.
Historic Preservation planners will also be on hand to answer questions about living in a historic district and the process of applying for Certificates of Appropriateness.
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7 p.m. Thursday, June 24
Fellowship Hall, Glenbrook Methodist Church, 8635 Glen Valley Dr. at Wilmerdean St.
Meeting ID: 831 7538 2088 Passcode: 606366
By phone +1 346 248 7799
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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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