Monthly Planner Newsletter: July 2023

July 2023

Resilience Planning Kicks Off In Three New Neighborhoods

The Planning and Development Department recently conducted a series of three Neighborhood Resilience Planning meetings to engage with residents of Braeburn, Greater Inwood and Greater Fifth Ward neighborhoods. During the Vision and Purpose meeting, residents actively participated, sharing their experiences, ideas, and goals related to building resilience and recovering from weather-related disasters. They took part in various activities to identify projects that could enhance risk reduction, infrastructure improvements, economic development, and social empowerment strategies to meet their resilience needs. Notably, residents expressed their concerns about flooding and offered innovative ideas to mitigate flooding and address other climate-related hazards effectively.

Visit the Neighborhood Resilience Plan website for feedback opportunities such as surveys and interactive maps. Subscribe for email updates.

City Announces Findings from First Equity Indicators Study

Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the findings of "One Complete Houston," the City of Houston's first equity indicator study on July 11. The report was a collaborative work of the Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Planning and Development Department, the Mayor's Office of Resilience and Sustainability, and the Mayor's Office of Complete Communities with funding from Shell USA, Inc. The report uses equity scores to identify socioeconomic inequalities exacerbated by biases based on race, ethnicity, gender, and ZIP codes. The equity scores are not pass-or-fail measurements of progress toward our goal of being a more equitable city.

Houston’s overall equity score is 44.1 out of 100, delineating a need for improvements. Compared to other cities that have used the Equity Indicators methodology, Houston’s score is higher than Dallas’s 2021 score of 38 and Tulsa’s 2022 score of 42.63. However, Houston follows behind St. Louis’s 2018 score of 45.57 and Pittsburgh’s 2018 score of 55.

The findings from this study highlighted the areas where the City of Houston can improve and progress toward becoming more equitable. Those areas include adjusting city policies and procedures; business strategies; corporate environment; social and governance initiatives; philanthropic investment models; nonprofit missions; and other efforts that can limit Houstonians’ opportunities and life circumstances. Read the full press release. Visit the

One Complete Houston website.

A safe, reliable, and equitable transportation system will help Houston be a great place to live, work, and play, providing economic opportunities and high quality of life for all. Read the 2022 Houston Complete Streets and Transportation Report to learn more about Houston's multimodal vision and transportation highlights from 2022.

Habitat For Humanity Home / Prairie View ADU Tour

Shows Affordable Design in Action

The Planning Department visited a Habitat For Humanity home which was a full circle experience for some of our employees. The newly constructed home included an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) designed by Prairie View A&M students that won the Student Category and was profiled in the ADU | HOU Design Book.

The ADU featured a thoughtfully laid out floor plan that blended functionality and comfort. A family member will have their own private space while also providing communal areas for shared activities.

Witnessing the transformative impact the Habitat For Humanity ADU initiative will have for a family of 7, staff remarked about their admiration for the organization's dedication to creating affordable housing solutions that truly make a difference.

Historic Preservation Staff Visits Houston Landmarks

1940 Municipal Air Museum

Houston Light Guard Armory

Our Historic Preservation team is growing including staff who are new to Houston. The team has been visiting historic landmarks around town to learn more about our city's history. Staff recently visited the 1940 Municipal Air Museum with Pete Stockton, who is the Houston Permitting Center Historic Senior Inspector. They also visited the Houston Light Guard Armory at 3820 Caroline St., which was completed in 1925. The Houston Light Guard was a local militia organized in April 1873. The group toured the Star Engraving Company Building (shown at right), a City of Houston protected landmark located at 3201 Allen Parkway. The building was designed in 1930. Like and follow us on the PD Facebook page to learn more about these landmark site visits.

Employee Spotlight: Employee Career Milestones

Please join us in congratulating our team members for reaching these career milestones. We thank them for their years of dedicated service to the City of Houston and the Planning & Development Department.