NOTABLE QUOTES

≥There's no question Houston has got a crash problem. But there's also a major problem with enforcement. I think the mere fact that a red light to most people in Houston means ålook both waysπ is certainly a bad sign. The joke I've always heard is, åYou just go 90 mph until you hear glass.π≤

- David Saperstein, Mayor Bill White's Office of Mobility, interviewed in a Houston Chronicle article on traffic safety.

LIVABLE HOUSTON / SMART GROWTH INITIATIVE

New Flood Maps for Harris County and a look at the LIDAR

A new set of flood maps and other flood-related projects have been created by Harris County Flood Control District. Will Meyer, Project Manager for the Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project, will show the latest maps and data, as well as giving a look at the interesting pictures from the 3-dimensional Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) project. The Livable Houston meeting is Wednesday, April 28th, noon-1:30 pm, Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons, second floor. Bring your lunch. For more information call 713-523-5755. The Gulf Coast Institute and the Houston-Galveston Area Council host Livable Houston/Smart Growth bring-your-own-lunch meetings that are open to the public on the fourth Wednesday of every month. http://www.livablehouston.org

BLUEPRINT HOUSTON

Blueprint Houston to host Regional Transportation Plan meeting

Blueprint Houston will host a public meeting about the 2025 Regional Transportation Plan, the most comprehensive transportation plan in the region. Heidi Sweetnam, executive director of Blueprint Houston, said of the meeting, ≥The 2025 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) will direct the future shape of the region and we believe that the public should have an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed 4,000-plus projects for the eight-county area.≤ The Houston-Galveston Area Council, administrator of the long-term plan, is hosting six meetings across the region regarding the plan. This will be the first and only public meeting hosted by an outside organization that will include a presentation by H-GAC and a panel discussion of experts. Citizen input will be recorded as official public comment on the plan. The meeting will be Tuesday, April 27th at 7pm, second floor of Houston-Galveston Area Council offices (Greenway Plaza area), 3555 Timmons. For more information about Blueprint Houston, visit http://www.blueprinthouston.org

REGIONAL NOTES

Development sought in western Brazoria County

A proposed widening of State Highway 36 through Brazoria County would ≥open up the western part of the County for development≤ and ≥spread growth through the county,≤ according to David Stedman, CEO of the Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County. Stedman appeared with Brazoria County Judge John Will and Commissioner Jack Harris before the Technical Advisory Committee of the Houston-Galveston Area Council. They were there to ask the committee to support their effort to have construction funding restored for widening the highway from Rosenberg to Sealy. Stedman claimed that development in the western part of the County would produce ≥a more balanced traffic flow, which benefits everyone.≤ The road and associated development would be west of both the Grand Parkway and the proposed Prairie Parkway.

Do senior Houstonians risk isolation?

An estimated 69,247 people in the Houston metro area aged 65 and over do not drive ≠ or about one in five, according to a national study. The study found that nationally, more than half of all seniors stay at home on any one day, many because of limited transportation options. In southern states such as Texas, the isolation was found to be particularly poignant where two-thirds of the non-driving senior population stay at home on a given day. In denser areas with more public transportation, the percentage of seniors staying at home goes down substantially to around 40 percent. ≥Most Texas communities, like their counterparts across the nation, are neither fiscally nor physically prepared to meet the transportation needs of seniors now nor are they equipped to respond to the growing number of seniors, particularly as the stateπs Baby Boomers begin to age, retire, and require transportation options other than driving,≤ said Glenn Gadbois, program director at Just Transportation Alliances, a nonprofit organization based in Austin. The study concludes cities across the nation need more alternative transportation such as buses, rail, and sidewalks. The current draft of Houstonπs long-term Regional Transportation Plan has the vast majority (73 percent) of ground transportation funds geared toward accommodating drivers. For the study, visit http://www.transact.org/

Harris County Judge debates clean air

Harris County Judge Robert Eckels recently went on the CNN Financial News ≥Tough Call≤ program to debate with Frank OπDonnell of the Clean Air Trust the tradeoff between clean air and local economies. Both spoke of the new EPA clean air rules announced last week that resulted in 474 counties classified as having dirty air or contributing to dirty air. Eight counties in the Houston-Galveston region were in the group and will have to meet the new eight-hour ozone standard (a new standard) by 2010 or face economic penalties from the federal government. Eckels said that while Houstonπs air quality has improved over the past decades, he questioned whether or not the area could ever meet clean air goals. He also said local governments are limited in their ability to improve air quality; several polluting sources such as airplanes and trains are beyond local control and need federal government enforcement. OπDonnell agreed that the federal government should do more enforcement, but noted that many of those lobbying the federal government to relax clean air rules come from the Houston region. Officials issued the 8-hour standard in 1997 but the rules were caught up in legislation until 2001 when the Supreme Court upheld the standards. For testimony of Judge Eckels before Congress regarding the same subject, visit http://www.newsrouter.com/NewsRouter_Uploads/7/Testimony_for_Clean_Air_Subcommittee_4-1-04.pdf For more about the clean air rules, visit http://www.epa.gov/

How high does Houston stack up in the education department?

Houston ranked fairly low at 35th in a Census Bureau city ranking that measured the percent of population over the age of 25 with graduate degrees. Houston, the 4th largest city in the nation, has 10.2 percent of its population holding graduate degrees, which is below Austin (16.3 percent) and Dallas (10.5 percent), but above San Antonio (7.6 percent). Washington DC (23.6 percent), Seattle (19.3 percent), San Francisco (18.5 percent) ranked as the top cities with the highest percentage of graduate degree-holders. According to another study, education is a prime factor in determining future growth of cities (see ≥Sun and education required≤ story below). For the list, visit http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/001712.html

TEXAS NOTES

Dallas suburb chooses smart growth

Lancaster, a southern Dallas suburb, recently decided to go against another ≥run-of-the-mill≤ development and instead chose a smart growth design for a public-private development of 1,500 open acres. With developer Harvest Real Estate Partners among others, the city will develop a $200 million mixed-use community that will include 1,100 single-family homes and multi-family brownstones, 80 percent of them within 200 feet of open space featuring hike and bike trails. The plan is based on the North Central Texas Council of Governmentsπ 10 principles of sustainable development. Source: GlobeSt.com, March 30,2004. For the areaπs 10 principles of sustainable development, visit http://www.developmentexcellence.com/

NOTES FROM OTHER PLACES

PLANNING

People and pavement

The battles between engineers and citizens about where highways should be paved or widened has been long and contentious, but one state is working to ease the relationship through ≥context-sensitive design,≤ according to an article by the Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. According to a report called ≥People and Pavement: Transportation Design that Respects Communities,≤ Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Michigan Department of Transportation Director Gloria Jeff have embraced this new concept that discards the ≥one-size-fits-all≤ approach to building and widening highways and will implement a new process that proactively uses citizens for everything from the decision making of whether to widen a road to its design. For the article, visit http://www.mlui.org/transportation/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16674

NASA study shows massive future sprawl

Researchers in Maryland recently used NASA satellite imagery to forecast the extent of development given current trends and found a future of extensive sprawl, according to Space Daily. The research focused on the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area and found that developed land would expand 80 percent by 2030 given current development trends. The aim of the project was to find watershed consequences of future policy scenarios. The study measured three distinct development scenarios: current trends, managed, and ecologically sustainable growth. http://www.spacedaily.com/news/eo-04ze.html

URBANISM

Sun and education required

Climate and education may be the two most powerful predictors of urban growth, according to a study by Edward Glaeser, a 36-year old Harvard professor and Albert Saiz, professor at the University of Pennsylvania. In the study, ≥The Rise of the Skilled City,≤ the two note that between 1980 and 2000, the population of metropolitan areas where less than 10 percent of adults had college degrees in 1980, grew on average by 13 percent. Among metropolitan areas where more than 25 percent of adults had college degrees, the average population growth rate was 45 percent. The studyπs title is similar to Richard Floridaπs ≥The Rise of the Creative Class≤ that defined the Creative Class and how its members affect the success of cities. http://post.economics.harvard.edu/hier/2003papers/HIER2025.pdf

Want to live at work, literally?

A new housing trend is approaching urban areas: living at work, or in old office buildings to be more precise, according to the Wall Street Journal. In cities across the nation short on downtown living and long on office space, developers are turning old office buildings into apartments and condos. While the conversions might help quench the demand for urban living, the article notes, 1970s buildings arenπt exactly ideal for that purpose. Layouts and environment can be odd as the buildings were sometimes built without much light as they often had minimal windows and depended on cheap fluorescent bulbs for lighting. Source: Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2004.

MOBILITY

Federal transportation act likely to be extended once again

Disagreements between the US House, Senate, and White House over transportation funding will likely postpone final transportation reauthorization for at least another month. The transportation act that governs federal spending on highways, rail, bus, and other projects over a six-year time frame has been extended two times already and is now set to expire April 30. At issue is the level of funding ≠ the House has passed a $275 billion bill, the Senate, a $318 bill, and the White House wants something much smaller than both of those. Also, the House wants the ability to revisit funding in one year if states are not receiving at least 95 percent of funds they contribute to the federal government via gas taxes. Both the White House and the Senate oppose such a ≥reopener.≤ Texas receives less than 90 cents on every dollar it sends to the Federal government in gas taxes, while some states receive several times their contributions. Along with three other Congressmen, Sugar Land Representative Tom Delay introduced the ≥Share≤ bill last year that would have required states receive at least a 95 percent rate-of-return.

EDUCATION

Strong city schools key to reining in sprawl

"Efforts around the country to rein in sprawl development will not be successful until the twin urban problems of racial segregation and failing schools are addressed," writes University of Maryland Urban Studies and Planning Professor Howell S. Baum in an AScribe Newswire editorial, calling weak city schools "a primary engine of sprawl" and identifying race as "another reason why families leave or avoid cities." http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/spew4th.pl?ascribeid=20040407.111919&time=11%2056%20PDT&year=2004&public=1

HOUSING

Tax-credited affordable housing remains in the city

The majority, or 58 percent, of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) are located in the cities, according to a new analysis of such housing by the Lance Freeman of the Brookings Institution. A summary analysis with several other characteristics of LIHTC is online at http://www.brookings.edu/urban/publications/20040405_freeman.htm

METROPOLITAN ECONOMICS

Smart growth worth a look from fiscal conservatives

Compact development and reinvestment in urban centers can save taxpayers money and improve regional economies, according to the recent study ≥The Smart Money is on Smart Growth≤ by Mark Muro and Robert Puentes of the Brookings Institution. The study is a review of the ≥best academic empirical literature≤ about growth and development. Among its conclusions, it found that nationwide, the governments could save $110 billion from 25-year road building costs and $12.6 billion from 25-year water and sewer costs with thoughtful design and planning. http://www.brook.edu/es/urban/urban.htm

EVENTS

REGIONAL AND STATE

Turning Green into Gold, April 21, Houston. Urban Land Institute luncheon about how ≥green building≤ and ≥sustainable development≤ are providing a new competitive advantage for real estate projects. For more information, visit http://www.Houston.uli.org or call 713-935-0440.

Nuts and Bolts of Community Development Workshop, April 24th, Houston. Houston Council Member Ron Green hosts workshop featuring City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department, Metro, The Housing Authority, Land Assemblage and Redevelopment Authority, Community Development Corps, among others. George R. Brown Convention Center (Section E, Room 306) from 10am to 2pm. To RSVP, call 713-247-2012.

Houston Transportation & Mobility Conference, May 12-13, Houston. Houston transportation conference to focus on mobility challenges in the Houston region. http://www.transportationandmobility.com/2004/index.php

Annual Texas Transit Conference, May 15-18, El Paso. The annual Texas Transit Conference will highlight the new public transit provisions at the state level. http://www.texastransit.org/

Density by Design ≠ Building a Great City, Preserving a Great Environment, May 19 at the Rice Hotel. Convened by Gulf Coast Institute, Houston-Galveston Area Council, and Texas Sea Grant/Texas Cooperative Extension. Register at http://www.densitybydesign.com

Nature field trips, Houston. The Houston Audubon Society is hosting field trips through May to Waller, Anahuac, Bolivar Flats, High Island and Brazos Bend State Park. http://www.houstonaudubon.org/

NATIONAL

Congress of Pedestrian Advocates, May 5-8, Maryland. Convention to train attendees how to build statewide coalitions that promote walking and biking, improve pedestrian safety and health, calm traffic, create livable neighborhoods, and battle obesity. Silver Spring, Maryland. http://www.americawalks.org/congress/index.htm

Note to readers: If you have news to share, have reports from events, or would like to add subscriber names, please let us know at issues@gulfcoastideas.org.

Prepared by Catherine Rentz Pernot

Gulf Coast Growth News is a publication of the Gulf Coast Institute. The Gulf Coast Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Houston. To support the Institute, go to http://www.gulfcoastideas.org. To join the Instituteπs 1000 Friends of Houston, go to http://www.1000friendsofhouston.org