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Public meeting notes
from the Houston region
Houston Tomorrow publishes notes from the Technical Advisory Committee, Transportation Policy Council, City Council, and Harris County Commissioners Court.
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Livable Houston Initiative
Next meeting: Jan. 27
Houston Tomorrow and H-GAC co-host monthly lunch meetings to discuss urban planning, transportation, and quality of life issues.
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Distinguished Speakers
Next: TBA
Houston Tomorrow hosts the Distinguished Speaker Series sponsored by Anchorage Foundation of Texas at least four times a year.
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TPC Interviews
What does the TPC do?
Over the summer, Houston Tomorrow interviewed members of the H-GAC Transportation Policy Council to learn more about the council's role in shaping the region.
Food Policy Workgroup
for the Houston region
The mission of the Houston Food Policy Workgroup is to nurture the growth of a sustainable local food system, accessible…
Environmental Education
Resources for local teachers
Beginning in February 2009, Houston Tomorrow will be giving free in-services for environmental science educators across the Houston region. The…
County Commissioners
Meeting notes - Feb 9, 2010
Harris County Commissioners Court approved a resolution to pay $50K in dues to join the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - Jan 26, 2010
Harris County Commissioners Court approved revised articles of incorporation and bylaws of the Gulf Coast Community and Recovery District, Inc.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - Dec 22, 2009
Harris County Commissioners Court dismissed Grand Parkway condemnation lawsuits and deferred action on a Gulf Coast recovery district until January.
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Houston Neighborhoods
HoustonNeighborhoods.org
Houston Tomorrow launches its Houston Neighborhoods project in January 2010 to provide tools for stronger communities to neighborhoods and civic associations
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Agricultural Urbanism
Transects & food production
Agricultural urbanism is much more systematic and planned than urban agriculture, and it applies the New Urbanist idea of transects to food production.
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Transit-Oriented Development in Austin
Austin preparing for transit
Molly Scarbrough explained how Austin is preparing for TOD, even though the city does not yet have an operational rail transit system.
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TIA Committee
Meeting notes - Oct 22, 2009
The Committee discussed City of Houston parking, Houston Airport System parking, and H-GAC's Regional Transit Framework Study.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - Oct. 13, 2009
The commissioners discussed Segment E of the Grand Parkway and formed a task force to address fine particulate matter at a specific monitoring station.
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New Urbanism
John Norquist of CNU w/ video
John Norquist said that urban streets serve transportation, social, and economic functions, but US policies have ignored the last two with disastrous results.
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TIA Committee
Meeting notes - Sept. 28, 2009
The committee discussed METRO's plans to build a transit center at Palm Center, and Sue Lovell reiterated that only a portion of the property would be affected.
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Freshwater Inflows
Necessary for Galveston Bay
Scott Jones discussed how inflows maintain proper levels of sediments, nutrients, and salinity in the Galveston Bay, and how growth could threaten those flows.
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Mark Ellis
TPC Interviews
The Gulf Coast Freight Rail District chairman discusses TPC, rail, alternative transportation, and the need for roadway maintenance.
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Brandon Capetillo
TPC Interviews
The Baytown City Council member discusses TPC, sprawl, light rail expansion, and balancing maintenance and new construction.
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Larry Calhoun
TPC Interviews
The Conroe Downtown Manager discusses the region's growth, the Grand Parkway, quality of life, and new urbanism and transit-oriented development.
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Scott Elmer
TPC Interviews
The Missouri City Director of Public Works discusses balancing maintenance and new construction, the role of transit, and public involvement in planning.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - Sept. 15, 2009
The Commissioners Court approved local primacy for the Grand Parkway, meaning that construction must start within two years or the project reverts to TxDOT.
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TIA Committee
Meeting notes - Sept. 14, 2009
The City Council members approved renewing Houston's membership in the Gulf Coast Regional Mobility Partnership and discussed the Mobility Plan.
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Randy Redmond
TPC Interviews
TPC INTERVIEWS The Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council (TPC) is comprised of transportation leaders reflecting a variety of cities,…
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Don Brandon
TPC Interviews
The Chambers County Engineer discusses the region's growth, transportation planning, Chambers County's representation on TPC, and toll roads.
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Urban District Mobility
Cities must plan ahead
Sam Lott said cities must plan ahead and set aside land for fully-automated circulators to get pedestrians the "last mile" to their destinations.
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Alan Clark
TPC Interviews
H-GAC's Transportation Director, who assists the TPC but does not have a voting seat, addresses ARRA projects and several aspects of transportation planning.
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Michael Hughes
TPC Interviews
The private-sector attorney, who represents the City of Galveston, discusses TPC's role, smart growth, and Hurricane Ike's effect on traffic in Galveston.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - Aug. 25, 2009
The commissioners authorized the county to review potential impacts of commuter rail on county projects and authorized the acquisition of land for Segment E.
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HAT Mayoral Forum
Questions from public process
Houston Area Table hosted a City of Houston Mayoral Forum on August 18 that Houston Tomorrow helped put together. Includes video.
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Sue Lovell
TPC Interviews
The Houston City Council Member and Vice Mayor Pro-Tem discusses Houston's projected growth, the Grand Parkway, and proposed new federal transportation rules.
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Frank Wilson
TPC Interviews
The METRO President & CEO discussed TPC representation, METRO's efficiency, and commuter rail to Galveston and Hempstead.
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TxDOT’s Delvin Dennis
Interviews with the TPC
TxDOT's Houston District Engineer discusses the Grand Parkway, toll roads, financing, public input, and a multimodal TxDOT.
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TIA Committee
Meeting notes - Aug. 11, 2009
The committee discussed amendments that would grant the Gulf Coast Freight Rail District the powers to develop commuter rail along 290 and down to Galveston.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - July 28, 2009
The commissioners approved a financial study for the Grand Parkway and requested $181 million in stimulus funds to begin its construction.
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Neighborhood planning
A Seattle case study
The Director of Seattle's Department of Neighbhorhoods spoke about the city's neighbhorhood planning process, and their ongoing work to improve it.
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Greenhouse gas reductions
Livable Houston Initiative
Uri Avin spoke at Livable Houston on July 22 about strategies some regions have employed to reduce emissions, including Atlanta, Charlotte, and Tysons Corner.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - July 14, 2009
The Harris County Commissioners Court expressed its support for a joint US-Canada proposal that would limit emissions from ships within 200 miles of shore.
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TIA Committee
Meeting notes - July 9, 2009
The City Council committee discussed the upcoming light rail expansion, which will be completed in four stages to reduce traffic and business impacts.
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Jackson: Health & Urban Form
UCLA Environmental Health Sciences Chair discusses our "built" environment.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - June 23, 2009
The commissioners discussed the 2010-2014 Capital Improvement Program and approved ethics reforms and a burn ban in unincorporated areas.
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Our Urban Neighborhoods
A KPFT radio dialog
Recording Available Now: Houston Tomorrow's David Crossley discussed the City's new transit-oriented development ordinance with Robin Holzer and Kay Warhol
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The Texas Triangle
Megaregions & MetroProsperity
September 24-25, 2009 - A conference in Houston will explore energy, transportation, water, and food nationally and in the Texas Triangle
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - June 9, 2009
The commissioners discusses Harris County's infrastructure.
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Parks and Recreation Budget Workshop
Workshop notes - June 4, 2009
Joe Turner presents the Parks and Recreation Department Budget to City Council
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City Council Budget Workshop
Meeting notes - May 26, 2009
Budget presentations by Houston's Finance, Planning and Development, and Public Works and Engineering Departments
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City Council Meeting
Meeting notes - June 3, 2009
City Council discusses Veterans' Affairs, reports from the Controller and the Finance Department, and various Administrative and neighborhood concerns.
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“Changing Directions”
Transportation town hall
Six local panelists and 115 participants provided their comments and questions about how to reform the federal transportation process.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - May 19, 2009
The commissioners responded to a resident seeking to create a drainage district for his subdivision and recognized a retiring employee for her service.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - May 5, 2009
The commissioners debated a transit consultant's contract and fees, named May 24-30 as Hurricane Preparedness Week, and conducted two public hearings.
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Charlier: Walkable Streets
Urban form is critical
Walking is a critical human function, according to Distinguished Speaker Jim Charlier, and urban streets must be designed with pedestrians in mind.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - April 21, 2009
The commissioners discussed the county's toll violation policies and the fact that no single entity is overseeing the county's stimulus efforts.
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - April 7, 2009
The Harris County Commissioners Court authorized grants benefiting Harris County RIDES and the Low Income Repair and Assistance Program.
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Adapting to climate change
Livable Houston Initiative
LIVABLE HOUSTON INITIATIVE UPDATE (8/01/09, 9:50 am): Video added below.————— In November 2007, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) assembled a…
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - March 24, 2009
PUBLIC MEETING NOTES Harris County Commissioners Court March 24, 2009, 10 am Download a pdf of these notes Houston Tomorrow…
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - March 10, 2009
PUBLIC MEETING NOTES Harris County Commissioners Court March 10, 2009, 10 am Download a pdf of these notes Houston Tomorrow…
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Urban Corridors Forum
Livable Houston Initiative
LIVABLE HOUSTON INITIATIVE A group of around 50 planners, engineers, architects, transportation employees, community transportation activists, and others gathered at…
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - Feb. 24, 2009
PUBLIC MEETING NOTES Harris County Commissioners Court February 24, 2009, 9:00 am Download a pdf of these notes Listen to…
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County Commissioners
Meeting notes - Feb. 10, 2009
PUBLIC MEETING NOTES Harris County Commissioners Court February 10, 2009, 10:00 am Download a pdf of these notes Houston Tomorrow…
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Sustainable Water Quality
Livable Houston Initiative
LIVABLE HOUSTON INITIATIVE UPDATE: Video added at bottom of post. There are 16,000 miles of streams and shorelines in the…
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Sustainable Growth
COH Committee meeting notes
PUBLIC MEETING NOTES City Council Sustainable Growth Committee January 26, 2009, 2:00 pm download a pdf of these notes Houston…
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Food Policy Discussions
Emerging efforts in Houston
Several long-term efforts are emerging out of the food conference Houston Tomorrow hosted in September. On December 4, journalist and…
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Reworking Transportation
CNU Sustainable Networks
At the Congress for the New Urbanism’s annual transportation summit in November, 150 transportation planners and designers met to talk…
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Food & Prosperity
A Conference in Houston
On September 4, 2008, Houston Tomorrow hosted a successful conference on Food and Sustainable Prosperity for the Houston Region in…
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Obama and the cities
Neal Peirce on his policy
UPDATE: Video added below Noting that in Barack Obama we have our “first truly urban-based president” in many decades, syndicated…
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Transportation 4 America
New ideas for access
Houston Tomorrow is a partner in Transportation for America, a broad coalition of individuals, organizations, public officials, government agencies and…
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Urban Corridors
Analysis
UPDATE: Urban Land Institute (ULI) proposes urban standards. On Wednesday, February 25, 2009, the Urban Land Institute’s Urban Corridor Planning…
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3 Professions: A Dialogue
Livable Houston Initiative
A planner, an architect, and an engineer talk about the roles of their professions in determining Houston urban form, quality of life, and sustainability
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10 Years of Change
Livable Houston Initiative
To commemorate the 10th Anniversary of Houston Tomorrow, we took the opportunity to reflect on ten years of changes in the Houston region
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Video from the Land Use Forum
Houstonians for Responsible Growth have posted videos of the four speakers from the Land Use Forum which we cosponsored with…
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Follow-up from Land Use Forum
Thank you to everyone who came out to the Land Use Forum. We had a large crowd and I think…
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General Plan Meeting Followup
Our General Plan meeting last week was a success with about 120 people in attendance. Following on the depth of questions at the event, we will post a series of materials to further illuminate the need for a General Plan in Houston.
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