040 :: winter 16 WILL ’S GREEN RENAISSANCE REACH PARK DESERTS?

BY SHERYL TUCKER DE VAZQUEZ

“ Jay looks out across the bayou before him. It is little more than a narrow, muddy strip of water flowing some thirty feet below street level …. There are thick, unkempt weeds choked up on the banks of In the last year, Houston has received the water, crawling up the cement pilings that hold national acclaim from design critics for the reinvention of its parks: “the city to watch,” Main Street overhead, and save for a dim yellow bulb says Alexandra Lange; “a paradise under the expressway,” says Karrie Jacobs; and “a bit of at the foot of a small wooden pier, Allen’s Landing nirvana,” says Mark Lamster. Echoing this praise, the Cultural Landscape Foundation is complete blackness.” held a national conference in Houston in March 2016 celebrating our “big green trans- formation.” But that conference closed with A seedy Bufalo Bayou, circa 1980s, captured in a sobering panel on equity. Has Houston’s Houston native Atica Locke’s crime novel Black green makeover only reached some neighbor- Water Rising (HarperColins, 2009), is thankfuly hoods? What about those parts of Houston a distant memory. Yet in exploring stretches of that have been lef behind? In East Houston, Hals and Greens Bayous in East Houston for this open and vacant spaces abound, but commu- article, I encountered areas that recal Locke’s nities are isolated and cut of from al types of description, places that manage to be both lush resources, including high-quality parks. And and bleak. Just steps away from parking at a Hals to the southwest, especialy in Gulfon and Bayou access point, I came upon a wel-traveled Sharpstown, too many families are packed wooden footbridge to a school, and the sound into 1970s apartment complexes with litle to of water fowing below beckoned me toward the no park access in walking distance. coolness of a low-hanging tree canopy. But the But with the Bayou Greenways 2020, promise of natural beauty and wildlife slowly which promises to enhance access in East dissipated as I continued on a path that became Houston, and with an expansion of the SPARK encumbered with tree branches, the fotsam and School Park Program, which wil create new jetsam of a nearby dump, and the stench of rot- park places in the Sharpstown neighborhoods ting garbage that became so overpowering I had to the southwest, we may see a more inclusive to turn around and return to my car. transformation. PHOTO BY ALLYN WEST ALLYN BY PHOTO Footbridge along Halls Bayou :: 041 WILL HOUSTON’S GREEN RENAISSANCE EAST HOUSTON

SHARPSTOWN

A NEW PARK EQUITY

Led by the nonproft Houston Parks Board, noted that the way people generaly use parks that 70 percent of the respondents were white Bayou Greenways 2020 intends to take advan- has evolved over time. More stationary park uses, residents with incomes over $70,000 per year tage of Houston’s “natural infrastructure” by such as picnics and balgames, have given way to living in some of the greenest sectors of Houston. transforming the 3,000 acres of green space walking, jogging, and rolerblading along park Supported and funded by the Parks Department, along Houston’s 150 miles of bayous into a con- peripheries. For those without big backyards a folow-up survey targeting African-American tinuous park. Te development of greenways or country club memberships, a park stil con- and Hispanic communities was conducted by along Houston’s bayous holds the promise jures images of manicured lawns doted with and showed a very diferent of a new park equity in Houston. Once com- shade trees and picnic tables alongside grils, hierarchy of desires for public parks. Minority pleted, the greenways should put 60 percent of while others envision open green felds set up respondents were more pragmatic in their Houstonians within 1.5 miles of public green for soccer or basebal games, and facilities with concerns: upgrade of existing facilities, beter space, whereas today 55 percent of Houston’s outdoor swimming pools. How can the bayou bathrooms, park safety and maintenance, more parkland is concentrated in three major blocks greenways be inclusive of al these diferent ver- programs, and beter parking were top concerns. of the 610 Loop. Afer the city’s bond approval sions of a park? Connectivity was at the botom of the list, with of the 2020 Initiative, Roksam Okan-Vick, When the Bayou Greenways team and city just 0.6 percent of the respondents listing it former executive director of the Houston Parks ofcials discuss the greenways, they focus on as a desire. Te Rice researchers concluded by Board, reiterated this point: “Our mission is to them as places of mobility: 1) as a looping trail underscoring “the need to be inclusive of voices secure the equitable distribution of parkland primarily for recreation and exercise, and 2) as typicaly under-represented in planning pro- for our entire region, and these bayous have no a means to access specifc destinations, from cesses, namely those of racial minorities and boundaries, connecting neighbor to neighbor schools and transit stations, to job centers and low-income populations. In Houston, particu- and homes to businesses throughout our area.” even grocery stores. Te experientialy rich lar efort must be made to beter existing parks But what does “equitable distribution of connectivity ofered by the greenways wil cer- infrastructure in these communities.” parkland” mean in the country’s most diverse tainly atract higher-income milennials to As the greenways dramaticaly increase the city? For that mater, what does “park” mean? Houston. A Parks Department survey showed city’s park acreage, questions emerge. Wil they Is it enough to have accessible green space or that Houstonians most desired “connectivity” also mediate the efects of Houston’s sprawl on do parks require infrastructure for organized in their public green spaces, but the results of low-income residents like those in East Houston, activities? Te Houston Parks Department has the survey were chalenged when it was revealed where distance limits their access to opportunity? MAP COURTESY COMMUNITY DESIGN RESOURCE CENTER RESOURCE DESIGN COMMUNITY COURTESY MAP Little York Rd

Greens Bayou

Halls Bayou Mesa Rd Mesa Tidwell Rd

Tidwell Transit Center T

Brock Park

Lee Rd

042 :: How much public green space wil the greenways deliver to a densely populated and heavily devel- oped Sharpstown area in Houston’s southwest? Answers to such questions require recogniz-

ing each bayou and its adjacent neighborhoods E Houston Rd Houston E as unique, interconnected systems. Accordingly, the Parks Board has commissioned a diferent CR Railroad | Beaumont Hwy landscape architecture team to address the spe- cifc opportunities and chalenges of each bay- ou-and-neighborhood nexus. In areas beyond the paved trails of the greenways, only signage and furnishings wil be uniformly developed throughout the network. Another consideration is the fact that the T Maxey Rd Transit Center greenways may read as linear elements on a map, but they are actualy fairly wide—50 feet wide LEGEND in more urban areas and up to 100 feet wide in suburban communities. Tey have the poten- Little York Rd Existing Park Existing Bike Trail tial to widen in places to become pul-out parks Proposed Bike Trail that could tie into existing public amenities like T Transit Center Greens Bayou YMCAs or smaler public parks. Others could be used as event spaces or sites for art instalations. Halls Bayou Tere are as many versions of the pul-out park

as there are neighborhoods. Te Parks Board Rd Mesa Tidwell Rd sees them as evolving organicaly over time as Tidwell Transit Center they are designed and funded by the communi- T

ties themselves. Brock Park

Lee Rd East Houston

THE RIBBON IN THE WOODS Rd Houston E

Te landscape architecture frm Clark Condon CR Railroad | Beaumont Hwy Associates was awarded the design of Greens and Hals Bayous on the northeast side. Along

the mostly riparian Hals Bayou in North that enclose it on three sides. Although a Kinder MOLICK PETER BY PHOTO MAIN. ADELLE BY MAP Houston, the Parks Board purchased land to fl Institute report shows that the neighborhood has in the “gaps” from Brock Park to Jensen Drive, among the fewest number of cars per household creating a continuous greenway linking the in Houston, the community was designed with Eastex/Jenson, East Litle York/Homestead, and car use in mind: it consists mostly of single-fam- East Houston neighborhoods. ily homes in discrete suburban tract subdivisions T Maxey Rd Transit Center East Houston (not to be mistaken for clustered on the western side of the neighbor- EaDo or East End) is a predominantlyLEGEND African- hood. To the south is a large industrial park and American and Hispanic community in Houston’s Existing Parkto the northwest is Brock Park, a municipal golf northeast quadrangle between the Loop Existing and Bikecourse. Trail In addition, East Houston has six public Proposed Bike Trail Beltway 8. With only 19,000 residents T over Transit 11 Centerparks and three SPARK parks. Te greenways wil square miles, East Houston is sparsely popu- add 439 acres of publicly accessible greenspace to lated and heavily treed — so much so that the the East Houston Super Neighborhood. Tough Parks Board dubbed Hals Bayou “the ribbon in METRO bus routes are limited in the neighbor- the woods.” Located on the outer periphery of hood, buses do run north-south along Mesa Drive, Houston, the neighborhood is further isolated the main commercial corridor, and east-west by railroad, utility, and highway infrastructure along Tidwel. Little York Rd

Greens Bayou

Halls Bayou Mesa Rd Mesa Tidwell Rd Tidwell Transit Center T Located on the outer periphery Brock Park of Houston, the neighborhood is Lee Rd further isolated by railroad, utility,

and highway infrastructure that E Houston Rd Houston E CR Railroad | Beaumont Hwy enclose it on three sides.

In this fairly isolated community, 30 per- upgrades and maintenance. Tis fnding cor- Unlike the city’s older minority neighborhoods cent of the population lives under the poverty relates with report. like the Fifh Ward, which are wel connected level. A large Fiesta grocery at the Mesa/Tidwel While connectivity was at the botom of and walkable, lower-income neighborhoods T Maxey Rd Transit Center intersection provides access to fresh produce, the list of desires in the Rice report on its survey on the city’s periphery, as noted earlier, were and several meat markets doted along Mesa of minorities regarding parks, the Parks Board developed with car travel in mind, and city LEGEND serve the neighborhood. Nevertheless, like res- counters that the importance of connectivity data shows that the vast majority of residents Existing Park idents of many lower-income neighborhoods, in the lower income neighborhoods adjacent in East Houston commute to work by car. Te Existing Bike Trail East Houstonians sufer from diabetes and to Hals and Greens Bayous should not be dis- long-term Houston Bike Plan shows a north- Proposed Bike Trail T Transit Center heart disease in slightly higher percentages counted. Tey make a good point. Located on south bike lane through the neighborhood than the average Houstonian — ilnesses that the outskirts of the city, East Houston is isolated along North Wayside, but it ends at the railroad can be beter controled with active lifestyles. from major job centers and higher education tracks just outside of the Loop. Tere it inter- Te residents already have access to multiple institutions. Because the community is sparsely sects with the railroad tracks just outside of the public parks — a 2014 Parks Department report populated and ridership is low, already limited 610 Loop. Trafc whizes by at high speeds and, showed that the residents had adequate access Metro bus lines were cut further in last year’s understandably, it no longer meets the Bike to green space — but those park facilities needed reimagining of the Houston transit system. Plan’s standard for either safety or comfort. 044 :: MAP BY ADELLE MAIN BASED ON DRAWING BY H. ANSARI, J. LEMLEY, C. MURRAY, A. PARKER AND M. RIVAS RIVAS M. AND PARKER A. MURRAY, C. LEMLEY, J. ANSARI, H. BY DRAWING ON BASED MAIN ADELLE BY MAP DESIGN COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTERSEENCCDI IN -4 AS BRIEFING BOOKS

Public greenspace works out to just 60 square feet per resident— far below the standard of 109 square feet per resident. PHOTO BY PETER MOLICK PETER BY PHOTO Bush Elementary (right) will have a SPARK Park. Arthur Storey Park is made inaccessible to pedestrians by Beltway 8. :: 045

Westpark

Sam Houston Tollway of green space for almost 80,000 people. Tis

To George works out to be about 78 square feet of public Bush Park Southwest Freeway greenspace per resident — far below the Parks Bellaire Blvd Department standard of 109 square feet per res- ident. Te addition of the greenway along the fve and a half miles of Brays Bayou would add 26 acres of greenspace and bring the ratio of public parkland per resident to about 93 square feet, stil short of the Parks goal. Te density

Beechnut and development that makes Sharpstown such a vibrant neighborhood means there is not Bissonnet St much available vacant land for park space. Te most viable option to increase public greenspace, therefore, is the SPARK School

To Medical Center Park Program, which partners with schools to Brays Bayou and Hermann Park create joint-use parks. In exchange for fnan- cial investments to build on or upgrade their LEGEND Existing Park grounds, the schools agree to alow public Existing Spark on School Grounds Existing Bike Trail access to the resulting parks afer school hours Sharpstown Country Club Proposed Spark and on weekends for neighborhood residents. Proposed Bike Trail Tere are eight charter/private schools in Sharpstown and 11 public schools — four of which already have SPARK parks. If the POCKET PARKS IN A CONCRETE EXPANSE remaining seven public schools alone joined the program, the square footage of green space accessible to residents would rise to 50. Sharpstown Bush Elementary, located on the north side of Belaire where Sharpstown’s multifamily Sharpstown is located just outside the Loop in are multiple shopping districts, including housing is most concentrated and where pov- southwest Houston, and the future greenway Chinatown, the Mahatma Gandhi District, and erty rates are higher, is slated to become part along Brays Bayou forms fve and a half miles PlazAmericas, now occupied by smal, localy of the SPARK School Park Program next year. of its southwest border. Although it was devel- owned shops and vendors. Like East Houston, Tis Bush Elementary SPARK park wil add oped as a white suburban enclave in the 1950s, the median income of Sharpstown residents is about 11.5 acres of green space to the commu- Sharpstown has evolved into a diverse, mixed- about 69 percent that of Houstonians at large, nity. (Public greenspace calculations for the use community with a large Hispanic and Asian but unlike that northeast community, the SPARK park programs are based on the entire presence, especialy in the Gulfon section. Sharpstown area is wel connected to the greater school property square footage — not just With over 77,000 people living in over eight and Houston area through METRO bus lines — and the playground area.) A grant from Houston a half square miles, it is one of the most densely also wel served by several large grocery store Endowment in 2014 funded a study by the Trust populated neighborhoods in Houston. chains and multiple local ethnic groceries. Te for Public Land that identifed Houston’s park Sharpstown consists of single-family rate of diabetes and heart disease in Sharpstown deserts and where new parks would beneft the houses in subdivisions and large-scale mul- is actualy slightly lower than in the larger most people. Te SPARK School Park Program tifamily developments, along with large Houston area. is using that map and a $2.5 milion grant from commercial and industrial areas. Te commu- Sharpstown, however, fares less wel in Houston Endowment (matched by another $2.5 nity is bisected by Belaire Boulevard and the terms of public green space. Excluding the milion by the Kinder Foundation) to expand Southwest Freeway, both major commercial cor- fee-for-use Sharpstown Golf Course, the neigh- their program to the schools that would serve ridors. Representing the community’s diversity borhood has nine public parks with 139 acres areas with the greatest need. 046 :: EQUITY e new greenways and SPARK parks are pow are parks SPARK and greenways new Te ct’ ms bsc linkages basic most city’s Te distribution of any limited public resource resource public limited any of distribution older neighborhoods, which were designed weldesigned were which neighborhoods, older To liveability. and atractiveness communities’ active engagement, social identity, community Neighborhood liveability. and landscaping of greenspace. to access everyday the in disparity AN INCOMPLETE AGENDA streets are the public spaces that create the most t the city with a more equi more a with city the retroft to tools erful prcae h ipc o te tetcp, we streetscape, the of impact the appreciate er from environmental environmental from er f su who those for plish injustices anddisinvestment. par issues, complex with fraught always is rne n entire in diference the make to and lifestyles, create to opportunities potent are Streets ities. table distribution of greenspace, but the fair fair the but greenspace, of distribution table there are limits to what they alone can accom can alone they what to limits are there as diverse and sprawling as city a in ticularly Houston. While both the greenways and the the and greenways the both While Houston. for inclusiveness and diversity in public parks, parks, public in diversity and inclusiveness for ennfl akrp o u dyt-a activ day-to-day our to backdrop meaningful have only to walk along the streets of Houston’sof streets the along walk to only have hood streets SPARK park program provide strong models models strong provide program park SPARK We don’t need to look far to see the marked Wethe see to far look don’tto need

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are woefuly imbalanced in terms

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t neighbor its ------greenways or additional SPARK parks, but wi lbut parks, SPARK additional or greenways of perception e T country. the in cities gated stand the important role of the most basic of of basic most the of role important the stand oe f h ct’ lval sres lk Kane like streets, liveable city’s the of some to transform them them transform to l wi political the and access, greenspace of distribution the in part large a rud h ct, hr rsdns experience residents where city, the around public realms beyond that as connectors for car car for connectors as that beyond realms public under to makers policy and planners require o hp i a oe f h ms income-segre most the of one as it shape to which have forces, also helped to market-driven Houston as a heavily paved, car-centric city wil leflargely been have decisions these Houston for alHoustonians. the of development the by enged l cha be not Street inHouston’s SixthWard. between lower and higher income areas. In In areas. income higher and lower between eoe h cr eae o rtcl o moving to critical so became car the before In most cities, planning decisions play play decisions planning cities, most In alone can accomplish for the Bayou Greenways There are limits to what and disinvestment. environmental injustices those who suffer from - - East Houston, Englewood Yard near Wayside Drive and610

PHOTO BY PETER MOLICK