Park-Smart Precinct One

Park-Smart Precinct One

The Trust for Public Land August 2019

© 2019 The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.

tpl.org Table of contents

Preface...... 4

Executive summary...... 7

Section 1: Why Park-Smart Precinct One?...... 13

Section 2: Park-Smart approach...... 16

Section 3: Precinct One overview...... 28

Section 4: Community priorities: engagement results...... 49

Section 5: Geographic priorities: spatial data analysis results...... 65

Section 6: Implementing Park-Smart Precinct One...... 81

Conclusion...... 87

Online Appendices https://web.tplgis.org/parksmart_precinctone/ Appendix 1: Current conditions report Appendix 2: Benchmarking study report Appendix 3: GIS criteria matrix Appendix 4: Online survey report Appendix 5: Phone poll report Appendix 6: Community workshop results Appendix 7: Park case study report Appendix 8: Interview results Appendix 9: Steering Committee notes Appendix 10: Participant list Appendix 11: References

park-smart precinct one 3 Preface

Acknowledgments Park-Smart Precinct One was a collaborative effort. Over 2,000 community members participated in the project’s community engagement. Experts from local government agencies, nonprofits, universities, and local businesses guided the overall process as members of the project’s Steering Committee, participated in interviews to better understand the local context, and guided the project’s mapping analysis as members of a Technical Advisory Team. Park-Smart Precinct One would not have been possible without the generosity of Houston Endowment. Finally, we are enormously grateful to the staff of Precinct One, who have spent countless hours guiding this project.

Project staff This report was prepared by The Trust for Public Land in partnership with Precinct One. The Park-Smart Precinct One effort was a collaboration of The Trust for Public Land, Precinct One, Houston Parks Board, and Asakura Robinson with additional help from several outside consultants.

The Trust for Public Land Chambers Washington, General Lisa Graiff, Beyond the Bayous Matt Dixit Moffa, Research and Superintendent of Parks Project Manager Innovation Project Manager Amar Mohite, Director of Planning Amanda Nunley, GIS Project Kristen Weil, GIS Project Manager and Infrastructure Coordinator Marlon Connley, Houston Program Jakob Stewart, Communications Manager Coordinator Asakura Robinson Matthew Clarke, National Creative Maureen Haver, Communications Luis Guajardo, AICP, Senior Planner Director Placemaking Director Keiji Asakura, Principal Ana Yanez-Correa, Director of Policy Alexandra Hiple, Center for City Zakcq Lockrem, AICP, Managing Parks Excellence Program Manager Reginald Adams, Director of Public Principal—Director of Planning Art and Design (former) Lida Aljabar, Interim Director, Eric Leshinsky, Senior Designer and Climate-Smart Cities Amber Weed, Senior Policy Advisor Planner (former) Chrissy Pepino, Junior Planning Katie Short, Senior Policy Advisor Saima Musharrat, Planner (former) Project Manager (former) Lance Gilliam, Senior Policy Emma Hoffman, Creative Advisor Additional Consultants Placemaking Intern (former) Tyler James, Senior Policy Advisor Kate Lenzer, GISP, Unique Places GIS Jennifer Plowden, Senior & Design, GIS & Design Associate Conservation Economist Houston Parks Board Laura Tolley, Principal Consultant, LT Beth White, President and CEO Communications Precinct One Chip Place, Managing Director of Amy Wilson Morris, PhD, Principal, Brandon Dudley, Chief of Staff Capital Programs Land and Water Connections Consulting, former Associate William Taylor, Director of Lisa Kasianowitz, Community Development and Infrastructure Director of Planning for The Trust for Outreach Manager Public Land Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Community Engagement Coordinator

4 park-smart precinct one Project partners The Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to creating parks and protecting land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Since 1972, The Trust for Public Land has helped protect more than three million acres in all 50 states.

Precinct One manages more than 200 parks, 11 community centers, numerous hike-and-bike trails, three maintenance service centers and several area offices, all of which provide an array of services to Precinct One residents. Commissioner Rodney Ellis’s mission is to better the lives of the people in Precinct One by providing quality and accessible services and programs and fighting for important reforms that benefit all Harris County residents.

The Houston Parks Board creates, improves, protects, and advocates for parks for everyone. The vision of the Houston Parks Board is thriving parks and communities for everyone forever.

Asakura Robinson is a planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm which strengthens environments and positively impacts communities through innovation, engagement, stewardship, and an integrated design process and our employees are leaders in social and environmental design.

For more information, please contact:

William Taylor Director, Development and Infrastructure, Precinct One [email protected]

Robert Kent North Texas Area Director, The Trust for Public Land [email protected]

For copies of this report, please contact: [email protected]

park-smart precinct one 5 Message from Commissioner Rodney Ellis

Providing access to parks and greenspace is one of my primary dabphoto responsibilities as a Harris County Commissioner. The immense health, environmental, and social benefits that communities experience from parks and greenspaces also underscore the importance of ensuring equitable access to high-quality parklands for people in all Precinct One communities. “Equity” is one of the guiding tenets of Precinct One’s mission and this project aligns our actions with our mission.

With Park-Smart’s community-driven results, we have a stronger understanding of how Precinct One can provide a more enriching experience in our parks and greenspaces, improve quality of life, and foster environmental resiliency in all of our communities. One clear theme emerged in the report: Precinct One needs to focus on investments that improve our existing parks. Whether it is adding hike and bike trails, improving facility maintenance, adding programs, or improving safety, we hear you loud and clear. While we are always making park improvements, we are committed to making it an even greater focus going forward.

Precinct One will use its limited resources to invest in its existing parks and unique new greenspace opportunities, but we can’t do it all. I encourage groups and individuals to use this report—especially the mapping tool—to identify and advocate for new park and greenspace projects in their communities and in cooperation with other governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, charitable foundations, and/or community-based organizations.

I want to thank all Steering Committee members, the Technical Advisory Team, and our community members who were very active participants in our community engagement process. This process could not have been successful without our partners at the Houston Parks Board and The Trust for Public Land. A special thank-you is owed to Houston Endowment for its generous financial support of Park-Smart.

Stronger parks lead to stronger communities. Building on the transparent and community- focused approach of Park-Smart, I am looking forward to working closely with neighborhoods across Precinct One to enhance our parks so that they will continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.

Sincerely, Commissioner Rodney Ellis

6 park-smart precinct one Executive summary

Introduction Measuring roughly 375 square miles, Harris County’s Precinct One is home to 1.1 million people. The 302 parks in Precinct One provide enormous benefits to local residents, receiving 33 million visits annually. Open space, parks, gardens, and trails can provide critical green infrastructure to help Precinct One improve community health and well-being, build the social connections necessary for community resilience, and meet environmental challenges. However, roughly half of Precinct One residents do not have access to a close-to-home park. Park-Smart Precinct One was launched in 2018 with the goal of determining the most equitable and strategic ways to build community resilience by expanding access to all the benefits of close- to-home parks and trails.

Community priorities Park-Smart Precinct One engaged over 2,000 local residents through various in-person engagement methods, an online survey, and a phone poll. For a detailed discussion of engagement results, see Section 4.

Key findings include:

• Residents use parks a lot—an estimated 33 million park visits per year. Seventy-three percent of telephone poll participants use local parks and trails, and the online poll indicated that 94 percent of households used parks. • Protecting land to control flooding is an extremely high priority. • Fitness is the top reason for using parks, followed by recreation and experiencing nature. • Feeling unsafe is the biggest barrier to using parks. • There is a major need for safe walking and biking routes to other important community destinations in addition to parks. • Trails are heavily used for exercise, recreation, and experiencing nature and wildlife, but are much less commonly used for transportation. • Greater connectivity in the active transportation network including better, safer walking and biking paths would increase both park and trail use. • Restrooms, paths, drinking fountains, playgrounds, and picnic shelters are the highest priority amenities. • Residents want to incorporate art into local parks by engaging youth in arts education and expanding murals, large-scale interactive installations, and spaces for performing arts.



park-smart precinct one 7 figure 1 Overall priorities | Park-Smart Precinct One, Harris County Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only.

8 park-smart precinct one Geographic priorities Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis was crucial to identifying the areas within Precinct One with the greatest park need. Because parks and trails provide so many interconnected benefits, the GIS analysis addressed much more than simply the existing locations of parks and trails.

Park-Smart Precinct One’s GIS analysis was organized into the following objectives, each of which is discussed in more detail in Section 5.

Park access: Identify areas with the least close-to-home access to parks

Socioeconomic Vulnerability: Identify areas with the greatest socioeconomic vulnerability

Community Health: Identify areas with the highest levels of health inequity

Flooding and Water Quality: Identify areas where parks and land protection would do the most to prevent flooding and protect water quality

Heat Islands and Air Quality: Identify areas where parks and trees would do the most to reduce urban heat islands and improve air quality

Trails and Active Transportation: Identify the areas with the greatest need for trails and active transit routes

The highest overall priority areas include Alief, Kashmere Gardens, East Houston, Acres Homes, Northside, and the neighborhoods surrounding George Bush Intercontinental Airport (see Figure 1 ).

Implementation guidelines Making the vision of Park-Smart Precinct One a reality will require persistence and collaboration. Section 6 lists the top recommendations that emerged from the project’s extensive community engagement, interviews with local stakeholders and experts, and the guidance of the project’s Steering Committee, and provides potential partners with whom to collaborate to make these changes a reality.

park-smart precinct one 9 What Is Precinct One?

Harris County in southeast Texas is a region of over 4.5 million people. The county is divided into four county commissioner districts, or precincts, with Precinct One at its center (see Figure 2 ). Precinct One is one of the most vibrant and ethnically diverse areas in the country. The precinct covers over 370 square miles, an area larger than New York City. The communities that make up Precinct One range in character from urban to rural, but they face many of the same challenges. The devastating impacts of Hurricane Harvey demonstrated the region’s vulnerability to severe storms and flooding but also highlighted Precinct One’s community spirit and ingenuity, pointing the way toward a precinct in which expanded parks, trails, and green space foster exceptional community resilience.

Precinct One contains 302 parks, totaling roughly 12,066 acres, but the benefits of these parks are not equally distributed. Currently, only 52 percent of Precinct One residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park (a growing national standard for park access). Of Harris County’s four precincts, Precinct One has the highest percentage of its population living below poverty (22.9

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10 park-smart precinct one dabphoto

Community members enjoy a walk at The Hill at Sims Greenway, a site that provides recreational access and reduces flood risk in the surrounding neighborhood.

percent), the lowest median household income ($46,970), and the lowest level of owner-occupied housing (41.9 percent).1

Visioni Precinct One’s parks and greenways provide safe, welcoming, accessible, healthy spaces that promote community well-being and resilience.

Goal Determine the most equitable and strategic ways to build community resilience by expanding access to all the benefits of close-to-home parks and trails.

Objectives 1. Foster deep, diverse community engagement that gives residents a strong voice in shaping the project. 2. Work with local experts to identify where high-quality close-to-home parks and trails are needed most. 3. Empower Precinct One and local organizations to improve community resilience by improving access to the benefits of parks.

Guiding principles

1. C reating the vision for a Park-Smart Precinct One must be an inclusive process. We want to hear all voices, particularly those that are often underrepresented and underserved. We will work to involve people from all backgrounds who face barriers to participation. Our process needs to be accessible and transparent, and our results must reflect the community’s wishes.

i The project team determined the goal and the objectives for this effort. The vision and the guiding principles were developed over the course of several public meetings in collaboration with the Steering Committee and other community participants.

park-smart precinct one 11 2. C ommunity engagement must be an ongoing process. By adopting a flexible timeline for engagement activities, the role for community participation will have room to evolve.

3. C lose-to-home parks and trails are not optional amenities. They are necessary for building community resilience and providing the excellent quality of life, including opportunities for physical activity, that Precinct One residents deserve.

4. Parks and trails provide diverse benefits—and should be designed to maximize these benefits. Parks and trails bring people together, improve community health, provide equitable economic opportunity, protect local air and water quality, and reduce flooding and rising temperatures.

5. E quity is central to park planning. Lack of access to the benefits of parks and trails contributes to broader disparities. We want to expand access where communities need it most. Special consideration should be made to providing access for residents of all ages, abilities, and income levels.

6. Peo ple will not use parks and trails if they do not feel safe. We have to address safety in order to create real access.

7. Parks and trails should be creative and fun. Integrating arts and cultural elements plays an important role in making parks and trails welcoming—and connecting them to local history and traditions.

8. H aving access to better parks and trails should not lead to gentrification and displacement for vulnerable communities. We want to promote partnerships, policies, and programs that minimize the risk of gentrification and displacement and increase community investment and resilience.

9. C ollaboration and strategic partnerships are key to success. This is an ambitious effort. Expanding access to parks and trails in Precinct One will require the shared expertise and resources of local, state, and national organizations and agencies.

10.  We want to foster deep-rooted connections between communities and their parks. Focusing on equity and ensuring that community members feel safe, welcome, and happy using their parks and trails will empower local stewardship.

11.  Parks are an essential component of the precinct’s infrastructure. They have the potential to reduce the risk of flooding, cool urban heat islands, and improve water quality.

12.  Ensuring long-term maintenance is a necessary step in the creation of a successful park. Proper upkeep is pivotal to safeguarding the benefits provided by parks. We need to consider creative solutions to park maintenance issues in the precinct, such as adopt-a-park programs.

12 park-smart precinct one 1. Why Park-Smart Precinct One?

Parks provide enormous benefits. Open space, parks, gardens, and trails can provide critical green infrastructure to help Precinct One improve community health and well-being, build social connections necessary for community resilience, and meet environmental challenges. Parks and green space can benefit all residents of Precinct One by:

Providing recreational opportunities Parks provide important spaces for fun and safe outdoor experiences. Since parks are free, they provide an important recreation option for low-income residents. Playgrounds provide important opportunities for children to develop intellectual and social skills through play, and fitness zones provide important resources for adults to exercise.2

Improving health Parks provide mental and physical health benefits by creating opportunities for physical activity, social gathering, reducing stress, and improving immune system function.3 Close- to-home green spaces have been shown to reduce the prevalence of heart disease, depression, asthma, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions.4

Strengthening communities Having close-to-home parks and green space increases community cohesion, builds stronger social connections, and increases “collective efficacy” (levels of mutual trust and willingness to help others).5 Higher levels of collective efficacy are associated with lower rates of asthma, premature mortality, assaults, and homicide.6

“I’ve toured Precinct One and our parks and trails by bike, car, and foot— before and after Harvey. As a result, I’ve gained a unique perspective on the importance of creating equitable access to quality parks and green space for all people and communities in Precinct One. Parks should not be considered amenities, they’re neighborhood necessities. Parks connect our communities, support healthy lifestyles, and provide green spaces with environmental and social benefits. Park-Smart will bring to life opportunities and ideas that will enhance the lives of our neighbors, friends, and families for years to come.” — R odney Ellis commissioner, Precinct One

park-smart precinct one 13 Improving air and water quality Parks have the potential to improve local air and water quality. Air pollution poses a substantial health risk to urban communities, causing 200,000 premature deaths and 16,000 preterm births in the United States each year. Urban trees provide an estimated $3.8 billion of air pollution removal services each year—removing health-threatening pollution such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter.7 Parks also reduce polluted stormwater runoff by creating a break in impervious surfaces.8

Mitigating risks from climate change Parks reduce the harmful impacts of climate change, such as flooding and rising temperatures. Each year extreme heat kills over 600 people in the United States.9 In a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect, temperatures in cities are warmer than surrounding rural areas. Trees and other vegetation help combat the impacts of urban heat islands by creating shade, breaking up heat-retaining surfaces like pavement, and cooling through evapotranspiration.10 Parks and green infrastructure features like bioswales and rain gardens can also help prevent flooding by allowing water to soak into the soil rather than running off into streets or storm sewers. A 2014 survey identified over 5,000 acres of parkland in 48 major cities that had been modified in some way to control stormwater.11

Boosting the local economy Texas’s local parks and recreation agencies generate over $7.7 billion in economic activity each year and support over 60,000 jobs.12 Parks, including community parks, provide the infrastructure for Texas’s growing outdoor industry. Outdoor recreation in Texas directly supports 411,000 jobs—even more than the oil and gas industry (212,000). It also generates $52.6 billion in consumer spending, $15.8 billion in wages and salaries, and $3.5 billion in state and local tax revenue.13 Parks directly support businesses like concessions and bike or canoe rentals, but they play a key role in attracting and retaining all kinds of businesses that employ local workers.14 Parks with unique amenities can attract visitors from around the world, and even very basic parks can attract visitors who contribute to the local economy by attending cultural events and sports tournaments.ii

ii Because parks improve quality of life, they can increase property values. Although this can benefit local homeowners, it has also been linked to “green gentrification” and the displacement of low-income residents. One of the guiding principles for this project is that “having access to better parks and trails should not lead to gentrification and displacement for vulnerable communities.” In order to prevent gentrification and displacement, it is important to ensure that park and trail projects are developed with resident leadership; that they meet the needs of local communities, especially low-income families; and that parallel efforts are made to protect tenants and preserve and expand affordable housing. One promising strategy is joint development of parks and affordable housing.

14 park-smart precinct one Everyone deserves access to the benefits provided by parks Parks provide enormous benefits to the residents of Precinct One. However, park access is not allocated evenly across the precinct. Roughly half of the population does not live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Park-Smart Precinct One aims to determine the most equitable and strategic ways to build community resilience by expanding access to all the benefits of close- to-home parks and trails. This effort helps identify where additional park resources are needed most. This unique project will advance equitable access to quality parks and green spaces for all Precinct One communities and create tools to improve the health and quality of life for residents, expand environmental safeguards, and help build long-term community resilience for all residents and neighborhoods in and near Precinct One.

Park-Smart is necessary now more than ever, as the region’s rapid population growth has increased the need for parks while reducing the availability of land to build them. Likewise, the destruction that Hurricane Harvey unleashed on the region highlights the need for green infrastructure to help alleviate the area’s problems with extreme weather. dabphoto

Measuring 598 acres, Tom Bass Regional Park is one of Precinct One’s largest parks.

park-smart precinct one 15 2. Park-Smart approach

Park-Smart Precinct One is a partnership of The Trust for Public Land, Commissioner Table 2. Enhanced property value due to proximity to Rodney Ellis and his staff at Harris County Precinct One, the Houston Parks Board, and Metroparks Toledo in Lucas County (2018$) Asakura Robinson. It has been funded in large part by a very generous grant from Houston Endowment.

Overall approach and timeline This project brings together scientific data, technical analysis, and deep community engagement to create a shared vision. This vision points the way toward building community resilience through expanded access to close-to-home parks and trails. Both equity and resilience are central to this project. The project’s extensive community engagement was equity driven, with the goal of reducing barriers to participation and ensuring that underrepresented and underserved voices were heard, respected, and incorporated into recommendations.

Figure 3 shows the main elements of the Park-Smart process and their timing. asa k ura robinson

Hearing from local residents was integral to the Park-Smart Precinct One process.

16 park-smart precinct one STEERING STEERING STEERING STEERING COMMITTEE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE MEETING MEETING MEETING MEETING

COMMUNITY COMMUNITY COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS

2017 2018 2019

SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB

FOCUS GROUPS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPEAK-OUTS PARKS & TRAILS SURVEY

EXISTING CONDITIONS ANALYSIS

TRAIL CONNECTIVITY STUDY

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE STUDY

ARTS / CULTURE COORDINATION

PARK SMART PLAN DEVELOPMENT

PARK SMART PLAN RELEASE

figure 3 Park-Smart Precinct One calendar

Ultimately, two major products emerged from the Park-Smart effort: (1) this report, which discusses the results of both the project’s community engagement and its technical analysis, along with recommendations for addressing the major needs that were uncovered during this process, and (2) a decision-support tool, which incorporates both scientific data and informed community perspectives. The decision-support tool allows stakeholders to dynamically identify the areas of the precinct where investments in parks and trails will make the most difference— particularly with an eye toward equity.

The process of developing the report findings, recommendations, and decision-support tool was iterative. At each step in the process, community input informed priorities and how data were collected and interpreted. Figure 4 shows a model of the iterative approach used for Park-Smart Precinct One.

park-smart precinct one 17 Engage community members

Empower the community to take action

Identify high-need areas through mapping and modeling

figure 4 Model of the Park-Smart Precinct One approach

Defining key terms The project team worked with members of the Steering Committee to develop shared definitions of community resilience, equity, and vulnerability for Park-Smart Precinct One. These definitions informed how each element of the project was approached.

What Is Community Resilience? A resilient community has a sustained ability to use its resources to withstand and recover from adversity, as well as adapt to changing conditions. In an exceptionally resilient community, even the most vulnerable community members are resilient in the face of challenging environmental and social circumstances.

What Is Equity? Equity refers to legal and lived access to resources necessary for individuals, families, and communities to succeed regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, country of origin, age, physical or mental disability, etc. Equity specifically considers systemic inequality to provide increased support to the most vulnerable; this differentiates it from equality.

What Is Vulnerability? Vulnerability is made up of all the characteristics that decrease the ability of individuals and communities to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from hazards. Vulnerability is a function of exposure to hazards, sensitivity to those hazards, and adaptive capacity. Hazards here include acute, large-scale hazards like flooding and more diffuse hazards like heat stress, pollution exposure, high crime rates, poverty, and limited access to educational opportunities. Sensitivity is higher for groups facing socioeconomic challenges and compromised health.

18 park-smart precinct one Community engagement Community engagement was at the heart of the Park-Smart Precinct One process (see Figure 5 ). Only by hearing directly from community members could the project team understand barriers to park use and priorities for the precinct’s parks and trails. In order to hear from as many residents as possible, the project team employed a variety of in-person and remote engagement strategies. These are described below.

Community Workshops Park-Smart’s community workshops were public events held throughout Precinct One. Three rounds of community workshops were conducted, each round including workshops at four locations. Each workshop included approximately five interactive activities to engage community members in key project questions and issues. Workshop locations were intended to maximize the racial, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity of voices and the project’s reach. Spanish-language translation was available at each of the workshops. In total, 330 community members participated in the community workshops. For detailed community workshop summaries, see Appendix 6. asa k ura robinson

Workshop attendees discuss priorities for their local parks.

park-smart precinct one 19 figure 5 Park-Smart Precinct One outreach events

20 park-smart precinct one figure 5 Park-Smart Precinct One outreach events

park-smart precinct one 21 Focus Groups The planning team conducted two Park-Smart Precinct One focus groups. The focus groups were similar to the community workshops, but they addressed specific park-related objectives with targeted groups of key stakeholders. One session focused on park access for people with disabilities (20 participants) while the other, Park smART, focused on expanding opportunities for arts and cultural engagement (34 participants) in parks and trails. The focus group for people with disabilities included activities and materials adapted to increase accessibility, while the arts focus group included activities that generated collaborative art projects.

Speak-Outs Speak-outs involved interactive tabling at community events within the precinct. Speak-outs allowed the planning team to share the project and get input from residents who would be unlikely to attend community workshops. Speak-outs were conducted at 30 public events, which had a combined attendance of nearly 5,000 people.

Telephone Poll The Park-Smart Precinct One phone poll was conducted by Luce Research, a professional polling firm, in February 2018. It collected input from a demographically and statistically representative A sa k ura R obinson

Local artists review ideas for art in the park at the Park smART focus group.

22 park-smart precinct one A sa k ura R obinson

Speak-outs involve interactive tabling at community events. By meeting community members where they are, Park-Smart was able to gather input from residents who may have been unable to attend a workshop.

sample of 500 residents. Respondents provided information about the frequency of their visits to Harris County parks and trails, barriers to greater use, and their priorities for future Precinct One park investment. The demographics of phone poll respondents were: Black/African American 192 (38.40 percent), Hispanic 139 (27.80 percent), White 119 (23.80 percent), Asian or Pacific Islander 14 (2.80 percent), and American Indian/Native American 3 (0.60 percent), with Other 21 (4.20 percent), Don’t know 2 (0.40 percent), and Refused 10 (2.00 percent) (see Appendix 5 for the detailed phone poll summary).

Online Survey The Park-Smart online survey allowed residents to share their perspectives on current parks and trails in Precinct One and where to focus future improvements. The survey was available in English and Spanish from November 2017 to February 2018 and received 1,097 responses. Most of the responses were online, but about 40 were submitted through hard-copy forms that were filled out at community events. Although overall responses were robust and represented a wide diversity of Precinct One ethnic groups, ages, and income and education levels, responses were not spread proportionately among these demographics. Survey respondents were slightly skewed toward females (59 percent), generally older than the Precinct One population (with a median age of 52 and an average age of 54), white (60 percent), and affluent. Forty-four percent of households earned over $100,000 annually. To avoid biasing the survey’s results toward these demographics, results to certain questions were analyzed independently based on race/

park-smart precinct one 23 T he T rust for P ublic L and

A Steering Committee of over 50 local experts guided Park-Smart Precinct One from start to finish.

ethnicity and income. This was done wherever statistical analysis of survey results indicated significant differences in answers between these groups (see Appendix 4 for the detailed online survey summary).

Interviews Forty-six community leaders and key stakeholders participated in interviews for Park-Smart Precinct One. Input from interviews helped inform other community engagement efforts and provided important context throughout the planning process. The interviews covered a range of topics relating to parks, trails, health, equity, the arts, and other community issues. Interviewees hold expertise in community organizing, government, parks, green infrastructure, arts, and health, and represent organizations spanning the public, nonprofit, private, and academic sectors. The questionnaire was crafted to gauge broad personal and professional perspectives on quality of life, the park and trail systems, community health, arts and culture, and environmental change in Harris County and Precinct One. Interview summaries are available in Appendix 8.

Community Trails App The Community Trails App allowed Precinct One residents to map the routes they commonly use to walk or bike in and around the precinct, as well as hazardous intersections and barriers to access. The app was linked to the project website and was made available on computer work stations at community workshops. The app was open from November 2017 through May 2018 and yielded a map of 361 routes and 551 dangerous intersections, which are viewable via the project’s decision-support tool.

24 park-smart precinct one Steering Committee Over 50 local experts participated in the project’s Steering Committee. This group was tasked with reviewing engagement strategies and preliminary results and providing guidance on the project’s approach. Four in-person Steering Committee meetings were held over the course of the project. Specific Steering Committee responsibilities included framing the project’s guiding principles and vision, “ground truthing” the overall approach, assisting with community input, helping to build public support, and developing implementation strategies. Steering Committee participants represented public sector organizations (e.g., Harris County Public Health, METRO, City of Houston Public Works), nonprofit organizations (e.g., BikeHouston, Kinder Foundation, Houston Parks Board, NAACP), the academic sector (e.g., Texas Southern University, University of Houston), and the business community (e.g., Traffic Engineers Inc., CenterPoint Energy, R.G. Miller Engineers, Inc.). Steering Committee meeting notes are available in Appendix 9.

Mapping and GIS Geographic Information Systems (GIS) served an integral role in Park-Smart Precinct One. GIS analysis was crucial to identifying the areas within the precinct with the greatest park need. Because parks and trails provide so many interconnected benefits, the GIS analysis addressed much more than simply the existing locations of parks and trails.

The project team members used GIS software that allowed them to map and model data related to demographics and socioeconomic vulnerability (factors like poverty rates and linguistic isolation), environmental resources (such as trees and green space), environmental risks (like urban heat islands and flooding danger), and community health (especially rates of health outcomes like cardiovascular disease). Park-Smart Precinct One’s GIS analysis was organized into the following objectives, each of which is discussed in more detail in Section 5:

Park Access: Identify areas with the least close-to-home access to parks

Socioeconomic Vulnerability: Identify areas with the greatest socioeconomic vulnerability

Community Health: Identify areas with the highest levels of health inequity

Flooding and Water Quality: Identify areas where parks and land protection would do the most to prevent flooding and protect water quality

Heat Islands and Air Quality: Identify areas where parks and trees would do the most to reduce urban heat islands and improve air quality

Trails and Active Transportation: Identify the areas with the greatest need for trails and active transit routes

park-smart precinct one 25 figure 6 Park-Smart mapping objectives

Many datasets were collected for each of these objectives. These datasets were weighted based on their importance and then “stacked” to create a map of priority areas. The maps representing each objective were in turn stacked to create overall recommendations (see Figure 6 ) about the areas with the greatest need in an Overall Priorities Map shown in Section 5.

Park-Smart’s GIS process was guided by a Technical Advisory Team (TAT) that comprised over 120 experts. Through webinars and in-person meetings, the TAT guided the analysis by helping to (1) compile a list of relevant criteria to map, (2) collect the best available data, and (3) review results to ensure that they accurately reflect on-the-ground realities. This mapping process was iterative, with regular review from the advisory team and then revisions based on that input.

Decision-Support Tool As noted above, in addition to the static PDF maps that are available in this report (see Section 5), all Park-Smart Precinct One GIS data are available in an online decision-support tool. In addition to viewing the Park-Smart data, users can locate potential parks based on individual priorities, sketch possible projects, and measure their likely benefits. In previous planning projects by The Trust for Public Land, decision-support tools have been used in the following ways:

Planning Projects: In Los Angeles, a decision-support tool is being used to inform the city’s general plan and to examine socioeconomic vulnerability and its overlap with urban heat island

26 park-smart precinct one impacts. In New Orleans, partners are using the decision-support tool to site campus projects and create a strong connection between health and equity.

Prioritizing Projects: The decision-support tool can help find high-priority lands for conservation work and protecting open space. In New Mexico, Bernalillo County has adopted a decision-support tool as part of the planning process for acquiring lands for open space. Each proposed acquisition has to meet certain community-determined criteria to move forward.

Funding Projects: In New Orleans, the Sewer Authority uses a decision-support tool to create requirements for its requests for proposals. In other cases, tools can provide organizations seeking funding a quick way to gather the necessary information for compelling grant applications.

Democratizing Data: The decision-support tool helps democratize data—especially for small organizations that do not have in-house GIS capabilities. In Los Angeles, the small nonprofit From Lot to Spot uses a decision-support tool to identify the best places to turn vacant lots into parks.

The Park-Smart Precinct One decision-support tool and user guide can be accessed at https://web.tplgis.org/parksmart_precinctone/.

Existing conditions assessment

Park Case Studies In addition to the community engagement and mapping analysis described above, this project involved extensive assessment of existing conditions. This assessment fell into three main categories: (1) overall research on local context and existing plans, (2) park system benchmarking, and (3) high-need park case studies. Overall research on local context and existing plans is included in Section 3 and in online Appendix 1. The park system benchmarking study is referenced in the “Parks and Trails” portion of Section 3 and is included in online Appendix 2.

The park case studies are included in online Appendix 7. These assessments were conducted by local architecture students between May and June of 2018. The assessments targeted 21 parks that the project team determined were in relatively high-need areas and, therefore, where park improvements might be particularly useful in meeting equity goals. Assessments involved detailed evaluation of access, aesthetics, safety, and amenities along with related recommendations.

park-smart precinct one 27 3. Precinct One overview

With a rapidly growing population of 1.1 million people spread over 370 square miles, Precinct One is dense, diverse, and dynamic. Precinct One is home to more than 300 parks, 40 community centers, and numerous hike-and-bike trails. In the face of the many social and environmental challenges that the precinct has confronted over the course of its history, from flooding to poverty, racism, and socioeconomic inequity, its residents and leaders have shown enormous resilience.

Population

Demographics Although Precinct One is the smallest (375 square miles) of the four Harris County precincts, it is the most urban and has the highest population density (roughly 3,000 people per square mile). The precinct’s large size, irregular shape (see Figure 7 ), and diverse communities make demographic generalizations difficult. However, comparing the four precincts of Harris County does reveal distinct patterns throughout Precinct One. For example, Precinct One has the highest percentage of its population living below poverty (22.9 percent), the lowest median household income ($46,970), and the lowest level of owner-occupied housing (41.9 percent).15 Communities of color predominate in Precinct One. With 37.3 percent identifying as white (and 18.2 percent as white non-Hispanic), it is the only precinct that is majority nonwhite.16 The precinct’s northern reaches are predominantly Hispanic, while the areas south and northeast of downtown are predominantly African American. Predominantly white populations are clustered close to downtown and in the neighborhoods between Sheldon Lake and Lake Houston.17 Approximately 80 percent of Precinct One’s population lives within the boundaries of the City of Houston.18

Population Growth The population of Harris County has been increasing at a rate of 80,000 new residents per year. The county experienced 30 percent growth between 2000 and 2015. Precinct One grew from a population of 780,663 in 1990 to 1,007,913 in 2010, a growth rate of 29.1 percent, or 1.5% per year. Over 75 percent of Harris County’s population growth has occurred in unincorporated Harris County. This represents a shift of the population to the outskirts of the Houston area and frequently to large master-planned communities.

Economy and Employment Overall employment throughout Harris County grew from 861,786 in 1970 to 3,100,007 in 2016, a growth rate of 260 percent outpacing even population growth (162 percent).19 Despite the region’s economic boom and rapid population growth, the cost of living in Houston is among the lowest of all urban areas in the United States.20 Major Precinct One employers include the

28 park-smart precinct one figure 7 Park-Smart Precinct One | Harris County, Texas Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only.

park-smart precinct one 29 Houston Airport System, Rice University, Texas Southern University, University of Houston, and the Texas Medical Center. Major employment centers for Precinct One residents within the precinct include the Texas Medical Center and Downtown Houston, while Greenway Plaza and Uptown comprise two of the largest employment centers for Precinct One residents working outside the precinct.21

Despite the economic growth in Harris County, significant economic disparities remain. Wages have decreased for the majority of workers since 1979, and African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans in the region all experience unemployment at rates higher than white and Asian American workers.22 Houston is also considered to be the most economically segregated city in the country. As growth has boomed throughout the area, the most affluent residents have moved increasingly to newly constructed planned communities on the urban periphery, while working class populations remain in older neighborhoods.23

In Precinct One, 23 percent of the overall population lives in poverty and 15.5 percent of households are in poverty and have children in the household.24 Low-income populations in the precinct are heavily concentrated in Precinct One’s northern reaches in the communities between downtown, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and Sheldon Lake, such as East Houston and Independence Heights, as well as pockets of low-income households in the southern section of the precinct in communities such as Sunnyside and Westwood.

Community Health Harris County faces numerous public health challenges. Data reveal broad health inequities that reflect racial and economic trends and socioeconomic disparities throughout the county.25 In the northern reaches of Precinct One, for example, uninsured rates are highest, approaching 40 percent in some locations. This is likely due to the predominance of Hispanic residents, who are less likely to be insured in Harris County. Diabetes mortality rates are highest (38.6 per 100,000) among African Americans, compared to 26.1 per 100,000 among Hispanics and 16 per 100,000 among non-Hispanic whites. Likewise cancer, the leading cause of death in Harris County, is substantially higher among the African American population (217.7 per 100,000) compared to whites (169.9 per 100,000) and Hispanics (107.8 per 100,000).26 In Precinct One, roughly 36 percent of adults are obese, 18 percent of residents lack access to healthy food, 14 percent suffer from diabetes, 9 percent suffer from asthma, and 24 percent lack health insurance.27

In many ways the area’s physical environment makes healthy lifestyles difficult. Harris County’s sprawling layout and high temperatures are significant barriers to engaging in physical activity.28 Studies have estimated that around 30 percent of adults report no leisure time

30 park-smart precinct one physical activities in a week, and 21.5 percent of high school students did not participate in 60 minutes of physical activity at least one day per week.29 Access to healthy food also poses a major challenge to many residents who live outside the urban core, particularly in the northern reaches of Precinct One near the George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Sheldon Lake, and in the southern reaches of Precinct One, in communities like Central Southwest and South Acres.30

Environment

Climate and Geology The climate and geology of the region make Harris County particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change—including high temperature and catastrophic flooding. Harris County is located primarily on a flat coastal prairie. There is only a 50-foot drop in elevation along Buffalo Bayou from the bottom of Addicks Dam to Galveston Bay 35 miles away.31 The region is situated on some of the nation’s least absorbent soil.32 The clay-based soil is highly impermeable, meaning that it does not hold or drain excess water as well as other, loam-based or mixed soils. Even in its undeveloped state, this landscape and its flat, low-lying topography drained slowly. In addition to flat topography and poorly drained soil, Harris County has a humid subtropical climate that generates intense storms and high temperatures. It is typical for the area to experience heavy precipitation and dramatic rainfall events.

Global climate change is expected to intensify severe storms, as well as increase their frequency. By the year 2100 the area could experience an average annual temperature rise of two to seven degrees Fahrenheit, sea level rise of two to five feet, increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, and less consistent precipitation patterns. These effects will lead to greater frequency and severity of flooding, more days of dangerously high heat, and disruptions to the region’s critical infrastructure. They will threaten human health, safety and welfare, and the region’s ecosystem assets.33

Extreme temperatures are particularly dangerous for people with preexisting health conditions, for the elderly, and for people who work outdoors. From March 2016 to July 2016, Houston experienced 208 emergency center visits due to heat-related illness, and the city averages four heat-related deaths per year.34 As rising temperatures and humidity increase, heat will pose an even greater risk to the region. Climate change models have predicted that rising temperatures will cause increases in heat-related mortality, massive decreases in crop production, and rising energy consumption as residents try to cope with the heat.35

park-smart precinct one 31 spotlight

Claudia Solís and IhavefoodIneedfood.com

One year after Hurricane Harvey, a group of residents gathered in the community center of Tom Bass Regional Park to share their stories. The event, titled “Flooded, Rescued, Resilient,” celebrated the strength, courage, and resilience of the community in the face of Hurricane Harvey. Claudia Solís, a marketing and event management consultant, shared her story of helping to feed displaced residents. Claudia is a native Houstonian, so this was not her first major weather event. She notes, “I remember watching my father take a shower outside dabfoto in Hurricane Alicia under the rain spout in a bathing suit.” From childhood dinners by candlelight to hosting displaced friends in her apartment, hurricanes have been a constant throughout Claudia’s life. However, Hurricane Harvey felt different. “With these past storms . . . we were disconnected from the community. You didn’t know what was going on with anyone else’s story. You found out the next week. With Harvey it was so different. You could see what your friends were going through, how they were affected, or how they were helping, and it took a little while to find the place that I fit.”

Claudia found her place when a friend asked her to help her prepare food for first responders at Midtown Kitchen Collective. The collective would come to prepare food for people staying in nontraditional shelters without the ability to prepare food. “We had another group of volunteers that were making 800 sandwiches an hour. We had 300 volunteers that each day would come in and pick up food and drive it all over the state.” Seeing the need for a way to organize this massive effort, Claudia and friends created IhavefoodIneedfood.com to organize the movements of volunteers, donations, and need. The website would help to feed over 250,000 people in just two weeks.

A theme that infused all of the stories during the Flooded, Rescued, Resilient event was the way in which local community members came together in the wake of Harvey. As Claudia recounted, “Everybody felt this obligation to Houstonians that if you were okay it was your duty to go out and to help others and that virtual community became physical. . . . It was the kindness and just the idea that it was your duty and a responsibility to jump in and to help and I watched everybody I know, people I didn’t know that are now so crucial to my life and we kept joking around that we have the right friends, but I think it’s also we have the right city. We just chose as a group, you couldn’t sit idly by. . . . It’ll be one of those things that’s changed me, and I think it’s probably going to be the thing I’m most proud of.”

32 park-smart precinct one Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in August of 2017, dropping up to 60 inches of rainfall in some areas. The storm was devastating, claiming at least 88 lives and destroying over 200,000 homes. Almost 20 percent of Harris County residents were affected.36 Many communities are still recovering. Though flooding is not a new threat, the extent of the flooding, property damage, and cost to human life from Hurricane Harvey demonstrates the growing challenges of storms, urban development, and flood risk in Harris County. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that the storm caused $125 billion in damage.37 These costs are especially detrimental to low-income residents who had to leave their homes, were unable to work, and may not be able to rebuild or find alternative housing. In Precinct One, these included communities such as Alief, Westwood, Kashmere Gardens, East Houston, and Greater Greenspoint.

Because warmer air holds more moisture, scientists recently concluded that the record amount of rainfall released during Hurricane Harvey (over 50 inches) was up to 38 percent higher than would have occurred in the absence of climate change.38 dabfoto

Many communities are still recovering from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Harvey.

park-smart precinct one 33 Water Harris County depends primarily on surface water. The most prevalent source is the Trinity River. In an example of de facto water reuse, treated wastewater from Dallas and Fort Worth flows downstream toward Lake Livingston, where it is extracted for use.39 The San Jacinto River provides a second surface water source, extracted from Lake Conroe and Lake Houston. Almost all the water quality monitoring stations within Precinct One indicate the presence of toxic materials such as PCBs and dioxins in fish and bacteria levels exceeding the total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). Malfunctioning wastewater treatment plants, sanitary sewer system overflows, failing on-site sewer facilities and septic systems, and runoff from livestock, pets, and feral hogs were all found to be major contamination sources in the region, impairing the majority of waterways in the precinct.40 A 2017 H-GAC study of bacteria in local streams found Precinct One’s Little White Oak Bayou to be one of the two most bacteria-impaired streams in the region. The study listed the bayou’s E. coli samples as “TNTC” (Too Numerous To Count), citing a faulty sewer system junction box (which has since been at least partly repaired), leaky pipelines, and a faulty manhole as likely causes.41 Many Precinct One streams have also been found to be contaminated with high nutrient levels, including Brays Bayou, Sims Bayou, Buffalo Bayou, White Oak Bayou, Hunting Bayou, and Halls Bayou.42

Habitat A diverse array of habitat types once covered Precinct One. Over time, however, many of these ecosystems have been lost to agriculture, logging, and development. Today most of Precinct One is highly developed, and little of the original habitat remains. Despite this, the precinct does contain some noteworthy ecological sites, and both government agencies and groups of concerned citizens have been working to protect, expand, and restore these ecosystems. The precinct’s major habitat types are described below.

Bayous. Numerous bayous intersect Precinct One, including Garners, Halls, Greens, Carpenters, Hunting, Little White Oak, White Oak, Buffalo, Brays, Willow Waterhole, and Sims. Although natural bayous appear to be stable systems during low-precipitation periods, during major precipitation events, bayous overrun their banks, inundating their larger floodplains. In the past these floodplains were areas of great ecological diversity, including hardwood trees, shrubs, and a huge variety of wildlife. In Harris County, however, many floodplain areas have been developed and many bayous have been lined with concrete to speed the conveyance of water to the bay. In Precinct One, this was the case with the Brays and White Oak Bayous, for example. Both bayous flooded during Hurricane Harvey.

34 park-smart precinct one dabfoto

Bayous provide valuable habitat and recreational opportunities in Precinct One.

Wetlands. The Greater Houston Metro Area lost at least 5.5 percent of its natural freshwater wetlands to development between 1992 and 2010, and Harris County lost over 15,000 acres of wetlands in that same period, approximately 29 percent.43 The area surrounding Greens Bayou in northeastern Precinct One contains much of the remaining wetland habitat within the precinct. The Harris County Flood Control District manages over 1,500 acres of undeveloped land along Greens Bayou within Precinct One.

Coastal Prairie Habitat. Coastal prairies once covered most of southern and central Precinct One, predominating in this section of coastal Texas due to a combination of clay soil and drier, hotter climates. Because of grazing, agriculture, and development, today only 1 percent of this original habitat remains, and the prairies are considered the most endangered of the area’s habitats.44 Although most of Precinct One’s Coastal Prairie has been lost, there are efforts to restore this habitat, including “pocket prairies” and a restored prairie at Sheldon Lake State Park. In addition to providing butterfly habitat and nesting grounds for birds, these landscapes frequently require no added water, and meadow grasses such as switchgrass have extensive and highly absorbent root networks that help absorb stormwater and reduce flooding.

park-smart precinct one 35 dabfoto

Precinct One contains diverse land use patterns. Encompassing much of downtown Houston, Precinct One also contains new residential developments, large open spaces, agriculture, and a mix of high-end and aging apartment complexes.

Piney Woods Habitat. An expansive pine forest once covered much of the southeastern United States, extending from eastern Texas to the Appalachian Mountains. Known as the Piney Woods and dominated by longleaf, shortleaf, and loblolly pines, these forests once covered most of northern Precinct One. Much of the Piney Woods was lost when timber harvesting began in earnest at the end of the 19th century. Small patches of Piney Woods still exist within Precinct One, in particular in the areas surrounding Sheldon Lake State Park.

Big Thicket Habitat. Big Thicket habitat once predominated near what is now Lake Houston. This habitat occurs at the intersection of southeastern swamp, eastern hardwood forest, prairie, and desert. This confluence of habitat types, as well as a huge variety of soil types, makes Big Thicket habitat ideal for supporting a high degree of biological diversity, including several types of carnivorous plants. Like the Piney Woods, the forests of the Big Thicket were left largely lost during the lumber boom of the 19th century.

36 park-smart precinct one Land use and planning Owing to Precinct One’s large geographic size and irregular shape, its land use patterns are extremely varied. In addition to encompassing much of downtown Houston, Precinct One contains recently developed municipal utility districts in its north, remaining vestiges of agriculture in the south, a mix of high-end and aging apartment complexes throughout its core, and large open spaces in the east. Today over 70 percent of Precinct One is considered to be developed (see Table 1 ), although largely undeveloped tracts remain in northeastern Precinct One near Sheldon Lake and parts of southwestern Precinct One between the 610 Loop and Beltway 8.45 The region’s massive population growth over the past four decades has had a major impact on land use patterns. Although over 80 percent of the population of Precinct One resides within the Houston city limits, over 35 percent of the precinct’s population growth between 2000 and 2010 occurred in unincorporated Harris County, where several large master-planned communities were built in the northern reaches of the precinct, such as Remington Ranch and Silverglen Estates. These growth patterns are reflected in building trends, particularly the growth of single-family homes. Between 2005 and 2013 Harris County added 135,000 single- family homes. Eighty-six percent of these were built in unincorporated Harris County. The precinct’s highest residential densities are found south of downtown (near the Texas Medical Center and University of Houston) as well as Westbury and Westwood in the southwest and Greenspoint in the north.46

Table 1. Precinct One Land Cover47

Land cover type Area (square miles) Percent of total

Developed open space 46.4 12.4%

Developed low intensity 99.1 26.5%

Developed medium intensity 91.9 24.5%

Developed high intensity 40.3 10.7%

Wetlands 39.4 10.5%

Forest/shrubs 35.6 9.5%

Pasture/grasslands 12.7 3.4%

Open water 5.5 1.5%

Cultivated crops 2.2 0.6%

Barren lands 1.6 0.4%

park-smart precinct one 37 Neither the City of Houston nor unincorporated Harris County has use-based zoning codes. Proponents of the current approach argue that the existing system is flexible, quick to adapt to market conditions, and responsible for the area remaining relatively affordable despite its rapid growth. Critics argue that the area needs comprehensive land use planning in order to deal with growth and threats like flooding. In some areas land use and development regulations, including height and density restrictions, buffering ordinances, deed restrictions, and limits on lot sizes, work much like zoning codes. However, this may mean that communities with greater time and resources are able to use regulations to block unfavorable developments, while less affluent communities are not.48 The City of Houston took a step toward comprehensive planning in 2015 when it conducted its first general plan, Plan Houston. However, the plan refrained from any top-down approach to controlling land use or development in favor of a set of policy guidelines and principals used to inform future city actions. dabfoto

Harris County’s flood control infrastructure consists primarily of a 2,500-mile system of bayous, channels, and ditches, as well as large regional detention basins.

38 park-smart precinct one dabfoto

As the region has developed, local stormwater systems are becoming increasingly overwhelmed. During heavy rains, street drainage systems back up, leading to upland flooding across the city.

Flood Control Infrastructure Harris County’s flood control infrastructure consists primarily of a 2,500-mile system of bayous, channels, and ditches, as well as large regional detention basins that store water during a storm and release it slowly afterward. This system is owned and managed by the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), whose mission is to “provide flood damage reduction projects that work, with appropriate regard for community and natural values.” HCFCD is continually expanding this network to support new development and lower flood risk in existing neighborhoods.

As the area has grown, storm sewers and drainage ditches have sped water flows—and the bayous are becoming increasingly overwhelmed. In heavy rains, the bayous rise out of their banks, flooding surrounding neighborhoods. Street drainage systems back up, leading to upland flooding across the city. Bayou overflow has also resulted in increased secondary flooding. Thus, mapping of flood-prone areas that relies on historical records from previous storms is no longer reliable.49 

park-smart precinct one 39 Parks and trails

Parks Precinct One contains over 300 parks, totaling over 12,000 acres. The precinct maintains 27 of these parks, which combined contain 3,941 acres of parkland. The other parks are managed by the City of Houston, homeowner associations (HOAs), Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs), the Harris County Flood Control District, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and several smaller cities, foundations, and districts. These parks range in size and scope from small neighborhood parks to larger regional facilities, with several notable standouts (see Table 2 ).

• Spring Skatepark in Greenspoint is the largest skatepark in North America.

• Alexander Deussen Park on Lake Houston is famous for its water-based recreational opportunities.

• Tom Bass Regional Park on the precinct’s southern border is known for its fishing, golf course, and arts pavilion.

• Willow Waterhole Greenspace, a park in southwest Houston, surrounds large stormwater detention ponds intended to reduce flooding around the Texas Medical Center by diminishing the flow to Brays Bayou.

• Hermann Park functions as a major destination park, known for its various gardens, sculptures, railroad, and the Houston Zoo.

• Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center in northeast Precinct One offers one of the precinct’s best opportunities for nature-based recreation. Sheldon Reservoir was built during World War II to provide a water source for the defense industry. In the 1950s the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department purchased the reservoir and surrounding area with the intention of maintaining it as a refuge for migratory waterfowl, a fish hatchery, and recreation site.

As noted earlier, only 52 percent of Precinct One residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park. Several major equity-related trends emerge when comparing park access among Precinct One populations. Park access in the precinct is lowest among young people. While 56.1 percent of people over the age of 64 live within a 10-minute walk to a park, park access falls to 43.7 percent for people age 19 and younger. There are also disparities along racial and ethnic lines.

40 park-smart precinct one While park access appears relatively similar for Asian, African American, and white residents (remaining close to 50 percent), access numbers are lower for the precinct’s sizable Hispanic population (42.6 percent). Importantly, park access for households with incomes 25 percent above the county median of $58,089 is 55.8 percent, but it is just 42.2 percent for households making less than 75 percent the median income.

To better understand residents’ current access to high-priority park amenities (see Section 4), a benchmarking study was completed, comparing Precinct One to urban areas with similar characteristics (see Table 3 ). While the precinct compares favorably in providing drinking fountains and playgrounds, it is generally lagging in providing restrooms and trails. dabphoto

Tom Bass Regional Park is known for its fishing access, golf course, and arts pavilion.

park-smart precinct one 41 Table 2. The 20 Largest Parks in Precinct One

Name Size Manager Location Restroom Basketball Multiuse Drinking Playground (acres) court trail fountain Sheldon Lake 2,788 Texas Parks Sheldon • • • State Park and and Wildlife Environmental Department Learning Center Dwight D. 848 Harris County Lake Houston • • • • Eisenhower Park Precinct 1 Tom Bass 598 Morningside Morningside • • • • X X X Regional Park Place Place Hermann Park 445 City of Medical Center • • • • Houston Area Braeswood 400 City of Meyerland Area Parkway Houston El Franco Lee 364 Harris County South Belt/ • • • • Park Precinct 1 Ellington Brock Park and 355 City of East Houston • Golf Course Houston Challenger 326 Harris County Clear Lake/ • • • Seven Memorial Precinct 1 Friendswood Park The Hill at Sims 314 HCFCD South Acres/ • Greenway Crestmont Park Law Park 314 City of South Park • • • • • Houston Alexander 308 Harris County Lake Houston • • • • Deussen Park Precinct 1 Schiveley R/C 279 Harris County Greater • Flying Field Precinct 1 Greenspoint/ Champions Blue Ridge Park 260 Harris County Central • • Precinct 1 Southwest Beltway 8 Sports 233 Harris County Unincorporated • • • • • Park Precinct 1 Harris County 25 Buffalo Bayou/ 157 City of Neartown • • Tinsley/Jamail Houston - Montrose (Lee and Joe) Skate Park Choate Road 113 Harris County South Belt/ Park Precinct 1 Ellington MacGregor 100 City of MacGregor Parkway Houston Hall Park 97 HCFCD Eastex–Jensen Area Melrose Park 92 City of Northside/ • • • • Houston Northline Frankie Carter 92 Harris County Friendswood • • • • Randolph Park Precinct 1 Total 8,476*

* These 20 parks account for 70 percent of all park acreage in Precinct One.

42 park-smart precinct one Name Fitness Community Baseball Football Garden Gazebo Golf Pool Dog Splash Tennis zone center field field park park court Sheldon Lake • State Park and Environmental Learning Center Dwight D. Eisenhower Park Tom Bass • • • • • • • Regional Park Hermann Park • • • •

Braeswood Parkway El Franco Lee • • • • • Park Brock Park and • • Golf Course Challenger • • Seven Memorial Park The Hill at Sims Greenway Law Park • • • •

Alexander • • • • Deussen Park Schiveley R/C Flying Field

Blue Ridge Park • •

Beltway 8 Sports • • • • Park

Buffalo Bayou/ • Tinsley/Jamail (Lee and Joe) Skate Park Choate Road Park MacGregor • Parkway Hall Park

Melrose Park • • • • • •

Frankie Carter • • • • • Randolph Park

park-smart precinct one 43 Table 3. Park Amenities in Precinct One and Benchmarking Cities

Place Restrooms Playgrounds Playgrounds per Path and trail Picnic shelters Drinking per 10,000 per 10,000 residents miles per per 10,000 fountains 10,000 under age 19 10,000 per 10,000

Austin 1.1 1.7 7.0 2.5 0.8 2.9

Dallas 0.2 1.5 5.5 1.2 11.0 1.7

Jacksonville 6.0 3.7 14.6 0.3 n.a. n.a.

Precinct One 0.5 2.3 8.0 0.8 1.3 2.8

San Antonio 1.2 1.7 5.8 2.0 1.2 1.4

San Diego 1.3 2.1 9.4 1.5 0.8 n.a.

Recent Park Plans

Bayou Greenways 2020 Bayou Greenways 2020 is the area’s largest greenway project. The effort is funded through a public-private partnership between the City of Houston and the Houston Parks Board. It calls for the transformation of over 3,000 acres of greenspace and 80 miles of trails to create 150 total miles of linear parks along Houston’s major waterways. The aim of the project is to create a connected network of parks and trails throughout the city to improve park access and active transportation circulation, reduce flood impacts, and enhance the natural environment. The total cost of the program is estimated to be $220 million, $100 million of which was derived from a 2012 bond designed to fund local parks, with the Houston Parks Board raising the remaining balance (the majority of which has already been raised). The inspiration for the plan came in part from planner Arthur Comey’s 1912 plan for Houston, which called for the creation of linear parks along Brays, Buffalo, and White Oak Bayous see( Figure 8 ). When completed, 60 percent of Houston’s population will reside within 1.5 miles of one of these greenways. Several segments of the proposed plan have already been completed, including sections of trail along White Oak Bayou and Brays Bayou. Of the nine bayous identified in Bayou Greenways 2020, eight run through Precinct One (see Figure 9 ).

Beyond the Bayous Following closely on the heels of Bayous Greenway 2020, in 2017 the Houston Parks Board completed its Beyond the Bayous plan. The plan was intended to create a framework for continued improvement of parks, trails, open space, and communities overall. Similar to Bayou Greenways 2020, the project aimed to create equitable open space access, increase connectivity, and enhance urban ecosystems. However, the report came in part from a recognition that a singular focus on the bayous to reach these goals would limit the region’s possibilities. The plan does include some recommendations for bayou enhancement, such as Bayou Greenways 2020’s expansion to secondary bayous and bayous outside the Houston city limits, as well as the creation of connections between existing bayous. However, the plan also examined non-bayou opportunities to meet these objectives, such as retrofitting street right of ways,

44 park-smart precinct one preserving/reclaiming floodplains, acquiring vacant land, building trails on CenterPoint Energy utility right-of-way easements, and improving existing parks. The report also made a series of neighborhood-level policy and implementation recommendations. These included increased collaboration between public and private agencies and the identification of potential partners and funding sources. The plan also supports Houston mayor Sylvester Turner’s “complete communities” approach that goes beyond parks to incorporate a broader reinvestment strategy including jobs, walkable streets, affordable housing, social services, and transit. Some Beyond the Bayous projects are already being implemented, including a CenterPoint trail by the Houston Parks Board and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department from Sims Bayou north to West Airport Boulevard.

figure 8 Arthur Comey’s 1912 plan for Houston

park-smart precinct one 45 figure 9 Bayou Greenways 2020

2015 Houston Parks and Recreation Department Master Plan In 2015 the Houston Parks and Recreation Department completed its 2015 Parks Master Plan. The plan divided the City of Houston into 21 separate park sectors. Each of these sectors was analyzed based on park access, demographics, growth projections, health and equity, and the level of service provided. An online survey of residents was also utilized to collect data on community needs, priorities, and information regarding how and when users access parks. Based on this analysis, the plan was able to note deficiencies, rank priorities, and create cost estimates as well as recommendations for implementation.

Trails and Active Transportation iii In many ways, Harris County’s flat topography and relatively warm winters make it well suited for active transportation. However, there has historically been limited local infrastructure for safe active transit, such as bike trails or sidewalks. Based on Park-Smart’s GIS analysis, Precinct One has 101 miles of high-comfort bikeways. These trails create safe environments

iii This report uses an expansive definition of “trails.” It includes planning for off-road, natural surface walking/hiking and biking trails; on-road or separated/protected bike lanes; and multiuse paved pathways.

46 park-smart precinct one for cyclists by providing separation from traffic.iv However, these trails are generally close to downtown and often primarily oriented east–west, as they follow the bayou system. The lack of connectivity between these bikeways and their absence in many areas limit residents’ ability to make trips by bicycle.50 In a 2011 survey, 60 percent of Houstonians listed lack of better bicycle facilities as their primary barrier to cycling.51

Residents’ anxiety about bike safety is not merely a matter of perception. Houston experiences an average of 11.2 cyclist fatalities per year per 10,000 bicycle commuters, while the average among peer cities was 7.8 (San Francisco experienced only 0.9).52 In 2017, Precinct One experienced 219 cyclist crashes with 3 deaths, and 548 pedestrian crashes with 39 deaths. In addition to a lack of safe infrastructure, sprawling land use patterns in many areas make precinct one

Many organizations are working to increase active transportation opportunities and connectivity. This new bike lane on Lyons Avenue was funded as part of a $10 million commitment from Precinct One.

iv For bike facilities to be “high-comfort,” more protection and separation are required as road speeds increase. See “Designing for All Ages & Abilities: Contextual Guidance for High-Comfort Bicycle Facilities” (2017) by the National Association of City Transpor- tation Officials (https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NACTO_Designing-for-All-Ages-Abilities.pdf) for more details about high-comfort facilities.

park-smart precinct one 47 commuting via active transportation impractical. In Precinct One, 88 percent of workers commute by car. Precinct One residents using active transportation for their commute are highly clustered in certain locations such as inside the 610 Loop, in the southwest sector of the precinct near Hobby Airport, and in Greenspoint. These are generally locations with higher concentrations of jobs.53 However, this does not imply that increasing active transportation in other areas is unrealistic. Commuting trips are often the longest that people make; therefore, residents are least likely to use active transportation for them. However, only 12 percent of trips originating in Precinct One are home-to-work or work-to-home. Thirty percent of all trips within the precinct are less than three miles in length, and people are more likely to make these trips using public or active transit if there are safe and convenient opportunities to do so.54

Many local residents and leaders have advocated for improved bicycle facilities and safety. The city’s 2017 Houston Bike Plan seeks to increase bike connectivity throughout the city by expanding the network of high-comfort bike infrastructure, and several active transportation bikeway projects are already scheduled for completion in coming years, such as Bayou Greenways 2020 corridors, City of Houston CIP projects, and TxDOT projects.55 On April 16, 2018, Commissioner Ellis and Mayor Sylvester Turner initiated a city-county partnership to connect neighborhoods and destinations with high-comfort bikeways and to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety. Commissioner Ellis has pledged $10 million from Harris County Precinct One funds to build short-term opportunities identified in the Houston Bike Plan and located within the Precinct One area that have community support. Precinct One has initiated design and construction of over 18 miles of high-comfort bikeway that would meet the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ All Ages and Abilities guidelines.

In addition to planning and constructing improved facilities, local governments and nonprofits have taken other steps to encourage bicycle use, such as safety education for cyclists and drivers, and bike-oriented events. One of the most successful strategies has been BCycle, a national bike-sharing program. In 2016 BCycle trips in Houston reached 113,252, up from 98,762 in 2015. However, by far the most frequent uses of BCycles were near parks and along high-quality bike infrastructure (e.g., at Sabine Bridge near Buffalo Bayou Park or at Hermann Park Lake Plaza).56 The Kinder Institute has suggested that this may be due to the system’s small size and has proposed expanding it. Precinct One is also currently developing a dockless bike pilot program. The program will provide bikes within Precinct One regional parks with the goal of providing active transportation choices for both residents and visitors.

48 park-smart precinct one 4. Community priorities: engagement results

Community engagement was central to the Park-Smart Precinct One process. As described in Section 2, community workshops, focus groups, speak-outs, a phone poll, an online survey, and interviews with local stakeholders were conducted over the course of a year. The goal of the project’s engagement was to maximize participation and ensure that underrepresented and underserved voices were heard. In order to meet this goal, the project team focused on actively reaching out to community members, reducing barriers to participation, and providing creative and engaging ways for residents to give input. The information and recommendations in this chapter are based on feedback from thousands of community members. asa k ura robinson

Over the course of the Park-Smart process, community members shared their insights on how to make parks safer, more enjoyable places to spend time.

park-smart precinct one 49 Key results Residents use parks a lot—an estimated 33 million park visits per year. Seventy-three percent of telephone poll participants use local parks and trails, and the online poll indicated that 94 percent of households used parks.

Protecting land to control Fitness is the top reason for flooding is an using parks, followed by recreation extremely high priority. and experiencing nature.

Feeling unsafe is the biggest There is a major need for safe walking and barrier to using parks. biking routes to other important community destinations in addition to parks.

Trails are heavily used for exercise, Greater connectivity in the active recreation, and experiencing nature transportation network, including better, and wildlife but much less commonly safer walking and biking paths, would used for transportation. increase both park and trail use.

Restrooms, paths, drinking Residents want to incorporate art into fountains, playgrounds, local parks by engaging youth in arts and picnic shelters are the highest- education and by expanding murals, large- priority amenities. scale interactive installations, and spaces for performing arts.

50 park-smart precinct one Table 4. Park Use by Demographics (Phone Poll Results) 57

Category Percentage Average number who use parks of visits per year Children 76.9% 39.1 Adults, all 69.8% 27.0 Adults, under 65 years old 74.1% 29.2 Adults, over 65 years old 39.7% 12.3 Adults, not low income 75.1% 31.4 Adults, low income 63.0% 21.4 Adults, white 78.2% 35.0 Adults, nonwhite 66.9% 24.1

Overview of engagement results

How do community members currently use parks and trails? Across all of the community engagement, it was clear that residents see parks and trails as elements that contribute to the overall strength of their neighborhood, supporting enhanced quality of life, public health, economic development, and community resilience.

Parks Residents use parks often—an estimated 33 million park visits per year. Telephone poll results indicated that overall, 69.8 percent of adults and 76.9 percent of children in Harris County Precinct One visit parks and trails in Harris County annually (see Table 4 ). According to the online survey, 94 percent of households visit parks at least once per month. Fitness is the top reason for using parks, followed by recreation and experiencing nature.

The most popular park activities across age groups were running/jogging, walking/hiking, and biking. Playground use and sports were also top activities for children, while using fitness zones and experiencing nature and wildlife were among the most common uses for adults. The most popular reasons for using local parks were exercise and fitness, followed by recreation and experiencing nature and wildlife, although several notable demographic differences do exist. Experiencing nature and wildlife was most popular for white non-Hispanic respondents. Exercise and fitness had the highest response rate in African American communities.

Examining park use by demographics makes clear that regional equity issues exert an influence. High-income, white residents are more likely to visit parks and visit them more frequently than their low-income nonwhite counterparts in the precinct, with differences of over 10 percent in both percentage of users and number of visits (see Table 4 ). One contributing factor may be differences in access, as homes within a 10-minute walk of a park are highly concentrated close to Downtown Houston. These neighborhoods are generally high income and more likely to be predominately white.

park-smart precinct one 51 Create new community gardens New fitness centers where limited access More free/low-cost fitness programming More free/low-cost rec programming New rec centers where limited access now New trails where limited access now New parks where limited access now Protect more wildlife habitat Maintain/improve existing trails Improve safety of existing trails Improve safety of existing parks Maintain/improve existing parks Protect more land to control flooding 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

n Most important n Very important

figure 10 Residents’ top priorities (phone poll)

Trails Nearly 75 percent of community members use trails at least once a month, and roughly 40 percent use them five or more times monthly. Most online survey participants (78 percent) said that exercise/fitness was their top reason for using trails. Community engagement results, including survey responses, workshop feedback, and participation in the community trails app, indicate that (1) better, safer walking and biking paths to get to parks and trails would encourage residents use them more; and (2) there is a major need for safe walking and biking routes to other important community destinations in addition to parks.

Community members considered trails, walkability, and bikeability to be vital in contributing to the strength of a neighborhood. When asked what places and institutions make their neighborhood stronger, participants at four workshops across Precinct One overwhelmingly identified trails, walkability, and bikeability as their top priority. When participants at subsequent workshops were asked to prioritize community development strategies that most aid a community’s resilience, they identified walking trails and facilities, and bike trails and facilities, as the top two responses.

What is the highest priority for future projects?

Protecting land to control flooding Protecting land to control flooding was far and away community members’ highest priority for funding, with 94 percent of phone poll respondents listing it as a top priority (see Figure 10 ). Interview participants also identified flood control as a driver for green infrastructure projects in the area, and both the Steering Committee and the Technical Advisory Team identified creating recreational access on land used for flood control as a strategic opportunity

52 park-smart precinct one “Harvey was a major wake-up call for the community. Many people and decision-makers seem more open to different land development approaches. The region’s population is growing by about 200 people per day, so the demand for housing is not diminishing. We could develop new areas with built-in parks and resiliency. Natural drainage systems— which manage stormwater runoff by copying nature—can be used. These systems help manage stormwater and provide open space.”

— Michael Bloom, PE Sustainability Practice manager R. G. Miller Engineers, Inc.

for expanding access. This means that a collaborative approach addressing both flood control and park access could resolve two of the major hurdles to increasing park access: the difficulty of fundraising and the lack of available land (see “What are the biggest challenges to expanding access to parks and trails?” in this section). This collaboration will take some additional effort and leadership to establish, however, as many interview participants identified the area’s tendency toward organizational and procedural siloes as a major barrier to collaborations that would simultaneously promote park access and flood control.

There are some major signs of progress on this front. The Hill at Sims Greenway provides an important example of how collaboration can occur. The site is a large detention basin located next to Sims Bayou in the South Acres/Crestmont Park neighborhood. In addition to reducing

figure 11 What is your biggest concern about local parks? v v The word clouds in this section are based on responses to online survey questions. Words were scaled based on the frequency with which each word was used, with more frequently used words appearing larger.

park-smart precinct one 53 “I live in a community with a nice park, but the bushes and trees are too tall . . . who can walk in there without fearing for their life? It’s about maintenance. Why build it if you’re not going to maintain them? Elderly ladies walk the streets and carry big sticks to fend off the dogs.”

— Claudette Newsome, Texas Organizing Project (TOP)

“How am I going to use the trails? I don’t have a gun. We need some lighting.” — community workshop participant at Tidwell Community Center

“More visible security in the neighborhood parks, keep the entire community safe, especially when we’re trying to enjoy the natural surroundings.” — online survey participant

the risk of flooding by holding almost 325 million gallons of stormwater, the site now provides recreational access to nearby residents. The area’s 60-foot-tall hill also provides incredible views of the Houston skyline.

What are the biggest barriers to using parks and trails?

Safety Engagement results indicate that not feeling safe is the biggest barrier to using parks (see Figure 11 ). Safety concerns were the primary barrier to park use for online survey participants (47 percent) and were frequently cited as barriers during community workshops, where participants told stories of encountering vandalism, violent threats, and criminal activity on family visits to neighborhood parks. Interview participants also repeatedly noted that safety and perceptions of safety keep people out of certain parks and at certain times of day, noting homeless populations, stray dogs, traffic, and road dangers as top concerns.

Safety concerns appear to be bigger barriers for some residents than others. Among phone poll respondents, crime and poor lighting were twice as likely to be barriers to park use for

54 park-smart precinct one women than for men. Hispanic and African American respondents were also twice as likely to cite crime and bad lighting as white respondents, and crime (but not bad lighting) was generally listed more frequently among lower-income respondents. Community members who participated in the phone poll were concerned primarily with crime in the park. Encountering crime while on the way to the park was not a substantial barrier.

Community workshop participants recommended better lighting and security features in their parks and trails, including emergency call boxes and on-site security or other official personnel. Participants also suggested tree pruning to enhance visibility, barriers to prevent vehicles from entering pedestrian areas, good maintenance and landscaping to enhance safety, and park rangers instead of police for security.

What park amenities are the highest priorities for residents? Amenities and facilities play a key role in supporting park use. Thirty-one percent of online survey respondents listed “More Amenities/Facilities” as an improvement that would encourage them to use parks more frequently. The amenities that community members ranked as their highest priorities are:vi

• Restroomsvii • Picnic shelters • Playgrounds • Drinking fountains • Paths and trailsviii

These results are in many ways consistent with national findings on park amenities. A recent study on neighborhood parks found that bathrooms, drinking fountains, grills, and outdoor shelters were the amenities with the greatest impact on park use. Walking paths were found to be the amenity with the greatest ability to generate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, creating a 90 percent increase on average. Parks with walking loops also had 80 percent more users than parks without walking loops and over twice as many seniors. Parks without loops were more than twice as likely to be empty.58

vi These are the highest-priority amenities listed in order from most-requested to least-requested based on the phone poll results, which provided a large and demographically representative sample. The results of the online survey were slightly different. Listed in order of most-requested to least-requested, these were: restrooms, paths and trails, park drinking fountains, community gardens, and picnic shelters. vii The importance of restrooms and their lack in local parks were evident throughout engagement. In addition to the ranking of restrooms as the most important park amenity by local residents, 32 percent of online respondents cited a “lack of restrooms” as the third-greatest barrier to park and trail use, behind only safety and maintenance. viii According to the benchmarking study (see Appendix 2) conducted for this project, restrooms and trails are in the shortest supply in Precinct One when compared with peer cities.

park-smart precinct one 55 Although they were not the highest-rated amenities overall, several amenity types still deserve mention, because of either their popularity among certain demographics or their potential benefits. Basketball courts ranked very high among African American and Hispanic respondents. Fitness zones were also found to be a particularly high priority among African American respondents, while trails had double the response rate for white respondents than they did for African American or Hispanic respondents. While residents did not generally consider community gardens to be an essential amenity, local experts frequently cited a lack of access to healthy foods as a major barrier to health within the precinct and community gardens as a potential solution. Likewise, the workshop participants who did request gardens felt passionately about the issue.

How can parks be more accessible? Roughly 6 percent of respondents in the online survey and phone poll listed disabilities or lack of accessibility as a barrier to park use.ix Although not one of the top-listed barriers, it potentially represents over 60,000 people throughout the precinct. Community workshop participants were asked to rank a menu of options for making parks more accessible. Easy access to the park from the neighborhood received the highest response rate, followed by easy parking and clean restrooms. Other best practices that received high numbers of votes were inclusive playgrounds and accessible trails. Although additional comments mostly focused on the local parks where the workshops were held, several comments regarding the features that make the participants’ parks easily accessible included proximity of the park to home, easy connectivity to the park by trails, and basic facilities, such as parking, restrooms, and trails.

“I cannot ride a bike outside of my neighborhood without risk of getting killed. Having a connected trail system between parks and other amenities is really important for health, mobility, economy and workforce.”

— Jill Boullion, executive director Bayou Land Conservancy

ix “Accessibility” here is describing the ability to access the functionality and benefits of parks. Accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e., unassisted) and “indirect access,” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (e.g., a wheelchair). https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/accessibility/.

56 park-smart precinct one dabphoto

Trails receive a lot of use in Precinct One, especially for health and fitness purposes. Increasing connectivity would help residents use trails more often and make them a more practical means of transportation.

Park-Smart also convened a focus group to discuss how to make parks more accessible for people with disabilities. Participants ranked the “inclusive and intuitive playground” the highest, followed by tactile and braille wayfinding, simple access from neighborhood and parking, and low-physical-effort restrooms. Additional comments for making the parks more accessible included:

• Transportation connectivity • Wheelchair-friendly park tables for seating • Pathways with at least 10-foot-wide trails • Well-marked equipment with user instructions • Direct access to trails and restrooms from accessible parking • Rolling pad to swimming pool access • Design space for people in wheelchairs to be out of them in the park • Tactile boundaries and trimmed tree branches along trails • Sound and sensory play devices • Bold bright colors for equipment use • Quiet space with good view and soft flooring with shade

park-smart precinct one 57 How can we improve active transportation in Precinct One?

Increased connectivity to high-comfort facilities

Although trails provide enormous benefits to Precinct One community members and receive heavy use, they are relatively underutilized in supporting active transportation. Active transportation (e.g., commuting to work or school) was one of the least common reasons for using trails, with only 12 percent of online survey respondents saying that they use trails for this purpose. A lack of “high-comfort” facilities and connectivity seems to be a primary obstacle.

When asked what would help residents use trails, “a walking or biking path to get to the trail” was the top response. In fact, almost half of trail users drive to get to the trail. Overall, those who said they bike to a trail tended to be more affluent and were more likely to be white. While 32 percent of white respondents said that they bike to trails, only 8 percent of African Americans answered this way (the figure for Hispanic respondents was 27 percent). While 16 percent of respondents in households living on less than $50,000 bike to trails, this number nearly doubled to 31 percent for those earning over $50,000. These disparities are likely explained in part by differences in access, as the area has a large concentration of its high-comfort bike lanes in the more affluent and predominantly white neighborhoods surrounding downtown. Predominantly African American neighborhoods, such as Acres Homes, Trinity/Houston Gardens, and Sunnyside, have almost no access to high-comfort bike lanes (although there are proposed trails in these areas). Although these demographic differences were also apparent when looking at community members’ likelihood to walk to trails, the differences were much less pronounced.

What would make parks more welcoming?

Programming

Community engagement results indicated that public art, programming, and natural features can play key roles in making parks more welcoming.

When community members were asked in the online survey what would help them use parks more frequently, “more events and programming” was one of the top responses (behind only “a walking/biking path to get there”). Events and programming were of especially high importance to African American and low-income community members. Interview respondents were particularly concerned with the availability of programming in smaller neighborhood

58 park-smart precinct one dabphoto

Increasing the number of events and programs was one of the most highly requested park improvements.

parks, noting that they often lack the activity that more signature parks with regular programming and events seem to attract.

Community workshop participants were asked to suggest events or programs that activate an underused park or improve their favorite park. They were given a large poster showing images of programs already provided by Precinct One and a stack of 11x17 blank announcement posters on which to share the specifics of their dream event, including the audience, activity, location, duration, and other key details, through writing and drawing. Cultural events (e.g., dance, arts and crafts, food festivals) received the highest response rate, followed by community events (e.g., community field days, senior events), educational/workforce development (e.g., home-buying seminars, horticultural classes, cooking classes, voter education), and sports/ fitness (e.g., football).

Given the community health challenges in the area and the fact that so many residents already see parks as community assets for health and fitness, programming focusing on health and

“We need more programming in the parks. People shouldn’t have to travel to other areas for programming.”

— Tanya Debose Independence Heights Redevelopment Council

park-smart precinct one 59 fitness could be both popular and highly beneficial. Community members, and particularly parents, also had a strong desire to see educational art programming in local parks (see “Arts and culture” below).

Arts and Culture

Public art and cultural engagement emerged as priorities particularly in community workshops and interviews. Specific input on art in Precinct One parks was generated at two events. The first event, designed to hear from everyday park users, was an art-focused speak-out conducted at a Bayou Greenway Day celebration at Tidwell Park. The second event, the Park-smART Focus Group, brought together members of the local arts and cultural community to discuss ways to integrate more artistic and cultural elements into precinct parks and greenways.

Community members and local artists alike agreed that Precinct One parks are underutilized spaces for promoting the arts. At the art-focused speak-out at the Bayou Greenway Day celebration, residents, particularly parents, felt strongly that local parks should be utilized for children’s art education. Regarding physical improvements to parks, both community members and professional artists had a strong preference for increasing the number of murals in local parks, particularly murals that celebrate the area’s culture and history. Artists specifically referenced the HOPE Outdoor Gallery, a park in Austin that invites local graffiti artists to

“Art in public spaces provides a way for communities to express themselves and engage in creative activity that has a lasting economic, cultural, and social impact. Accessible public art provides a catalyst for collaboration, engagement, and education, among other community goals. At Discovery Green, we have witnessed how art helps build pride for our park and city, leading to positive community norms such as diversity, open-mindedness, and free expression.”

— Barry Mandel, president, Discovery Green

“Interactive art can be enjoyed year-round and is accessible to all regardless of income.”

— local artist at the Park SmART Focus Group

60 park-smart precinct one spotlight

Columbia Tap Trail Mural

“The world of street art is really big and really popular. I never knew about people like Banksy or people like Gonzo. I didn’t know anything about them or that murals could be such a powerful tool for social change.” — Dennis Johnson

“After getting an idea of what the mural was going to be about, we spoke to elders [at SHAPE] about the people that we were going to honor on the mural. It was awesome to hear their first- person stories about Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland. It was like live history.”

— Ulysses Navarrete

In the summer of 2018, Precinct One partnered with Workshop Houston, a local organization devoted to mentoring youth in the arts and career development. Over the course of the summer and fall, eight students, under the guidance of Precinct One staff, painted a mural on the back wall of the historic Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ. Located along the frequently traveled Columbia Tap Trail hike near Texas Southern University, the Sacred Struggles/Vibrant Justice mural recognizes

wor k shop houston several local African American civil rights leaders: Reverend John B. Moore, Christia Adair, Heman Sweatt, Barbara Jordan, Reverend William Lawson, Hattie Mae White, Mickey Leland, and Ada Edwards. Created with jewel-toned paint in a stained-glass design, the concept for the mural arose from community meetings facilitated by the students in which they identified core themes to display: empowerment, positive images of community, and honoring history. The mural project embodies many of the key arts and cultural engagement recommendations of Park-Smart Precinct One: supporting arts education for youth, celebrating local culture and history, and increasing access to art through murals. wor k shop houston above: Community members want public artwork that celebrates the area’s rich cultural legacy. This mural on the Columbia Tap Trail memorializes historic Houston leaders.

right: Parents in Precinct One think parks should be venues for children’s art education. This mural was painted entirely by local students.

park-smart precinct one 61 figure 12 What is your favorite thing about local parks?

use its walls as a canvas, noting that a similar site would benefit Precinct One parks. Stude Park emerged as the most highly desired park in Precinct One to work in for local artists. Participants felt that an art project in Stude Park could have the greatest impact, reasoning that as a well-maintained greenway in central Houston, it is utilized by many urban walkers, runners, and bikers daily. Residents also requested more performance spaces for dance, music, and theater (such as the planned Willow Waterhole Levitt Pavilion Project). Artists also recommended more spaces for large, interactive art installations, similar to Discovery Green.

The precinct’s cultural diversity was identified as a strength to build on across the numerous workshops, interviews, and online survey responses. Participants were interested in seeing the area’s rich cultural legacy memorialized in parks and trails through creative place making. This would serve people in adjacent neighborhoods through physical art as well as cultural events

“Greenspace within the urban setting, ability of interacting with nature.”

“Nature. The ability to be somewhere away from normal and busy life.”

“They are the closest thing to a natural space that we have.”

— online survey participants responding to the question “What is your favorite thing about local parks?”



62 park-smart precinct one dabphoto

Maintenance is a major obstacle to community members trying to use parks and trails and to the organizations that build them.

that are more reflective of the community members’ backgrounds. In turn, parks could become cultural destinations, attracting visitors from across the city.

Nature Access to nature is one of the most valued services provided by parks in Precinct One. When community members were asked to name their favorite thing about local parks, “nature” and “trails” emerged as the most repeated words (see Figure 12 ). At community workshops in December, “natural areas” had the highest response rate for the questions “What do you go to a park to see?” and “What brings you joy in a park?” and the second-highest response rate for the question “What would make this park more welcoming and encourage more use?” (behind only “amenities”).

What are the biggest challenges to expanding access to parks and trails?

Operating/Maintenance Maintenance issues represented a major barrier to using parks and trails for community members as well as a major challenge to expanding parks and trails for stakeholders. The need for greater maintenance of existing parks and trails was cited throughout the workshops, surveys, and speak-outs. Workshop participants referred to the uneven maintenance standards across parks in Precinct One and suggested improved upkeep of restrooms, benches, landscaping, and playground equipment. Phone poll respondents ranked improving the maintenance of existing parks as their second-highest priority (behind only “protect more land to control flooding”). However, interview participants and Steering Committee members noted that funding maintenance can often be a major challenge. While grants and donations can be

park-smart precinct one 63 “No one wants to be responsible for maintenance. It can be a bigger problem cost-wise than construction. Things age and they have to get rebuilt.” — B art Baker Executive Vice President and COO North Houston District

found for new amenities, finding funding to maintain these upgrades is often very challenging. Steering Committee participants noted the need for the organizations responsible for maintaining parks to develop dedicated maintenance budgets. They also recommended greater stewardship efforts, similar to Austin’s Adopt-A-Park Program or New York City’s Partnership for Parks, which help communities to organize groups that do everything from small volunteer projects to fundraising for major upgrades. 

Capital and land acquisition Throughout the interviews and Steering Committee meetings, funding was by far the most often repeated challenge to expanding park use. Participants referred to difficulty finding money for new projects, challenges related to funding maintenance and upgrades, and budget cuts.

Steering Committee and interview participants frequently cited the lack of available land for park development as a major challenge. The rapid pace of development in the region has not only increased the cost associated with land acquisition but made locating suitable parcels in high-need areas difficult.

“The cost of land has really escalated. We can’t buy as much as we would like. There is a lot of competition for land from developers. These neighborhoods are being overrun with town homes.”

— Anne Olson, president, Buffalo Bayou Partnership

64 park-smart precinct one 5. Geographic priorities: spatial data analysis results

Mapping key resources, hazards, and demographic factors was a fundamental part of the Park-Smart Precinct One process. Precinct One is over 375 square miles and holds a population of 1.1 million people. To determine the highest-priority areas for park investments in such a large and diverse region, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was employed to map the most critical datasets for determining park need (for more on this, see Section 2).

Park-Smart Precinct One’s GIS analysis was organized into the following objectives:

Park Access: Identify areas with the least close-to-home access to parks Socioeconomic Vulnerability: Identify areas with the greatest socioeconomic vulnerability Community Health: Identify areas with the highest levels of health inequity Flooding and Water Quality: Identify areas where parks and land protection would do the most to prevent flooding and protect water quality Heat Islands and Air Quality: Identify areas where parks and trees would do the most to reduce urban heat islands and improve air quality Trails and Active Transportation: Identify the areas with the greatest need for trails and active transit routes

In this section, each of these objectives is explained along with the resulting map. The Heat Islands and Air Quality Map indicates where to focus urban tree planting. The Flooding and Water Quality Map shows where flood zones will provide opportunities for parkland. The Park Access Map demonstrates where new parks could have the greatest impact on park access. The Community Health Map shows where additional parks, trails, and open space could help address community health issues. The Socioeconomic Vulnerability Map shows where residents may have the greatest need for all the services provided by parks. Each of these is also combined into an Overall Priorities Map that shows where investments could best meet these objectives simultaneously.

This process was guided by a group of local experts who served as a Technical Advisory Team (TAT). Through webinars and in-person meetings, the TAT guided the analysis by helping to (1) compile a list of relevant criteria to map, (2) collect the best available data, and (3) review results to ensure that they accurately reflect on-the-ground realities. This mapping process was iterative, with regular review from the advisory team and revisions based on that input. A list of criteria was generated at the TAT kickoff meeting, and criteria were added and removed based on data availability and the continuing input of the TAT. As the analysis progressed, the TAT evolved into smaller topic-specific subcommittees composed of experts in each field.

park-smart precinct one 65 Over 120 local experts representing over 50 institutions participated in the TAT. Participants came from a diverse group of organizations and fields, including parks and recreation (e.g., Houston Parks Board, HPARD), engineering (e.g., Harris County Flood Control, Huitt-Zollars), arts and design (e.g., Ensemble Theatre, Houston Arts Alliance), the environment (e.g., Air Alliance Houston, American Forest Foundation, HGAC Community and Environmental Planning, Houston Wilderness), health (Houston Health Department), social interest groups (e.g., AARP), and active transportation (e.g., BCycle, Bike Houston).

The analysis boundary for these maps extends slightly beyond the actual Precinct One boundary. This is in recognition of the fact that the benefits of Precinct One’s parks do not stop at the precinct boundaries but are enjoyed by neighboring precincts and counties. Additionally, precinct boundaries change over time, and TAT members suggested these expansions might be beneficial if these boundaries change in the future.

Mapping results

Park Access One of the most important steps in the Park-Smart Process was determining where close- to-home access to parks is most limited. The GIS analysis for this objective followed The Trust for Public Land’s ParkServe methodology. The process first identifies areas where residents are not within a 10-minute walk to a park. The 10-minute walk area is determined dynamically. The calculated area uses verified access points for each park and considers physical barriers like streams and highways that block walking routes.

For areas outside of a 10-minute walk, the following criteria were analyzed and weighted:

• Population density (50 percent) • Percent of population age 19 and younger (25 percent) • Percent of households with low income (25 percent)

Areas outside of walking distance to a park with high combined levels of population density, youth, and low-income households are considered to have the greatest park need. These are the areas where new parks would create the greatest impact.

The neighborhoods surrounding downtown Houston are generally well served by parks, and access decreases as distance from the urban core increases. Pockets of very high park need are visible in the precinct’s southwest near Alief and Gulfton, in the southeast in South Belt/ Ellington, and in the north in Northside/Northline and Kleinbrook (see Figure 13 ).

66 park-smart precinct one figure 13 Park access map Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only.

park-smart precinct one 67 Socioeconomic Vulnerability This map identifies the areas with the highest level of socioeconomic vulnerability see( Figure 14 ). The project team defines vulnerability as all the characteristics that decrease the ability of communities to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from hazards. Poverty, isolation, and lack of political voice can all contribute to a population’s vulnerability. Communities facing high social and economic vulnerability may have the greatest need for the benefits provided by parks and the most limited ability to travel long distances to access services or to pay to use private recreational facilities. In some Precinct One neighborhoods, such as Kashmere Gardens, Trinity Gardens, the Fifth Ward, and the Third Ward, no-car households make up 35 percent to 60 percent of the population.

Many Precinct One communities face high levels of social and economic vulnerability. Of the Harris County precincts, Precinct One has the highest percentage of its population living below poverty (22.9 percent), the lowest median household income ($46,970), and the lowest level of owner-occupied housing (41.9 percent).59

To determine the areas in the precinct with the highest socioeconomic vulnerability, this analysis examined and weighted the following criteria: • Low-income households (16.88%) • Minority populations (5.63%) • Unemployment (14.07%) • Seniors over 64 (4.22%) • Households receiving supplemental • Disabled population (4.22%) nutrition assistance program (SNAP) • Households without cars (4.22%) benefits (14.07%) • Seniors living alone (4.22%) • Less than high school education (9.85%) • Linguistic isolation (2.81%) • Rent burden (9.85%) • Children under 5 (2.81%) • Population density (7.14%)

The criteria making up this objective were weighted by 31 TAT members through an online survey asking the question “To what extent does this factor contribute to social vulnerability and affect community resilience?” Participants responded by rating the factor on a scale from 0 to 5. These responses were used to generate the weighting percentages shown above.

The areas of the precinct with the highest socioeconomic vulnerability are in the neighborhoods south of downtown near Sunnyside, Minnetex, and South Park, in the Southwest around Westwood and Alief, in the northeast near East Houston and Kashmere Gardens, and in the north near George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Independence Heights, and Acres Homes. Despite so many datasets being used, the mapping patterns created by each of the different indicators were relatively consistent, indicating that most of these communities face many of these factors.

68 park-smart precinct one figure 14 Socioeconomic vulnerability map Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only.

park-smart precinct one 69 Community Health This map identifies the areas with the highest levels of health inequity see( Figure 15 ). These are areas where increased access to close-to-home parks could have the biggest positive impacts on health.

Harris County faces serious public health challenges and major health inequities. Nearly 20 percent of residents lack access to healthy food, and almost a third of adults do not participate in regular physical activity. In Precinct One, roughly 36 percent of adults are obese, 14 percent suffer from diabetes, and 9 percent suffer from asthma.60 These health outcomes are closely tied to social determinants of health such as income and access to education—the types of factors that are discussed in “Socioeconomic Vulnerability,” above.

Parks can play a critical role in supporting community health. Parks can provide residents with free, close-to-home opportunities for physical activity. In fact, over 75 percent of surveyed residents said they use parks for exercise and fitness, making it the most common reason for park use. In addition, studies have shown that close-to-home parks can help build social connections, strengthen communities, reduce stress, and improve mental and physical health.

To create this Community Health Map, the TAT chose to combine data related to:

• Congestive heart failure (22.5%) • Areas with low access to healthy foods (15%) • Respiratory disease (20%) • People without health insurance (12.5%) • Diabetes (17.5%) • People on Medicare or Medicaid (12.5%)

The Community Health Technical Advisory Team (TAT) subcommittee involved experts from the Houston Health Department and Harris County Public Health. Health data were provided through staff members at the Houston Health Department, who were able to analyze the Texas Hospital Inpatient Discharge Public Use Data File (PUDF) 2013–2014. These data are at the zip code level and are very reliable because they do not depend on self-reporting as many other sources of health data do. The subcommittee chose to weight congestive heart failure the highest because it is the number one cause of death in Harris County. Community health outcomes in Harris County are known to mirror socioeconomic trends.61 Here, we see that the high-priority community health areas closely mirror the socioeconomic vulnerability analysis.

Some of the highest-need areas in Precinct One include Sunnyside, Minnetex, and Central Southwest in the south, Acres Home in the northwest, and Kashmere Gardens and East Houston in the northeast. Areas of high need are relatively consistent across all five indicators.

70 park-smart precinct one figure 15 Community health map Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only.

park-smart precinct one 71 Flooding and Water Quality This map shows the areas were parks and land protection would do the most to prevent flooding and protect water quality (see Figure 16 ).

Flooding is a major challenge in Precinct One. As described in Section 3, the geology, geography, and climate of the region make the area particularly vulnerable to flooding. Community members ranked protecting land to control flooding as their highest priority for funding. The area has also struggled with poor surface water quality. Almost all of the streams and bayous in Precinct One contain toxic materials such as PCBs and dioxins, bacteria levels exceeding daily loads, and/or high nutrient levels.62 Malfunctioning wastewater treatment plants, sanitary sewer system overflows, failing on-site sewer facilities and septic systems, and runoff from livestock, pets, and feral hogs were all found to be major contamination sources in the region. The majority of waterways experience impairment from multiple sources.63

Parks and open space can help manage rainwater where it falls and filter pollutants before they enter waterways. To determine where parks can do the most to reduce flooding and improve water quality, the following datasets were utilized:

• FEMA flood zonesx (33.3%) • Undeveloped areas within 200 feet of a stream or wetland (33.3%) • Park opportunities on lands owned by the Harris County Flood Control Department (33.3%)

Both FEMA flood zones and riparian buffers were included because they provide opportunities for creating parks and open space on land that should be left largely undeveloped to prevent future flood damage. These areas were combined with areas already owned by the Harris County Flood Control Department because the HCFCD has expressed a willingness to employ joint-use agreements to create public open space on their lands.

The highest-priority areas for flood control and water quality protection largely follow the precinct’s major bayous, as these areas are likely to represent both the FEMA flood zones and the undeveloped areas within 200 feet of a stream or wetland. The flood zones around Brays Bayou and Sims Bayou in the south, Halls Bayou and Greens Bayou in the north, and White Oak Bayou in the west are all prominently represented in the high-need areas. Wetlands in the precinct are largely spread across the precinct’s northeast near Sheldon, increasing the need for open space protection in this area. Park opportunities on HCFCD land were limited but did increase the level of need along White Oak Bayou in the northwest.

x Both FEMA 100-year and 500-year floodplains were incorporated into this analysis, with a higher priority given to areas in the 100-year zone.

72 park-smart precinct one figure 16 Flooding and water quality Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only.

park-smart precinct one 73 Heat Islands and Air Quality This map shows the areas where parks and trees would do the most to reduce urban heat islands and improve air quality (see Figure 17 ).

Urban heat islands are created by surfaces in cities (such as sidewalks, streets, and roofs) retaining heat during hot days. Harris County is prone to very high temperatures, particularly during the summer, and extreme heat is a major risk to human health. Extreme heat is particularly dangerous for people with preexisting health conditions, for the elderly, and for people who work outdoors. Parks provide a place of refuge for residents looking to escape the heat. They cool surrounding neighborhoods by providing shade, reduce air temperatures through evapotranspiration, and break up hot surfaces like pavement.

Parks and trees also filter air pollutants. Every year, air pollution causes 200,000 premature deaths in the United States. Urban trees provide an estimated $3.8 billion of air pollution removal services nationwide each year—removing health-threatening pollution such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter.64

This map shows where parks and urban forestry can do the most to reduce heat and improve air quality. To create this map, areas were identified which possess:

• Heat islands (33.3%) • Lack of tree canopy (33.3%) • Poor air quality (33.3%)

Downtown Houston and the surrounding neighborhoods have high values for all three indicators. The areas near both Hobby Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport also received a very high need score, largely due to poor air quality. Westwood received a very high score largely because of the prominence of heat islands and the lack of tree canopy.

74 park-smart precinct one figure 17 Heat islands and poor air quality map Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only.

park-smart precinct one 75 Trails and Active Transportation This map shows the areas with the greatest need for trails and active transit routes.

Safe biking and walking routes are critical for thousands of Precinct One residents. Increased opportunities for active transportation can improve community health by increasing physical activity and improve environmental health by reducing pollution from cars.

Connectivity of active transportation routes is a major issue in Precinct One. Many community members enjoy using local trails regularly for exercise and fitness, experiencing nature, and recreation. However, using trails for day-to-day active transportation requires a network of high-comfort bike lanes and safe pedestrian routes that connect residents’ homes to important destinations such as schools, work, and public transit. These connections are missing in much of the precinct.

Figure 18 shows areas where expanding the active transportation network would have the greatest impact. The analysis includes the types of routes listed below. There are different priority areas for each route type as described, and each priority below is weighted equally.

Routes to create connections in the existing network. Priority areas to fill missing connections in the existing network were identified along with suggested routes. The majority of opportunities to create connections within the existing high-comfort bike trail network are located downtown and in neighborhoods south of downtown near Brays Bayou and Hermann Park. This is unsurprising, as the majority of high-comfort bike lanes are located close to downtown.

Routes to connect neighborhoods to the existing network. Each residential block in the study area was connected to the nearest existing high-comfort bike trail. Priority routes to connect neighborhoods to trails are relatively evenly dispersed across the precinct but tend to be north–south routes because many high-comfort trails are along bayous, which largely run east–west.

Routes to connect employment to trails. Major employers such as universities and hospitals, as well as clusters of smaller businesses, were connected to the existing bike trail network. This would create options for people biking to work, to shop, to eat, or to socialize. Priority routes connecting employment to trails are spread relatively evenly across the precinct, with the exception of the northeast, which returned few priority routes.

76 park-smart precinct one figure 18 Trails and active transportation map Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only.

park-smart precinct one 77 Routes to connect transit to trails. METRO rail platforms and high-frequency bus stations were connected to the existing high-comfort bike network. Combining biking with public transit expands the distance a commuter can travel significantly. Priority routes connecting trails to transit are primarily located downtown and in the southwest near Alief.

Routes to connect homes to schools. For this analysis, the areas located within a 10-minute walk of any school in the study area were prioritized. Extra priority was given to proposed trails and high-demand routes within those 10-minute walk areas.

Problem intersections. Unsafe intersections were identified in two ways: (1) through mapping the crashes between pedestrian or bicyclists and cars (from TxDOT) and (2) through a community-generated dataset in which participants were asked to enter intersections they perceived as being unsafe (see “Community Trails App” in Section 2).

Overall Priorities Map The Overall Priorities Map combines the results from the six objectives described above (see Figure 19 ). By incorporating data from all of these objectives into a single analysis, the map accounts for the broad spectrum of benefits that parks provide, offering the most holistic view of park need in Precinct One.

The Overall Priorities Map incorporates results related to park access, socioeconomic vulnerability, community health, flooding and water quality, heat islands and air quality, and trails and active transportation. Twenty-two experts serving on the Technical Advisory Team determined the following weights by ranking each on a scale from one to five in an online survey.xi

Park Access: Identify areas with the least close-to-home access to parks (18.5%)

Socioeconomic Vulnerability: Identify areas with the greatest socioeconomic vulnerability (18.5%)

xi Please note that the decision-support tool allows users to experiment with different weighting, so local groups that use this analysis can focus on their own priorities within the context of these overall objectives.

78 park-smart precinct one figure 19 Overall priorities map Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only.

park-smart precinct one 79 Community Health: Identify areas with the highest levels of health inequity (14.8%)

Flooding and Water Quality: Identify areas where parks and land protection would do the most to prevent flooding and protect water quality (18.5%)

Heat Islands and Air Quality: Identify areas where parks and trees would do the most to reduce urban heat islands and improve air quality (14.8%)

Trails and Active Transportation: Identify the areas with the greatest need for trails and active transit routes (14.8%)

The highest overall priority areas include Alief, Kashmere Gardens, East Houston, Acres Homes, Northside, and the neighborhoods surrounding George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Because of the centrality of equity to the Park-Smart Precinct One effort, factors related to socioeconomic vulnerability are part of each of the first three objectives, and the overall highest priority areas are located in neighborhoods of high socioeconomic vulnerability.

80 park-smart precinct one 6. Implementing Park-Smart Precinct One

The previous sections have discussed Precinct One’s needs and opportunities for park and trail improvements. Making the vision of Park-Smart Precinct One a reality will require persistence and collaboration. The recommendations shown in Table 5 emerged from the project’s extensive community engagement, interviews with local stakeholders and experts, and the guidance of the project’s Steering Committee.

Table 5. Park-Smart Implementation Strategies

What How Potential partners

A. Improve Existing Parks

Use decision-support tool to • Provide training to community Houston Parks Board, Houston- identify highest-priority areas groups so that they can use the Galveston Area Council, SPARK, for park improvements decision-support tool to set their own Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones park priorities (TIRZ), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Management Districts

Improve safety in the parks • Improve lighting Houston Parks and Recreation • Increase park security and/or other Department, Homeland Security, official staff Houston Parks Board, BARC, Harris • Develop and implement more County Veterinary Public Health, programming to increase park use Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones, • Add security cameras (possibly Management Districts, corporate with Homeland Security) and/ sponsors, foundations, law or emergency call boxes where enforcement agencies requested by the community • Incorporate Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) standards into future park designs and renovations • Add informational signage educating the public about reporting stray dogs

Improve programming to Increase programming for: Workshop Houston, BikeHouston, further activate parks and • Exercise and fitness Greater Houston Off-Road Biking make them more welcoming • Children’s art education Association, GO Healthy Houston, • Public events Healthy Living Matters, Out2Learn, • Celebrating local culture Arts Connect, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Houston Arts • Activity groups (e.g., walking clubs) Alliance, religious institutions, cultural organizations

park-smart precinct one 81 Table 5. Park-Smart Implementation Strategies (continued)

What How Potential partners

A. Improve Existing Parks (continued)

Increase park amenities Focus on high-priority amenities: Houston Parks Board, Urban to increase park use and • Restrooms* Harvest, Houston Parks and improve the experience of • Playgrounds Recreation Department, GO park users • Paths Healthy Houston, SPARK, Tax • Picnic shelters Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ), Management Districts, • Drinking fountains corporations, foundations • Community gardens (in food deserts or when specifically requested by residents) *According to the benchmarking study conducted for this project, restrooms and trails are in the shortest supply in Precinct One compared to peer cities.

Improve park and trail • Increase stewardship through adopt- Texas Master Naturalists, The maintenance to ensure a-park community groups Mission Continues, Neighborhood continued use • Ask corporations to adopt a park Partnership Program (Houston • Park budgets should include a Parks Board), Houston Parks dedicated budget for maintenance and Recreation Department, • Consider maintenance costs and corporations, neighborhood abilities when adding new amenities groups, religious institutions, residents

Improve park and trail Embrace principles of universal design Houston Parks and Recreation accessibility for people with (accessible amenities are not optional) Department, METRO, Houston disabilities and install: Parks Board, Mayor’s Office • Multigenerational amenities and for People with Disabilities activities (MOPD), Living Hope Wheelchair • Sound and sensory play devices Association, corporate sponsors, • Wide trails with clearly marked tactile foundations boundaries • Fenced playgrounds

Improve park and trail design • Celebrate local history and cultural Houston Arts Alliance, SHAPE, through arts and culture diversity through art and design Project Row Houses, Bayou City • Develop performance spaces in local Art Festival, Houston-Galveston parks Area Council, Workshop Houston, • Incorporate murals into local park Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones design (TIRZ), Management Districts, • Ask festivals to adopt public art cultural organizations projects • Allow for hybrid art projects that are between temporary and permanent

82 park-smart precinct one Table 5. Park-Smart Implementation Strategies (continued)

What How Potential partners

B. Increase Park Access by Building New Parks in Highest-Need AREAS

Use decision-support • Develop a communications plan to Houston Parks Board, Houston tool to promote strategic increase awareness of Park-Smart Parks and Recreation Department, investments in parks recommendations and decision- Houston-Galveston Area Council, support tool TPWD, Management Districts • Provide training to community groups so that they can use the decision-support tool to set their own park priorities

Leverage funding for park Pursue traditional and nontraditional FEMA, HUD, Foundations, TPWD, investments funding options: TxDOT, Houston-Galveston • Transportation funds Area Council, Houston Parks • Special tax districts and Recreation Department, • Community Development Block Tax Increment Reinvestment Grants (CDBGs) Zones (TIRZ), Municipal Utility • Philanthropy Districts, Management Districts, corporations • Parkland dedication fee • Community contributions with a system of recognition that varies based on level of giving (e.g., awards, plaques, etc.) • Texas Parks and Wildlife Department local parks grant program • Ballot measures/bond programs

Acquire additional land • Collaborate with flood control Harris County Flood Control for flood control and for projects (buyouts [when appropriate] District, Houston Parks and additional parks in high-need and detention basins) Recreation Department, Houston areas • Utilize vacant land or undeveloped Parks Board, developers land • Increase parkland dedication in new developments

Create public recreational Pursue joint-use agreements on the METRO, SPARK, CenterPoint access on non-park land following and add signage to increase Energy, HUD (CDBG), Harris awareness of the times that sites are County Flood Control District, available for public use: hospitals, local school districts, • School yards religious institutions, senior living • Flood control sites facilities • Religious institution grounds • Senior living facilities • Hospitals

Create a community and • Frame parks as part of the Harris County Flood Control political culture that supports infrastructure, not a luxury District, Houston Parks and park investments • Communicate the relationship Recreation Department, Houston between greenspace and flood Parks Board, elected officials, reduction neighborhood groups, local media • Emphasize the various roles parks outlets play in supporting local communities (e.g., physical activity, community gathering spaces, etc.)

park-smart precinct one 83 Table 5. Park-Smart Implementation Strategies (continued)

What How Potential partners C. Expand Green Infrastructure to Improve Environmental Quality and Reduce Risks from Flooding and Extreme Heat

Use decision-support • Reach out to local agencies, Houston Parks Board, Texas tool to promote strategic community groups, and developers Commission on Environmental investments in green to promote the use of the decision- Quality, Harris County Flood infrastructure support tool for siting green Control District, City of Houston infrastructure Flood Czar, Harris County • Provide training to community Engineering Department groups so that they can use the decision-support tool to set their own green infrastructure priorities

Incorporate green Incorporate green infrastructure Houston Parks Board, Harris infrastructure into parks and into park renovation/construction, County Flood Control District, trails including: Texas Master Naturalists, Bayou • Detention Land Conservancy, Texas • Retention Community Watershed Partners, • Strategic tree planting in heat islands Katy Prairie Conservancy, Trees • Wildlife habitat for Houston, Harris County Flood Control District, Texas Commission • Pocket prairies on Environmental Quality, Arbor Day Foundation, The Nature Conservancy of Texas, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, corporate partners

Pursue funding for Coordinate local groups to obtain and Harris County Flood Control multifunctional parks leverage funding: District, NOAA, FEMA, BUILD • Local Grants (USDOT), Management • Federal Districts, utility providers • Nonprofit • Disaster recovery funding • Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)

Create a community • Establish local best-management HARC, Texas Community and political culture that practices for green infrastructure in Watershed Partners, Trees for supports green infrastructure parks and trails Houston, Harris County Flood investments • Use compelling pilot projects to Control District, American Council educate the public of Engineering Companies (ACEC), • Make green infrastructure projects Harris County Flood Control welcoming and visually attractive District, Houston Parks Board, • Share success stories (environmental Arbor Day Foundation and financial benefits) • Collaborate across departments to avoid a siloed approach to planning

84 park-smart precinct one Table 5. Park-Smart Implementation Strategies (continued)

What How Potential partners C. Expand Green Infrastructure to Improve Environmental Quality and Reduce Risks from Flooding and Extreme Heat (continued)

Support low impact • Work with developers Harris County Flood Control development (LID) • Provide incentives for LID District, Harris County Engineering • Communicate the benefits of LID and Department, Houston Public alleviate misconceptions (e.g., very Works, Houston Chief Recovery high maintenance cost) Officer, Houston Chief Resilience • Share success stories Officer, American Council of • Update development rules to Engineering Companies (ACEC), promote LID with collaboration Houston Land/Water Sustainability between Harris County and the City Forum, American Institute of of Houston Architects, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Houston Wilderness, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), developers

D. Expand Trails and Improve Active Transportation

Use decision-support • Reach out to transportation agencies Houston Parks Board, Houston- tool to promote strategic and transit-focused community Galveston Area Council, METRO, investments in trails and groups City of Houston Bicycle Advisory active transportation • Provide training to community Committee, LINK Houston, groups so that they can use the BikeHouston, Houston BCycle decision-support tool to set their own park priorities

Increase access to community • Connect trails to major destinations Houston-Galveston Area Council, destinations along trails • Provide meeting places (e.g., Buffalo Bayou Partnership, recreational opportunities, seating) Workshop Houston, METRO, • Provide fitness equipment corporations, foundations, • Celebrate neighborhood culture and neighborhood/civic groups history through art (e.g., murals) and educational signage on trails • Simplify the permitting process for food vendors • Support trail-oriented development • Collaborate with neighborhood and civic groups for funding and activation

Improve maintenance and Ensure that maintenance of trails Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition, upkeep of trails includes: Harris County Flood Control • Maintaining appropriate surface District, Houston Parks Board, Tax materials Increment Reinvestment Zones • Removing obstructions and trimming (TIRZ), Management Districts, branches neighborhood/civic groups • Providing clear signage • Installing local art and murals • Planting shade trees along major routes in heat islands

park-smart precinct one 85 Table 5. Park-Smart Implementation Strategies (continued)

What How Potential partners

D. Expand Trails and Improve Active Transportation (continued)

Leverage funding for active • Work with developers Harris County Flood Control transportation improvements • Provide incentives for LID District, Harris County Engineering • Communicate the benefits of LID and Department, Houston Public alleviate misconceptions (e.g., very Works, Houston Chief Recovery high maintenance cost) Officer, Houston Chief Resilience • Share success stories Officer, American Council of • Update development rules to Engineering Companies (ACEC), promote LID with collaboration Houston Land/Water Sustainability between Harris County and the City Forum, American Institute of of Houston Architects, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Houston Wilderness, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), developers

Increase active transportation • Provide organized rides and cycling BikeHouston, Tour de Hood, opportunities in underserved groups BCycle, METRO, Critical Mass communities • Provide cyclist (and driver) education to improve safety • Expand access to low-cost bike rentals

Improve access to trails • Improve trail connectivity (trails Harris County Flood Control connect to other trails) District, Houston-Galveston Area • Increase and improve sidewalks Council, CenterPoint, BUILD Grants and bike lanes to connect people to (USDOT), METRO, Houston Parks off-street trails Board, City of Houston Public • Incorporate traffic-calming measures Works and Engineering • Enforcement of existing plans/ recommendations (e.g., Houston Bike Plan) • Widen narrow trails and bike lanes where possible • Employ ADA/Universal Design • Connect trails to bus stops • Pursue nontraditional trail locations (e.g., utility corridors, road medians)

86 park-smart precinct one Conclusion

Precinct One has reached a critical moment where local residents, businesses, and civic leaders are ambitiously reenvisioning the region’s future. The catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Harvey and increasing socioeconomic inequity have led the precinct to look toward planning that builds community resilience. This includes facing inequity and injustice head-on with a focus on the most vulnerable neighborhoods. It also includes truly reckoning with the devastating and disparate impacts of climate change.

Building community resilience requires a strong, multifunctional park and trail system that improves health and mitigates hazards for everyone in Precinct One—particularly those in the most need. A strong park and trail system should provide welcoming opportunities for improving fitness and for bringing community members together to recreate and celebrate. It should also provide expanded green infrastructure that reduces flooding and excessive heat and improves water and air quality. Precinct One already has many assets that should be leveraged to maximize this potential: an extensive bayou network that can be used for drainage, recreation, and active transportation; a strong local economy and businesses invested in the region’s vitality; and new funding and partnership opportunities tied to Hurricane Harvey recovery.

Precinct One faces many challenges. Flooding and excessive heat, poor health outcomes, and inequity all confront local communities. Parks and trails can help address these challenges and improve residents’ day-to-day lives. Increasing park access is a growing priority throughout the region, and there is an emerging recognition that in addition to offering recreational amenities, parks and trails are critical to building stronger, healthier, more resilient communities. This project represents an ambitious and holistic attempt to find solutions to social and environmental challenges through equitable park and trail improvements. The process was guided and informed by local residents from start to finish. Implementing Park-Smart Precinct One will require hard work, ingenuity, advocacy, and collaboration—traits that countless community members and leaders throughout Precinct One have demonstrated time and time again.

park-smart precinct one 87

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