Mid-Brays Bayou Communities: Housing the Next 60,000 Aspiration and Strategies June, 2019 Mid-Brays Bayou Resiliency & Revitalization Housing & Community Development Strategies Page 2 of 60 Mid-Brays Bayou Resiliency & Revitalization Housing & Community Development Strategies Mid-Brays Bayou Resiliency & Revitalization Housing & Community Development Strategies David Abraham, PhD., AICP Department of BioSciences Weiss School of Natural Sciences Rice University Bruce Race, PhD., FAICP, FAIA, Director Center of Sustainability & Resilience Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture University of Houston Arturo S. Leon, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Houston QUAD ZERO STUDIO support provided by: Joaquin Viera, Dominique Khawaja, Jonathan Torres Reviewed by Evan Siemann, PhD., Department of BioSciences, Rice University Department of BioSciences, Rice Uniersity, 2019 Funding for this report generously provided in part by the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston and Shell Oil Company Foundation Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our sponsors. Page 3 of 60 Mid-Brays Bayou Resiliency & Revitalization Housing & Community Development Strategies Contents Meyerland Opportunity Areas ................................................................................ 36 Executive Summary ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Meyerland Housing Development .......................................................................... 37 I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 11 Westbury Opportunity Areas .................................................................................. 38 Purpose, Process, People, Context ......................................................................... 11 Westbury Housing Development ............................................................................ 39 Context: Geography ................................................................................................ 12 Willow Meadows/ Willow Bend Opportunity Areas .............................................. 40 Context: Sustainability ............................................................................................ 13 Willow Meadows/ Willow Bend Housing Development ........................................ 41 Context: Population vulnerability ........................................................................... 14 IV. IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................................................ 42 Context: Political Geography .................................................................................. 15 HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ........................................... 43 Context: Demographics .......................................................................................... 16 Priority Area 1: Low-Middle Income Areas ......................................................... 44 II. HOUSING & LONG-TERM GROWTH ASSESSMENT ................................................ 19 Priority Area 2: Moderate Income Areas ............................................................ 46 Opportunities & Constraints ................................................................................... 19 Priority Area 3: Upper Income Areas .................................................................. 48 Vision & Goals ......................................................................................................... 22 RESILIENCE STRATEGIES .......................................................................................... 50 Housing Demand ..................................................................................................... 25 AFTER PROJECT BRAYS IS COMPLETE ................................................................. 50 Braeburn Housing Demand ................................................................................. 25 2018 HARRIS COUNTY BOND PROGRAM ............................................................ 52 Brays Oaks Housing Demand .............................................................................. 26 MID BRAYS COMMUNITIES PRIORITY PROJECTS ................................................ 54 Meyerland Housing Demand .............................................................................. 27 Westbury Housing Demand ................................................................................ 28 Willow Meadows/ Willow Bend Housing Demand ............................................. 29 III. PREFERRED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & REVITALIZATION OPPORTUNITY AREAS .......................................................................................................................... 31 Braeburn Opportunity Areas .................................................................................. 32 Braeburn Housing Development ............................................................................ 33 Brays Oaks Opportunity Areas ................................................................................ 34 Brays Oaks Housing Development .......................................................................... 35 Page 4 of 60 Mid-Brays Bayou Resiliency & Revitalization Housing & Community Development Strategies Table of Figures Figure 1: Mid Brays Communities ................................................................................. 8 Figure 2: Harris Count Geographical Context ............................................................. 12 Figure 3: Brays Bayou Sustainability Context ............................................................. 13 Figure 4: Political Context ........................................................................................... 15 Figure 5: Mid Brays Demographics ............................................................................. 16 Figure 6: Mid Brays Demographics B .......................................................................... 17 Figure 7: Mid-Brays Housing Redevelopment ............................................................ 22 Figure 8: Mid Brays Housing Goals ............................................................................. 24 Figure 9: Braeburn Housing Demand .......................................................................... 25 Figure 10: Brays Oaks Housing Demand ..................................................................... 26 Figure 11: Meyerland Housing Demand ..................................................................... 27 Figure 12: Westbury Housing Demand ....................................................................... 28 Figure 13: Willow Meadows/ Willow Bend Housing Demand.................................... 29 Figure 14: Braeburn Community Patterns .................................................................. 32 Figure 15: Braeburn Housing Complexes .................................................................... 33 Figure 16: Brays Oaks Community Patterns ............................................................... 34 Figure 17: Brays Oaks Housing Complexes ................................................................. 35 Figure 18: Meyerland Community Patterns ............................................................... 36 Figure 19: Meyerland Housing Complexes ................................................................. 37 Figure 20: Westbury Community Patterns ................................................................ 38 Figure 21: Westbury Housing Complexes ................................................................... 39 Figure 22: Willow Meadows/ Willow Bend Community Patterns ............................. 40 Figure 23: Willow Meadows/ Willow Bend Housing Complexes ................................ 41 Figure 24: Mid Brays Priority Area Assessment .......................................................... 43 Figure 25: Mid Brays Priority Area 1 ........................................................................... 44 Figure 26: Mid Brays Priority Area 2 ........................................................................... 46 Figure 27: Mid Brays Priority Area 3 ........................................................................... 48 Figure 28: Post Project Brays Vulnerable Areas ......................................................... 50 Figure 29: Bond Program Map of Projects in Mid Brays ............................................ 52 Page 5 of 60 Mid-Brays Bayou Resiliency & Revitalization Housing & Community Development Strategies Page 6 of 60 Mid-Brays Bayou Resiliency & Revitalization Housing & Community Development Strategies Findings 7. Residential density and development standards need to be implemented in 1. The Mid-Brays communities are Braeburn, Westbury, Greater Meyerland, Mid-Brays: to promote cost efficient resilience strategies for private owners Brays Oaks, and the Near Southwest Super neighborhoods. and to minimize local government infrastructure maintenance costs. 2. These communities are racially diverse with a median income that is below 8. The Mid-Brays communities are represented by a very stellar and diverse the Area Median Income (AMI) for the Houston region. Mid-Brays is 35% group of elected officials. The highest priority should be ‘collaboration’ to identify and initiate large scale resilience projects