HOUSTON—The Office of Economic Development develops, implements and manages citywide policies and procedures for encouraging and attracting growth to Houston. Its strategy involves building on the city's strengths to promote existing businesses and retain jobs, facilitate business expansion, and recruit new businesses and related employment to the city.
Economic development partners include the Texas Office of Economic Development, Harris County, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership and other economic development organizations.
Other city initiatives involve implementing sustainable projects throughout the metro. One example is the Bagby Street project.
This is the first of four Greenroads-certified sustainable roadway projects in the city and the first in the state to accommodate the needs of all street users by providing pedestrian-friendly amenities, and increased access to Midtown Park and local businesses, GlobeSt.com learns. It features gardens, walkways and benches with LED lighting along with a variety of artistic characteristics that enhance pedestrian safety in the urban neighborhood near downtown.
“The pedestrian elements of Midtown Redevelopment Authority's Greenroads Project align beautifully with the city of Houston's Complete Streets initiative, taking into account all users of the street, not just those in cars,” said mayor Sylvester Turner. “About 40% of Houstonians do not drive and Midtown is highly populated with pedestrians who both live and work nearby.”
The Bagby Street reconstruction project was vetted by members of the community, including neighborhood groups, management districts and others stakeholders interested in walkable urban projects. Bagby was a major collector street in a dense urban area with poor conditions.
Today, the Bagby design reinforces the importance of reimagining streets, sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, public transit, bike trails and lanes. Street crossing distances were reduced by 45%, increasing pedestrian traffic by 200% while maintaining the vehicle level of service.
The Bagby Street project received numerous awards and recognitions in 2014. The Complete Streets policy will be continually implemented as improvements to existing roadways and redevelopment occur, GlobeSt.com learns.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
