Texas

Texas State Capital

Austin Employs Team to Help Residents Avoid Displacement

The city’s new Displacement Prevention Navigators will conduct outreach and assist with finding resources to help cost-burdened residents at risk of losing their housing stay in their homes.

May 3, 2023 - Route Fifty

Texas Capitol Building

Bill Legalizing ADUs Passes Texas Senate

If passed by the full state legislature, the bill would eliminate local restrictions on ‘mother-in-law’ units.

May 1, 2023 - FOX 4 News

Texas

Dallas Plan Would Spend $400 Million to Support Affordable Housing

A proposed bond referendum would be the city’s largest-ever affordable housing investment.

May 1, 2023 - NBC DFW

Flooded street and two downed trees with downtown Houston buildings in background

Houston’s ‘Ike Dike’ Won’t Adequately Protect the City

The largest project ever undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers may not be enough to protect Houston-area communities from flooding during the most severe hurricanes, according to the Corps’ own analysis.

April 27, 2023 - Grist

Rendering of blue light rail train and people walking around train station in Austin, Texas

Austin’s Project Connect Faces More Hurdles

Two proposed bills in the Texas state legislature call for more voter oversight of the mass transit project, which could imperil the transit expansion approved by voters in 2020.

April 25, 2023 - KXAN

Aerial view at dusk of downtown Austin, Texas with river in foreground

New Zoning Category Proposed in Austin

The ‘town zoning’ category would create more flexibility and encourage developers to build more affordable, transit-oriented housing.

April 24, 2023 - Austin Business Journal

View of wide residential street in Dallas, Texas neighborhood with one white car parked at the curb and large tree with yellow fallen leaves around it

Texas State Bills Would Let Cities Lower Speed Limits

The proposed legislation would give cities the ability to reduce neighborhood speed limits without having to produce expensive traffic studies.

April 18, 2023 - The Dallas Morning News

Austin's Sixth Street full of pedestrians during SXSW festival with yellow sign for Chuggin Monkey bar in foreground

Austin Could Eliminate Parking Minimums for Bars

Proponents of the resolution say the city’s parking mandates encourage drunk driving and drive up construction costs for small businesses.

April 12, 2023 - Towers

A map of the METRORapid University Corridor Project, showing the various stops along the proposed line.

25.3-Mile BRT Route Approved for Houston’s University Corridor

The METRORapid University Corridor bus rapid transit route will become the backbone of the Houston Metro system.

April 10, 2023 - Houston Chronicle

Silver Houston Silver Line bus at a dedicated bus rapid transit station

Houston Metro Proposes Undergrounding BRT Line

To ease community concerns, the agency is proposing an underpass in lieu of a prior plan that would have elevated a new rapid transit line above a portion of its downtown route.

April 6, 2023 - Houston Chronicle

Aerial view of neighborhood with homes along a bayou surrounded by green trees in Sugar Land, Texas

A Rapidly Urbanizing Texas County Gets in Touch With its Agricultural Roots

Developers in Fort Bend County are drawing inspiration from ‘agrihoods’ to build car-light communities in one of the nation’s fastest-growing areas.

April 4, 2023 - Urban Edge

Aerial view of Interstate 35 bridge over river into downtown Austin, Texas with skyline in background

Controversial Highway Widening Breaks Ground in Austin

Texas’ transportation priorities were on display in March—a few days after the gutting of a transit plan, a highway expansion broke ground depite years of local opposition.

April 3, 2023 - KUT

Aerial view of green trees over residential neighborhood with Austin, Texas skyline in the background

Street Trees as Climate Resilience

An Austin-based urban designer explains how protecting and encouraging the planting of street trees will make the city more resilient to increasingly common extreme heat events, among many other benefits.

April 3, 2023 - Diana Ionescu

"Bike path closed" sign on orange and white construction barrier

Houston Cyclists Call for Safer, More Visible Trail Closure Signage

After a recent death on the White Oak Trail, Houston bike advocates say closure markers on the city’s bike trails are often inconsistent and hard to see, posing a danger for cyclists at night.

April 2, 2023 - Houston Chronicle

Main Street Sign with Traffic Light in the Background in Downtown Houston, Texas

Part of Houston’s Main Street to Be Permanently Pedestrianized

A seven-block stretch downtown will remain closed to cars after the success of a pandemic-era outdoor dining program.

March 30, 2023 - Houston Chronicle

Houston, Texas

Houston Mayor Rebukes Housing Authority on Tax Break Deals

The mayor sternly denounced the city’s housing authority for going forward with tax break deals that critics say don’t bring enough new affordable housing to the city and reduce tax revenue for local schools and utilities.

March 28, 2023 - Houston Chronicle

Rendering of Baylor Scott & White Health Administrative Center in Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas

A Dallas Architect Designs Statement Buildings With a Purpose

The Dallas Morning News’ architecture critic profiles one of the city’s most important current architects.

March 26, 2023 - The Dallas Morning News

A mountain range at sunset appears in the background of this photo, with cacti in the foreground.

Biden Designates a New National Monument in West Texas

The Castner Range National Monument in West Texas is the second of two new national monuments announced by President Joe Biden this week.

March 26, 2023 - The White House

Electric bus in Austin, Texas

Austin’s Project Connect Transit Plan Drastically Reduced

The details of drastic reductions to the proposed building program for Austin’s Project Connect long-range transit plan are now open for public comment.

March 23, 2023 - KUT

View of downtown Dallas skyline at night with tall tower lined with green lights

Dallas Ahead of the Game in Adaptive Reuse

Thanks in part to a state tax credit created in the early 2000s, downtown Dallas is set to create roughly 1,500 new housing units by converting office buildings to residential uses.

March 21, 2023 - Dallas Business Journal

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

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