Envision Houston Region

With more than 3 million new residents expected to arrive in the eight-county Texas Gulf Coast region during the next 30 years, how and where will these new residents live and work? Will growth and development follow the regional trend of disbursed housing and centralized employment? Is there an alternative? What would the alternative look like? What are the inherent trade-offs among alternatives? These and many other questions were raised during a public involvement process initiated by the Houston–Galveston Area Council to engage residents in a discussion of the region's future growth and development. The process, called Envision Houston Region, began with a series of workshops held during 2005 to develop alternate growth scenarios or visions. Community leaders, residents, elected officials, developers, and others participated in a board game for adults to map out alternatives for how the region might grow. These workshops were followed by a series of community forums held in May 2006. The community forums focused on local development and growth issues as well as the technical results from the 2005 workshops. The Envision Houston Region initiative was a successful public outreach exercise with nearly 2,000 participants.