An expert panel convened by the ULI District Council in Houston recently recommended creating urban green space to help catalyze the redevelopment of an underutilized area in the southeastern quadrant of downtown Houston.

The Technical Assistance Panel was held in March 2013 and was funded in part by an Urban Innovation Grant from the ULI Foundation. The panel’s research and final report—Making the Case for Urban Green Space in Southeastern Downtown—focused on how public realm improvements and urban green space could be incorporated into a redevelopment program that encourages a mix of uses. It also examined incentives to encourage successful public/private partnerships to accomplish the redevelopment and the road map for accomplishing the desired outcome.

This project leveraged ULI’s impressive body of market-based, credible information on the return on investment in urban green space and parks, including:

• The ULI publication Urban Design and the Bottom Line, by Texas A&M University faculty member Dennis Jerke.
• The Open Space: An Asset Without a Champion? survey of European property professionals by global design firm Gensler and ULI.
• The Urban Land article The Payoff From Parks about efforts to measure the return on investment of public green space.

The resulting report was a collaboration between veteran real estate industry professionals, civic leaders, graduate students in the real estate program at Texas A&M University, Central Houston Inc., and corporate partners. The report offers actionable recommendations that Houston’s civic and business leaders can follow to add maximum value to the city through urban development.

About Technical Assistance Panels
Technical Assistance Panels like Houston’s are part of ULI’s Advisory Services program. TAPs are one- to two-day panels that are run and implemented by ULI’s local chapters, known as District Councils. The panels examine real estate or land use challenges that require local insight to resolve. ULI District Councils draw upon the expertise of their local members to offer objective and responsible advice to community decision makers on issues ranging from site-specific projects to public policy questions.

About Urban Innovation Grants
The ULI Foundation supports TAPs through its Urban Innovation Grants, which fund local ULI programs that recognize or launch innovative public/private partnerships.