Guest post by Jessica Hersh-Ballering

A ULI Houston project, Making the Case for Urban Green Space in Southeastern Downtown, has helped advance the region’s thinking about how to use urban green space to catalyze downtown development.

In March, ULI Houston convened an expert group of veteran real estate industry professionals, civic leaders, corporate partners, and others for a technical assistance panel on parks and open space. Out of that panel came the report Making the Case for Urban Green Space in Southeastern Downtown.

ULI Houston executive director Ann Taylor said ULI Houston focused on “the potential of these green spaces to be a catalyst for additional investment in redeveloping the urban core of downtown.” Research suggests that neighborhood green spaces may have significant mental and physical health benefits for residents.

The technical assistance panel also developed detailed plans – including potential public/private partnerships – to create more green space in the underused southeastern area of Houston’s downtown.

ULI Houston presented the report June 13 to more than 275 public and private sector community and industry leaders. According to a survey administered that day, 84 percent of ULI members attending the presentation said they “want to receive follow-up information about the findings.”

For more information regarding the connection between green space and public health, see the following ULI publications:

• “The Payoff from Parks,” Howard Kozloff, Urban Land, August 29, 2012.
• “Land Conservation Remains as Popular as Ever,” Edward T. McMahon, Urban Land, November 28, 2011.
• Conservation Communities: Creating Value with Nature, Open Space, and Agriculture, Edward T. McMahon, published by the Urban Land Institute, 2010.

The technical assistance panel and final report were funded in part by an urban innovation grant from the ULI Foundation.

Read the full panel report.

Learn more about the ULI Houston effort, and watch the video.