Envisioning how vacant and tax delinquent properties could be utilized to build civic infrastructure
Houston Hope
In 2004, the City of Houston began a major initiative titled Houston Hope. The program’s goal was to improve quality of life in six of Houston’s most blighted neighborhoods: Acres Homes, Clinton Park, Independence Heights, Settegast, Sunnyside, and Trinity-Houston Gardens. In these six neighborhoods half or more of the housing units are abandoned, tax delinquency impacts a large percentage of parcels, there are many vacant lots, economic opportunity is limited, environmental hazards are prevalent, and many standing structures are in various states of decay. In Fall of 2006, the CDRC joined the City of Houston to define strategies specific to four of the six neighborhoods: Acres Homes, Clinton Park, Settegast, and Sunnyside. Moving beyond the original scope of the Houston Hope program, the CDRC and architecture students worked to envision how vacant and tax delinquent properties could be utilized to build civic infrastructure in each community.
Project Team: Susan Rogers, Rafael Longoria
Student Team: Edwin Ayala, Andres Carlos, Farid Dehghan, Roberto Fonseca, Dante Gamez, Halina Kobal, Yara Lozano, Alfonso Montoya, Zui Ng, Jyoti Patel, Diego Ramirez, Elizabeth Rosales, Ermal Shpata, Mickey Sommerfield, Jeff Stavert, Brey Tucker, Xin Ye
Fall 2006
University of Houston
College of Architecture