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Walkable urban development shows promise in Houston

New study ranks Houston 15th among metro areas for 'walkable urbanism'

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A $10 million plan to revitalize Levy Park includes adjacent office and residential developments by Houston-based developer Midway.
A $10 million plan to revitalize Levy Park includes adjacent office and residential developments by Houston-based developer Midway.Upper Kirby District

Greater Houston is continually cited as one of the country's most sprawling large metro areas. But as more Houstonians express an interest in living in walkable urban neighborhoods and developers build more compact sections of shops, housing and offices, will our future be as spread out as it is today?

Houston ranked No. 15 on a list of the country's top 30 metro areas based on the amount of office and retail space jointly developed in "Walkable Urban Places," or "WalkUPs," according to a national study on walkability and urbanism.

The report also examined development patterns and other factors to predict how walkable these metros are likely to become. Houston ranked No. 13 among the 30 metros on that list.

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"We think they paint Houston about right," David Crossley, president of nonprofit Houston Tomorrow, said about the study. It was released last week by the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at George Washington University School of Business in conjunction with LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors, a program of Smart Growth America.

The report characterizes walkable urban development as having a higher density and a combination of real estate product types. This type of development is also connected to surrounding areas via multiple transportation options, such as bus and rail, bike routes and cars, the report said. Essentially, they are places where everyday destinations like home, work, schools and stores are within walking distance.

"The speed with which walkable urbanism is invading the city is pretty fast now," said Crossley, whose group promotes urban development.

New projects like west Houston's City­Centre and the coming River Oaks District and Kirby Grove, near Levy Park in the Upper Kirby area, are just a few examples of the recent trend toward urban-style development.

All three projects combine retail and/or residential with office space.

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According to the report, walkable urban offices in the top metros command a 74 percent rent-per-square-foot premium over rents in suburban areas.

It also found high- ranking cities to have higher education levels and higher GDP per capita.

The study "reveals just how important Walkable Urban Places are," Chris Leinberger, president of LOCUS and author of the report, said in a statement. "As economic engines, as talent attractors, and as highly productive real estate, these WalkUPs are a crucial component in building and sustaining a thriving urban economy. Cities with more WalkUPs are positioned for success, now and in the future."

Washington, D.C., Boston and New York were the top metros in the study.

Washington was noted for not only having most of its office and retail space in WalkUPs, but also for having the most balanced distribution of walkable urban space between the central city and the suburbs.

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The vast majority of Houston's walkable space is in the center of town.

Despite Houston's "natural economic inclination for driving and road building," there are signs of a more walkable future, the report said, referring to the new light rail lines that serve growing urban neighborhoods.

The walkable urbanism of each metro was determined to be the share of office and retail space located in its urban areas through the first quarter of 2014. In Houston, 17 percent of office and retail development was in WalkUPs.

Despite the growing number of projects embracing this trend, Crossley said, longstanding public policies still do not encourage walkable development in the Houston area. He cited the Grand Parkway transit project and continued development of far-flung residential communities as examples.

"We're pursuing sprawl as policy," Crossley said.

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Nancy Sarnoff covered commercial and residential real estate for the Houston Chronicle. She also hosted Looped In, a weekly real estate podcast about the city’s most compelling people and places. Nancy is a native of Chicago but has spent most of her life in Texas.