In 2020, the City of Houston and regional stakeholders cemented a resilience strategy and a climate action plan and adapted these initiatives to account for COVID-19’s impact on urban life. Learn more about the progress made in the first year of these two transformative efforts to both mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and other physical, social, and economic urban adversities and challenges.
Resilient Houston
Resilient Houston, the City of Houston’s resilience strategy, links existing efforts with new ones that will collectively work to protect Houston against future disasters—from hurricanes to extreme heat waves—and chronic stresses such as aging infrastructure, poor air quality, and flooding.
Resilient Houston sets 18 high-level targets across 5 scales. The following section shows the city’s progress as of February 2021 on each of the targets.
CHAPTER 1: PREPARED & THRIVING HOUSTONIANS
Making Houston more resilient begins with supporting Houstonians with tools
and resources to be resilient as individuals. Our collective resilience improves when all Houstonians
have the capacity to prepare for and adapt to an increasingly uncertain future, have access to employment
and wealth-building opportunities, and enjoy a safe and healthy quality of life.
Target Status Legend
Target 1: Provide at least 500,000 Houstonians with
preparedness training by 2025
Current Status
5,750 Houstonians trained
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Target 2: Offer 20,000 Hire Houston Youth Summer Jobs in 2020
Current Status
1,881 jobs provided
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Target 3: Ensure zero traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries on Houston streets by 2030
Current Status
260 Fatalities
1,216 Serious Injuries
Progress
Last update: 02/2021.
Progress: Baseline measurement was conducted, but no progress to date
CHAPTER 2: SAFE & EQUITABLE NEIGHBORHOODS
Each of Houston’s 88 super neighborhoods has different resilience priorities,
including flooding, air quality, displacement, and mobility.
These challenges are best addressed by developing and implementing
place-based solutions at the neighborhood scale.
Target Status Legend
Target 4: Develop 50 neighborhood plans by 2030
Current Status
10 neighborhood plans developed
Progress
Last update: 02/2021 unless otherwise noted.
See Houston’s Complete Communities for more details.
Target 5: Invest $5 million in local artists to create resilience awareness projects across the city by 2025
Current Status
$10K in project funding
$5M in emergency COVID-19 relief
2 new cultural arts districts
designated
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
$165 million in losses reported by arts and culture organizations due to COVID-19. See City of Houston Mayor’s Press Release for more information. Future action will take into account the impact of Covid-19 on resilience and recovery efforts
Target 6: Plant 4.6 million new native trees by 2030
Current Status
712,717 trees planted
Progress
Last update: 02/2021.
Data provided by Houston Wilderness’ Tree Strategy Implementation Group
CHAPTER 3: HEALTHY & CONNECTED BAYOUS
Living safely with water and embracing the role of bayous as Houston’s front yard are essential
to improving physical, environmental, and economic resilience.
Target Status Legend
Target 7: Build at least 375,000 new homes across every income level by 2050 to welcome new residents to the City of Houston
Current Status
19,467 residential units built
Progress
Last update: 02/2021.
Data provided by Houston Public Works
Target 8: Remove all habitable structures from the floodway by 2030
Current Status
5,595 habitable structures
in the floodway.
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
The estimated total number of structures in the floodway is based on the City of Houston’s estimate from the 2020 appraisal district data and using the latest FEMA definition of the floodway.
Progress: Baseline measurement was conducted, but no progress to date
Target 9: Construct at least 500 miles of trails And bike lanes by 2025
Current Status
344 miles of high-comfort bikeways
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Existing bikeways consist of 25 miles of dedicated on-street high-comfort bikeways; 32 miles of shared on-street high-comfort bikeways; and 287 miles of off-street bikeways
CHAPTER 4: ACCESSIBLE & ADAPTIVE CITY
The City of Houston will lead by example to further embed climate
readiness, equity, inclusion and resilience into all City policies and practices.
Target Status Legend
Target 10: Achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in accordance with the Paris Agreement Current Status
Progress
Last update: 02/2021 unless otherwise noted
Total greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the City of Houston’s community-wide emissions inventory; carbon neutrality refers to reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions.
Progress: Baseline measurement was conducted, but no progress to date
Last update: 2019
Target 11: Complete 100 new green stormwater infrastructure projects by 2025
Current Status
30 green stormwater
infrastructure projects
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Target 12: Eliminate geographic disparities in life expectancy by 2050
Current Status
24 year disparity between the
census tracts with the highest
and lowest estimated life expectancy
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Lowest = 65.7 years of age in Settegast; highest = 89.1 years of age in Clear Lake. Source: National Center for Health Statistics. U.S. Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates Project (USALEEP): Life Expectancy Estimates File for {Jurisdiction}, 2010-2015]. National Center for Health Statistics. 2018. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs /nvss/usaleep/usaleep.htm
Progress: Baseline measurement was conducted, but no progress to date
CHAPTER 5: INNOVATIVE & INTEGRATED REGION
By taking a regional approach to building resilience, we can extend the benefits of resilience planning to more communities while including additional partners who increase our capacity to meet these goals.
Target Status Legend
Target 13: Appoint Department Resilience Officers in
every City of Houston
Department in 2020 Current Status
Current Status
24 Departmental Resilience
Officers appointed
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Target 14: Attract or incubate 50 Energy 2.0 companies in Greater Houston by 2025
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Target 15: Provide 100% of Houstonians access to high-frequency public transportation choices within a half-mile by 2050
Current Status
54% of Houstonians live within a half-mile of high-frequency public transportation
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Target 16: Conserve 24% of undeveloped regional lands as natural spaces by 2040
Current Status
14.7% of undeveloped regional lands preserved
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Target 17: Ensure that 100% of Houstonians and visitors have access to accurate, real-time emergency alerting by 2030
Current Status
161,619 Houstonians are
registered in Alert Houston
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Target 18: Invest $50 billion in major recovery, mitigation, and modernization projects that increase resilience by 2040
Current Status
$7.6M invested
Progress
Last update: 02/2021
Includes projects from 2016 through the present day