From City Hall to the city streets, Houston is taking action to promote sustainable development for the future. Sustainable development takes into account the long-term stability, prosperity, and character of an area, using the tools of economics, sociology, environmental science and more. Have you ever wondered how these actions affect your daily life or how you can help?
The City of Houston has set up a portal for information on their initiatives at Community Sustainability. Programs like the minimum lot size program and historic preservation affect multiple neighborhoods across the city. There’s also the Green Houston website presenting environmentally-focused sustainability initiatives like composting, community recycling and farmers’ markets.
Houston’s sustainability scene includes organizations like Sustainable Houston, working with local businesses, and B-Cycle, creating a bike-sharing program for citizens to take advantage of the hundreds of miles of bike paths in Houston.
There are so many new and exciting sustainability initiatives happening in Houston and around the world that it can be difficult to figure out where an individual can best make a difference, or how those initiatives will affect daily life.
Lester King, PhD, specializes in sustainable development and the development of context sensitive solutions for urban development. In the course, “Sustainable Houston and You,” this fall, he will discuss the way Houston is changing through sustainable development, and how those changes impact individuals.
Lectures will cover business practices, transportation, quality of life and energy consumption as they relate to sustainable development, then apply that knowledge to practical scenarios. Classes begin November 4.