Quote:
Originally Posted by craigs
Is it fair to conclude Houston's ongoing population growth and laissez-faire approach to zoning and development have put more homes and businesses into flood-prone areas than ever before?
It's hard to tell from maps if there are more elevated and less flood-prone areas that are realistically viable for future development. I understand there can be densification in certain inner parts of Houston proper, so that kind of growth is easily anticipated, but can the region continue to grow outward without developing areas that will flood regularly?
|
Houston isn't just growing outwards though. It's densifying pretty fast inside the Beltway but especially inside I-610. A lot of empty-nesters have sold their suburban homes once the kids are grown, and have been moving into to highrise towers. There's even been a small senior-living luxury highrise boom in Houston specifically for these people.
It can continue to grow outwards as long as it's smart growth, especially out west and north. I don't think the southern sides of Houston will expand too much. Harvey and other recent floods taught the region that you can't cut corners on regulations. Harris County literally allowed entire neighborhoods to be built in a reservoir. Why the homeowners didn't notice this or why they just had to build in these areas is the question. But, homes not built in flood zones post 2000 did not have flooding problems because the regulations had improved by then.
Another problem for Houston is the vast amounts of unincorporated areas. If the city had more incorporated suburbs that could plan their growth better (like in Dallas-Fort Worth), I don't think Houston would have had the problems it recently had with floods.