Houston—the country’s fourth largest city—is known for being car-centric and zoning-averse. Now, however, it is undergoing a monumental landscape architecture-led transformation whose scale and impact could fundamentally change the city and influence city-shaping around the globe. World-class projects by leading practitioners will be the focus of a daylong conference, accompanied by What’s Out There Weekend Houston, featuring two days of free, expert-led tours.

Leading with Landscape II: The Houston Transformation, which features three consecutive moderated panel discussions, will tackle numerous issues, including those that deal with the city’s identity. The roster of speakers includes internationally significant private-sector practitioners working on current and proposed projects in Houston, as well as municipal leaders, academics, and leading critics and thinkers. The first two panels will examine completed projects and ongoing projects, respectively, and will assess the influences of culture, history, and ecology in the evolving Houston cityscape. The final panel will provide a comprehensive appraisal of the projects and issues presented and will consider their implications for city-shaping. 

Planners in Houston, like those in Toronto and other major metropolises, are engaging internationally significant practitioners who incorporate ecology, culture, and design excellence to yield exceptional projects built to the highest standards. Areas that were once abandoned or deemed otherwise unusable are now recognized as prized opportunities for creating parks that will become vital connective tissue. This work builds on a foundation of some 370 parks, parkways, and open spaces comprising more than 23,000 acres managed by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. These parks benefit from the public-private partnerships that have advanced Houston’s ambitious plans—groups such as Central Houston Civic Improvement, Discovery Green Conservancy, Hermann Park Conservancy, and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership. 

The implications of this planning and development strategy, including innovative design and stewardship models, and the resourceful use of urban fabric, will affect how we use landscape as an engine to shape 21st-century cities.