Planning for Climate Change Through Riparian Restoration in Houston, Texas

The City of Houston faces a unique set of natural and developmental resiliency challenges that make it especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. As part of a comprehensive Climate Action Plan, the City is incorporating a suite of forestry practices. The City’s Riparian Restoration Initiative, which increases natural forest cover in riparian zones, helps address climate change, but also benefits other issues like flooding, water quality, air quality, and maintenance of natural areas. This approach provides a model for future integration of forestry practices into the City’s climate approach and other regional efforts.

In a nutshell, this resource offers:

• Descriptions of how one of the biggest cities in the U.S. is utilizing urban natural as a natural climate solution.
• Explanation for targeting and prioritizing riparian corridors for restoration as a climate adaptation approach.

How to use this resource:

• As an example of urban natural areas' potential for climate planning in cities.
• As an approach for incorporating urban natural areas into city-scale planning.
• A way to connect urban natural areas to challenges shared across multiple city departments: climate change, flooding, water quality, and more.

Author: Justin Bower, Jeremy Burkes, and Kelli Ondracek

Date published: 2020

Point of contact: Justin Bower, Planner, Planner, Houston Galveston Area Council, justin.bower@h-gac.com 

Citation: Bower, J.; Burkes, J.; Ondracek, K. 2020. Planning for Climate Change Through Riparian Restoration in Houston, Texas. Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 13: Iss. 1, Article 9.

Resource is available online here.