Inner city area sees growth spurt

From downtown through midtown and along Washington Avenue, a population growth spurt has taken off since 2000.

One buzz word to describe what's going on is "infill," said Jerry Wood, previously Houston's deputy assistant director for planning and development and now an independent consultant advising the city on census issues.

Wood said that infill, or the use of vacant land in an otherwise built-up area, has happened in such neighborhoods as Rice Military (between Westcott and Shepherd south of Washington), First Ward (near Houston Avenue north of Washington) and Cottage Grove (both sides of Interstate 10, between Shepherd and Hempstead Highway).

"In Cottage Grove, three-and four-story townhouses are replacing bungalows at a high rate," Wood said. "That's been true throughout that ZIP code.

Mary-Jane Buschlen, a 15-year Cottage Grove resident, said she's watched it happen.

"I moved in 1995 to a street that had no new condos," said Buschlen, an artist who is outreach coordinator for the Cottage Grove Civic Club. "Now maybe 70 percent of my street is new development."

Fast growth

When it's well planned, inner-city living makes more sense than commuting many miles, she said.

But in Cottage Grove, growth is happening faster than the infrastructure upgrades needed to accommodate it, she said.

The neighborhood has lost many trees to construction, and flooding now happens regularly where it never did before the early 1990s, she said. "I'm all for urban redevelopment. I just wish it would be done with more forethought," Buschlen said.

Commuting limits

Houston is approaching the upper limit of how far workers want to commute, said Travis Younkin, capital projects director for the Upper Kirby Management District.

"It's going to be harder to develop farther out than people already are now," he said. "An hour-and-a-half each way is about as much as people are going to be willing to do."

New developments

A couple new developments near Westheimer and Kirby illustrate the trend to higher density, Younkin said.

La Maison at River Oaks, 2727 Revere St., is a five-story apartment building on a side street, and Gables West Ave, 2800 Kirby Drive, is a mixed-use complex with retail shops on the first two floors and residential units on top.

"I think the trend will continue," Younkin said. "The market will allow for density development. It will start to make sense even in a state that has land prices like Texas does."

Focus on pedestrians

In response, the Upper Kirby Management District–bounded roughly by Westheimer, Shepherd, Bissonnet and Buffalo Speedway – is making improvements that will encourage people to make short trips on foot, Younkin said.

One example is "pedestrian-scale" lighting, which illuminates sidewalks and other areas beyond the street.

"If people can see well, and people can see you, it's much safer to walk at night," he said. "Now, people use cars because it's the most convenient and the safest option."

While many factors affect housing choices, another one that seems to be drawing people into cities is a nationwide, 20-year drop in crime, said Wood, the planning consultant.

"It's not a statistical anomaly," he said. "There's been a tremendous drop in the crime rate, especially violent crime. It's not only reported but perceived, and the perception has given people confidence they can live in the inner city."

carol.christian@chron.com