Community Planning

Community plans focus on bringing community planning to areas of Precinct 4 to address growth, infrastructure challenges, and opportunities.
The plans will identify existing conditions, needs, and recommendations (e.g. projects, policies, and programs) focused on improving economic development, mobility, resilience, housing, placemaking, public safety/services, health, and quality of life for residents in communities of Harris County Precinct 4. Community planning efforts will be undertaken with robust public engagement to ensure participation of residents and stakeholders.

East Spring Branch Community Plan

The planning effort is approximately a nine-month process commencing in the Fall of 2023 to generate a shared vision that strives to enhance the quality of life for all residents, foster economic growth, promote educational opportunities, ensure access to healthcare services, improve transportation and mobility options, preserve the unique character of the neighborhood, prioritize safety, and provide well-maintained parks and recreational spaces. The final plan will create a set of prioritized list of projects, policies, and program recommendations to support the aspirational values of the area’s communities seeking to improve quality of life, livability, and economic opportunity. 

Action Plans

Action plans are a form of community plan, but suited to places where plans and studies have been carried out by community organizations and/or local governments throughout Precinct 4. They seek to identify capital projects, policies, and programs suited for implementation by Precinct 4 and County partners. Action Plans will pull recommendations forward through public engagement efforts and mapping prioritization. These plans also focus on improving economic development, mobility, resilience, housing, placemaking, public safety/services and health, and quality of life for residents in Harris County Precinct 4.Initial areas in Precinct 4 where Action Plans will be undertaken include: 

Gulfton Action Plan

Numerous planning and research efforts have transpired in Gulfton over the last decade. The Gulfton Community Action Plan seeks to evaluate and advance various recommendations from those planning efforts, including the City of Houston’s Gulfton Complete Communities Plan, The Nature Conservancy’s Greener Gulfton, City of Houston’s Gulfton Resilient Sidewalks Master Plan, TIRZ 20 Redevelopment Plan, Texas A&M Forest Service Gulfton Tree Survey, among others.

Alief Action Plan

The Alief Community Action Plan seeks to evaluate and advance various recommendations from multiple ongoing planning efforts in the community including the International District’s Livable Centers Plan, City of Houston’s Alief-Westwood Complete Communities Action Plan, TIRZ 20 Project Plan, the Houston Parks Board’s Bayou Greenways 2020 and Beyond the Bayous initiatives, among others. 

Sharpstown Action Plan

The Sharpstown Community Action Plan seeks to evaluate and advance various recommendations from multiple ongoing planning efforts in the community, namely, the St. George Place/TIRZ 1 Strategic Plan & Redevelopment West District Master Plan and other neighborhood initiatives.

PlaceM4KE P4!

In October 2021, Commissioners Court voted to use $22 million of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Each Precinct can propose a project of up to $2 million that meets the CPTED goals to deter criminal activity by altering the physical design of communities. Precinct 4 secured $6 million dollars, evenly divided between the Gulfton, Sharpstown, and Alief communities. Eligible expenditures for the funding include elements related to "Cooling, Lighting, Lifting, and Moving." "Cooling" refers to lowering the surface temperature of neighborhoods using trees and shade structures, "Lighting" helps space feel safe for pedestrians at all times of day and night, "Lifting" brings art and placemaking elements to uplift positive attributes of the community, and "Moving" makes improvements to the bike and pedestrian realm to encourage natural surveillance of public space.