Recently, a few other Boulevard Realty agents and I had the honor of attending a Lunchtime Conversation with Mayor Annise Parker. This is part of the Brilliant Lecture Series which provides a forum for national and international leaders, artists and other prominent figures to educate and inspire our community. The focus of the mayor’s lecture was on quality of life in Houston. She discussed how it has improved during her tenure, and what plans are in place to continue its ascension. Many topics were covered, ranging from eliminating homelessness in the city to the plan to do away with our city jails.

Sustainability was one topic which particularly interested and excited me. There are a couple causes central to the city’s effort to enhance its sustainability. One of those stems from the city’s plan to increasingly make use of greywater in a positive way. Greywater is the relatively clean wastewater from things like bathtubs, showers, sinks and washing machines. Unlike blackwater, it does not come from toilets. In some areas of the country such as parts of California and even El Paso, getting clean water is a serious problem. Toilet to tap water methods are used to deal with these problems. Houston, luckily, has no shortage of clean water.

So, the challenge for us is not figuring out how to get more clean water, but how to make more efficient use of our water supply through actions such as recycling greywater. Up to 60 percent of our city water is used for landscaping. Greywater is perfectly fine for landscaping use and thus, Mayor Parker’s administration is aggressively putting plans into place to properly utilize it. The city is doing things such as taking the abundance of greywater found at an airport and putting it into keeping golf courses green. Measures like this will make sure that greywater is no longer pushed aside and instead is properly utilized.

The other sustainability cause that the city is most closely focused on deals with making our street lights more efficient and sustainable. Last year, partnering with Centerpoint, the city of Houston put a plan into motion to switch all Houston street lights from high pressure sodium, mercury vapor and metal halide bulbs to LED ones. It is scheduled to take five years to switch all 165,000 street lights over to LED bulbs. LED lights not only last longer than traditional bulbs, but also use much less energy. The replacement, which is the largest of its kind in the nation, will reduce street light energy usage by 50 percent and, over the life of the project, will save Houston over $28 million. Now that is my kind of sustainability!

Another interesting area of focus during Mayor Parker’s lunchtime talk was the parks of Houston. The Bayou Greenways 2020 plan and Buffalo Bayou Park project have been well publicized, but exciting things are happening with other Houston parks as well. Hermann Park is in the process of a series of upgrades. One of the most impressive of these would be the complete transformation of McGovern Centennial Gardens at Hermann Park. The renovation took 8 years from start to finish and was completed, as its name would suggest, on the park’s 100th anniversary last year. McGovern Centennial Gardens is a collection of a variety of gardens spanning 8 acres. The breathtaking centerpiece of the gardens is a 30 foot mount featuring an observation deck up top and a cascading artificial waterfall down its center. Be on the lookout for more improvements to this historic city park.

Maybe even more off the radar for many Houstonians would be a couple of extreme sports parks. Spring Skatepark, which opened in August of last year in North Houston is the largest skatepark in North America. The skatepark has something to offer for skaters of all levels, from beginner to professional. In fact, it is officially recognized as a competition class park, meaning it could very well be home to future skate competitions such as the Summer X Games. Coupled with Joe Jamail Skatepark, which is just west of downtown, Houston is now home to two world class skateparks. The city will soon have a place for BMX bikers to call home as well. A bikepark is set to open right across the way from Spring Skatepark this December. It will also be competition class. Having such high quality extreme sports parks is a major plus for many Houstonians, but will also draw people to Houston who may not have come here otherwise.

Having lunch with Mayor Parker was an absolute delight. As someone who loves the city of Houston, it was thrilling and fascinating to hear the mayor reflect on all the things done during her tenure to improve the quality of life for Houstonians. Hearing that plenty more plans and projects have already been set in motion and will be completed in the near future is even more exciting. Leaving the luncheon, there was no doubt in my mind that it’s a good time to call Houston home!

Buying or selling a home or just want to discuss quality of life in Houston? Give me a call at 713.829.3052 or email me at cynthia@cynthiamullins.com.

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