Coalition for a Livable Houston
Principles for Public Policy
Goal: Make the Houston region a better place to live.
“In a global economy, regions judged to have a high quality of life
hold the competitive edge in attracting the high-paying jobs of the future.”
- Hugh McColl, Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America
“To compete successfully in the age of talent, regions must make quality-of-place a central element of economic development efforts.”
- Richard Florida, “Competing in the Age of Talent”
In order to continue to make Houston and the area around it a more livable and competitive region, a diverse coalition of civic, business, and public organizations must begin to exchange and support ideas and agendas for a future that balances economic, social, and environmental issues to improve the quality of life and place.
The following set of principles has been synthesized from the desires and wisdom of people and planners in the Houston area as expressed in the documents summarized in the publication “Connecting the Visions,” and from livable communities principles all around the United States. The signers of this document support the inclusion of these principles as a basis for all public planning processes in the region: