Work

Resurrecting Comey’s Green—Legacies of Inequity in Houston’s Park Planning

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This article critically examines the Bayou Greenways Initiative (BGI), a public-private partnership in Houston, Texas, through its claimed goal of completing city planner Arthur Comey’s 1913 park plan. It argues that by uncritically reproducing Comey’s envisioned threadlike bayou parks, the BGI risks perpetuating the plan’s profit-driven, racist, and classist inequities. The analysis identifies three key problems: prioritizing property values through design, privileging wealthier white neighborhoods through inequitable allocation and phasing, and misunderstanding transportation needs by emphasizing recreation that primarily benefits affluent residents. The BGI’s reliance on private philanthropy and profit-oriented design maintains a system where public park improvements are tied to financial gain, heightening the risk of gentrification and displacement for low-income communities. The article concludes that using historical planning documents for symbolic legitimization without socio-spatial reassessment perpetuates injustice, underscoring the need for critical historical engagement in contemporary planning.

Source: Journal of Planning History

DOI: 10.1177/15385132251387615

Author: Robin V. Hueppe

Institutions: ETH Zurich, Institute for Urban and Landscape Studies

Language: English

Topic: Urban Planning and Governance

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650