Houston’s known for its lack of zoning. It’s also known for its master-planned communities.
In a master-planned community, a developer fills in for the lack of direction given by the city, laying out not only where the homes will go, but also the neighboring parks and trails; office buildings and restaurants; even, in larger developments, schools and churches. The idea is that a homebuyer is interested in buying not only a home but also the lifestyle that the surrounding neighborhood can offer.
Houston Habitat for Humanity is bringing that model to affordable housing, in one of the nation’s first master-planned communities created expressly for families of low and moderate incomes.
“Any neighborhood wants to be close to a grocery store and to a bank and health care and a library,” said Allison Hay, executive director of Houston Habitat for…
