Houston+ has a Huge To-Do List: Outlook 2026: Downtown

In Houston, Connections, collaborations and continuity link the 2026 Top 20 initiatives presented by Downtown Houston+ at its annual Outlook showcase, held at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

Among the broad strategic goals: to gain attention “on the world map” for Houston’s downtown and to entrench “legacy” improvements for all Houstonians to enjoy, during and after the 2026 FIFA World Cup hits town this summer.

“It’s a big year with a big list,” said Kris Larson, Downtown Houston+ president and CEO. The 200 attendees represented city leadership, downtown property ownership, the urban planning and design communities, businesses and groups targeting solutions that up downtown’s livability and workplace appeal.

The coolest item on the agenda is both literal and figurative: implementing a “Cool + Connected Corridor” on Texas Avenue, rather like a linear park, perhaps with some event-related programming as well.

Houston’s notorious heat keeps people off the streets, surveys suggest. As demonstrated in other high temp cities, such as Phoenix, urban design elements can help mitigate that by adding sections of trees and shade structures that lower the ambient temperature, noted Jacque Gonzales-Garcia, planning and design manager for DH+.

The “Cool Corridor” prototype could be a blueprint for other sections of downtown going forward, she said.

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

An undercurrent of many the Top 20 initiatives is to improve the public realm’s vibrancy as well as “push” (rather than hope) for more lively use of privately owned outdoor space, said Cassie Hoeprich, DH+ director of planning and economic development.

One cited example of space “activation” is how the 1971 skyscraper formerly known as One Shell Plaza, now called 910 Louisiana, is peeling back its street level austerity in a redevelopment that includes adding restaurants and landscaping.

Street-level vitality is also behind the Main Street Promenade project, which is rebooting seven blocks of city streets into a pedestrian-friendly corridor of public plazas, shaded walkways and outdoor dining. Its completion by the World Cup and its long-term management strategy are on the 2026 Top 20 agenda.