The city of Houston is currently conducting alternative development strategies due to an increase in declining urban communities, congested streets and highways, loss of natural resources and limited affordable housing. Since the city does not have statutory authority to implement land use regulations, indicators can be used to measure/ indicate trends in areas of concern. This helps the city as well as those in the development community to target resources in a more efficient manner. The definition of indicator used here is: a data driven factor that acts as part of a system to indicate development trends.

This research presents the latest effort in an attempt to offer a supportive framework for urban planning methodology for the city. Twenty-two (22) Indicators will be developed to monitor progress towards goals derived from three areas.
These areas are:
- Mayor Bill White's re-administration of the planning commission to six sub-committees.
- The Citizen’s Agenda for Houston’s Future Top Ten Goals approved by 1,000 plus delegates at the Blueprint Houston Citizen’s Congress.
- Generic Urban Planning Goals.

The research project will focus on the development of indicators produced through a Delphi Study, and citizen surveys. A Delphi study was conducted among experts from around the city. The experts were chosen from the economic, environmental and social sectors. The participants were supplied with a primary set of indicators as a guide. The product of this exercise was considered the secondary set of indicators. This set of indicators once ratified by citizens around the city will serve as inputs for a simple model which requires two additional measures to show impact on the sectors for which the indicator does not belong. This procedure ensures balance between the three (3) sectors of economy, environment, and equity. The final product, which will constitute the tertiary set of indicators, will be composed of 22 indicators forming a balance of measures between these three sectors. Each goal will have 3 measures defined as environmental, economic and social. Measures will be allowed to overlap different goals where appropriate to ensure parsimony. Statistical and Spatial analysis will be employed to answer the following research questions:

• How well is the City of Houston?
• What factors can be derived from the indicators to explain development trends in the urban area?
• How well are the people (current and future generations)?
• Is their well being fairly shared among neighborhoods?

Scope of Work
Task 1: Determine Goals for Study
Task 2: Select Decision Makers and Experts for Participation
Task 3: Conduct Delphi Study
Task 4: Determine mirror indicators
Task 5: Data Collection
Task 6: Data Analysis
Task 7: Complete Report and Publish Findings

Task 5: The next step is data collection, which will be conducted to ensure validity and reliability. Where possible, data will be collected from reporting public agencies. A matrix will be produced showing several elements including source; primary use; current sharing level; and how current the data is.

Task 6: The data analysis stage of the work process will include extensive lab work consisting of various statistical analyses. A set of spatial and statistical analyses will be conducted showing the impact of various indicators on neighborhoods around the City of Houston.

Task 7: The results will be published in a booklet for dissemination to the public. 1000 copies will be produced. In addition this website will be expanded to display dynamic content of the project and the indicator results. Four venues will be chosen to disseminate the results.

The indicator findings will be updated annually in concert with a forum to determine changes in focus of the citizens of the City of Houston. Changes in data will be identified to support an examination of progress towards building a better city for the long term interest of the general public.