By design, Houston is car-dependent. Yet, Kinder Surveys have shown that half of Houstonians want to live where they can walk more and drive less. Recently approved ordinances that promote

Rising land costs and changing consumer behaviors have conspired against “over-parking” at retail venues. One developer is bucking the trend.

The city will leave it up to businesses to decide how many parking spaces they need in two center-city neighborhoods.

Houston is probably not destined to be among the world’s most walkable cities. Between the mind-melting heat, the ankle-breaking sidewalks, the criss-crossing freeways and the seemingly endless sprawl, getting around by foot isn’t easy to do. Still, there’s no reason to succumb to nihilism. So I welcomed the Houston City Council’s vote last week expanding the city’s “market-based parking area” to cover parts of Midtown, Montrose and East Downtown, as well as downtown’s Central Business District. It’s a relatively modest reform, to be clear. The change will exempt some new developments in th...