Incorporating Envision into CIP Planning and Delivery

The City of Houston's Public Works Department is the largest public works department in the United States. The department plans, designs, constructs, operates, and maintains transportation, drainage, water, and wastewater infrastructure across the city's 675 square mile area. 

Near the end of 2023, the department initiated an effort to update their capital improvement plan development process to enhance the social, economic, and environmental (triple bottom line (TBL)) benefits obtained from public infrastructure investments. 

The department decided to incorporate the sustainability and resilience considerations included in the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework (Envision) into the process used to identify and develop potential Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects and to deliver those projects. The effort will be completed in the Spring of 2025 and initial implementation will be underway by October 2025. 

The panel discussion will include a brief overview of Envision and how it provides a roadmap to obtain TBL benefits; a description of the CIP process used prior to the update; the work undertaken to identify the recommended changes; a summary of the new CIP process; and initial thoughts on implementation.