What to do with flooded Houston neighborhoods

Washington Post:
As flooded Houston neighborhoods dry out, residents wonder if they’re worth rebuilding

After three major floods — in 2015, 2016 and now Hurricane Harvey — urban planners are broaching the once-unthinkable idea that some communities ought to be abandoned and returned to nature.
After the 1900 Galveston Hurricane dredge material from digging the Houston Ship Channel was used to raise the elevation of Galveston Island by eight or nine feet.  What Houston should consider is making the Barker and Addicks reservoirs deeper so they can retain more water when there is an another flood event.  The material from the dig can be used to raise the elevation of flood prone areas.
I suspect that many of these areas have homes built prior to the 1970's when Houston instituted a requirement that all new construction be above the 100-year flood plain.  Because of Houston's lack of zoning, it is much easier to turn a neighborhood over and see tear downs of older homes and new construction.  If these neighborhoods are convenient to downtown the property could be valuable for a teardown and replace with homes on a higher elevation.

It would not surprise me to see developers make tender offers for the current homes and lots to do just that.  The Greenway Plaza development on the Southwest Freeway, near the exclusive River Oaks, was turned into a large commercial and multi family home site by just such a plan.  It was a good deal for the homeowners and the developers.

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