Move & Mingle: Walk, Talk & Dream Small-Scale Houston
Why We Walked
Citymaking is too often locked behind desks and blueprints. Move & Mingle flips that. This month, The 3rd Ward Real Estate Council invites real estate developers, urbanists, and community advocates to walk, talk, and brainstorm the future of small-scale development in Houston. No tour guide. No heavy agenda. Just real people, real paths, and real ideas.
Hermann Park as a Canvas (But Not a Script)
Yes, we’re in Hermann Park — its trails, corners, hidden edges. But we’re not treating it as a showcase. We’re using it. As a backdrop for conversation. As a spur for ideas. As a moment to walk side by side, observing scale, patterns, thresholds. We’ll talk about what small-scale development could look like where people live, build, and breathe.
What Moves You
A walk (~1.5-2 miles) through park paths — unhurried and unscripted
Stops for open prompts (e.g. “If you built a four-unit infill here, what would matter most?”)
Sketching or sticky-note bursts—spotting opportunities and friction points
Conversation. Genuine connection. No sales pitches.
A relaxed gathering afterward (café or shade) to share notes, ideas, and who’s doing what
Why This Matters for Small-Scale Development
When you walk at human scale, you feel the transitions: from sidewalk to lawn, from corner lot to alley, from pocket parks to thresholds. These micro experiences matter in small-scale work — duplexes, townhomes, infill, accessory units — where context is everything. Walking helps you see nuance beyond renderings.
And connecting outside formal settings lets relationships grow more honestly. You’ll exchange ideas with people who get this work, in a mode that’s open, curious, and grounded.
So, come walk your city—not to be shown, but to explore, question, imagine—and build community as we do it.
