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Strategies for Cooling Transit Stops and
Adjacencies in Houston’s Second Ward

University of Houston, ARCH 5500
Image Credits: Clockwise from left, University of Houston, Celeste Ponce, University of Houston, Post announcement drawing by Rachel Gutierrez

Situated south of Buffalo Bayou between downtown Houston and the Port Authority, “El Segundo Barrio”—Houston’s historic Second Ward—stands as one of the city’s most culturally rich and diverse neighborhoods. Known predominantly for its Hispanic population, the East Side became a hub for immigrants in the early 20th century who sought to establish new lives near the Gulf Coast’s booming port.

Today, the East Side remains a vital cultural center, reflecting the intersection of Houston’s maritime economy and its evolving urban landscape. Yet, this community’s cultural and environmental resilience is continuously tested. Bordered to the north by Houston’s 52-mile-long ship channel, the East Side is directly exposed to air pollution from one of the nation’s densest concentrations of petrochemical and refinery plants.

This project explores the social and cultural systems that sustain the community, focusing on economic ties, neighborhood identity, and grassroots mobilization. By examining a corridor along Harrisburg Boulevard extending to the fenceline community of Manchester, students documented the area’s built environment and social fabric through photojournalism, cartographic and diagrammatic analysis, interviews, and fieldwork. The research also investigated the layered topography and historical development of the Harrisburg corridor.

In parallel, students engaged with recent findings from Houston Public Media, which investigated the effects of extreme heat on METRO bus riders. The report revealed dangerously high temperatures inside many Houston bus shelters, with 73% of temperature readings indicating an extreme risk of heat-related illness. Using this context, the studio reinterpred its historical research as a framework for proposing the next generation of transit shelters and heat-resilient infrastructure for Houston’s East Side.