In his capacity as a Senior Policy Advisor in Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's Office of Recovery, Ryan authored this article for USGBC to share how LEED for Cities is a tool for sustainability and resilience accountability in large cities like Houston. Ryan manages the city’s LEED for Cities certification; he also advances federally funded disaster recovery projects with a focus on building resilience.

LEED for Cities helps Houston track efficiency and sustainability performance and helps develop a consistent benchmark for sustainable design and planning at the scale of the city. The program is focused not only on energy and water usage, but also on wider data points like equitable distribution of wealth, prosperity, and the general health and safety of residents. These are reoccurring themes throughout Resilient Houston and the Climate Action Plan. Other aligned foci include transportation, education level of Houstonians, air quality, and crime rates. Resilience and sustainability are not just buzzwords about the environment: it’s about advancing modern methods and technologies to make the places where we “live, work, play” more sustainable, and that includes a focus on providing for a community’s health, safety, and access.

Ryan joined The 2021 Virtual Smart Growth Summit in November of 2021 - a 4-day conference focusing on implementation tools, innovative strategies, and new technologies that will help communities foster healthier, more resilient, and equitable communities.

“Ask my mom and she'll tell you - I was born the year Alicia hit Houston. I was heading into my senior year of high school when Allison washed ashore. Ike... Harvey... Houstonians mark the passage of time one storm to the next. It's a reflex for us. There’s also an inimitable sense of pride that comes along with Houston’s ability to rebound from catastrophe. Helping our neighbors in their time of need is also a reflex for Houstonians.”

While at the City of Houston, Ryan assumed a leadership role in the development of Resilient Houston by facilitating working groups and community engagement, as well as drafting, editing, and diagramming content.

Resilient Houston provides a framework for collective action for every Houstonian; our diverse neighborhoods and watersheds; City departments; and local, regional, and global partners. The strategy links existing efforts with new ones that will collectively work to protect Houston against future disasters—from hurricanes to extreme heat waves—and chronic stresses such as aging infrastructure, poor air quality, and flooding. Resilient Houston was developed in partnership with hundreds of diverse stakeholders who determined goals and targets over the past year. It provides detailed actions and a framework for achieving them. While Resilient Houston is a City of Houston plan, its scope far exceeds what can be achieved by the city government alone. Every Houstonian has a role to play in building resilience.

Ryan worked with City of Houston leadership, community partners, design partners, and Houstonians to develop a set of strategies that help Houston live with water. Specifically, Ryan helped facilitate the planning workshop that brought all stakeholders together to collaborate. The resulting report has provided the foundation for a number of efforts that look to advance buy-in/buy-out strategies as well as a network of Lily Pads.

“The Bayou City has a history of relying on our water assets for economic and cultural purposes, but we have an opportunity to further embrace water, while ensuring safety for Houstonians and respect for our natural environment.”

- Mayor Sylvester Turner