Fifth Ward

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Neighborhood Resilience Plan Open House: Final Public Meeting


The Fifth Ward Neighborhood Resilience Plan open house was a tremendous success, thanks to the community's engagement and support. Your input is shaping a robust plan that highlights your commitment to a resilient and connected neighborhood. We look forward to revealing the final plan soon and thank you for making a difference in your community's future.





Greater Fifth Ward Neighborhood Resilience Plan Open House



Come help shape the future of Fifth Ward! Join us for the Neighborhood Resilience Plan Open House at the Fifth Ward Multi-Service Center. We are gathering to review the plan projects, learn about upcoming projects, and get feedback on what resilience projects are a priority to you. This is your chance to add your voice, share ideas, and be part of the community's resilient future. So come out, get involved, and help us strive, adapt, and thrive together! See you there on Wednesday, March 6 at 5 p.m. Food and drinks will be provided.

If you are unable to attend, we would still love to hear from you! The Fifth Ward Resilience Survey will be available here until March 11.


Neighborhood Resilience Planning is underway in the Greater Fifth Ward Super Neighborhood

Neighborhood Resilience Plans are a crucial step towards realizing the vision established in Resilient Houston , Mayor Turner’s citywide resilience plan unveiled in 2020. So, the Greater Fifth Ward is partnering with the City of Houston to create a neighborhood scale plan that will be used by community members, City departments and other organizations to improve the community’s ability to prepare for, withstand and recover from flooding, excessive heat and freezing conditions. It will lay out specific projects to reduce risks, improve infrastructure, spur economic development, and enhance social empowerment. More information about the program is available here.

Community participation in the year-long planning process is critical to creating a successful plan. A Neighborhood Support Team (NST) made up of community leaders has been established to provide input on what's already happening, areas of concern, meeting locations and agendas. Most importantly, they serve as ambassadors by encouraging participation from everyone in the community.

The first phase of the planning process is to identify issues and opportunities. These are the things that are loved in the community or are going well, and things that need to be addressed. This was the focus of the first public meeting on Thursday, July 20, 2023 held at the Fifth Ward Multi Service Center.

We need more input!

Let us know of meetings or events that we can attend to share information and collect feedback.

Use this Issues and Opportunities interactive map to identify places or things you love and places that need attention.

Take a moment to respond to a short Vision and Purpose Survey to tell us more about your community.


For background information on the program or to see what's happening in other neighborhoods visit Neighborhood Resilience Planning Program(External link).


Fifth Ward History

One of Houston's original six wards, the site was sparsely inhabited before the Civil War. It was subsequently settled by freedmen and became known as the Fifth Ward in 1866, when an alderman was elected to represent the community in the Houston city government.

At the time, half the population was African-American and half Anglo. By 1870, the population of the ward comprised 561 white and 578 black residents. Two schools, one black and one white, corresponded to the roughly equal segments of the ward's population in 1876. Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, founded in 1865 by former slave Rev. Toby Gregg, is the oldest institution in the ward. Five other churches are over 100 years old: Pleasant Grove Baptist, Mount Pleasant Baptist, Sloan Memorial United Methodist, Payne Chapel Methodist, and First Shiloh Baptist. The Fifth Ward was also the site of a saloon named for Carry Nation, which, after considerable damage resulting from a dispute with the owner over the name, was subsequently known as the "Carnation."

In the 1880s, the ward enjoyed a boom following the construction of repair shops for the newly built Southern Pacific Railroad. Growth was interrupted by a fire in 1891 at the Phoenix Lumber Mill and another in 1912 that burned 119 houses, 116 boxcars, nine oil tanks, thirteen plants, and St. Patrick's Catholic Church and school.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the area saw significant housing and commercial growth as the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, organized in 1989, worked to revitalize the neighborhood through new home construction as well as an increased focus on job training, access to technology, and access to the arts. A cultural arts festival celebrated the artistic, culinary, and musical heritage of the area.

Neighborhood Resilience Plan Open House: Final Public Meeting


The Fifth Ward Neighborhood Resilience Plan open house was a tremendous success, thanks to the community's engagement and support. Your input is shaping a robust plan that highlights your commitment to a resilient and connected neighborhood. We look forward to revealing the final plan soon and thank you for making a difference in your community's future.





Greater Fifth Ward Neighborhood Resilience Plan Open House



Come help shape the future of Fifth Ward! Join us for the Neighborhood Resilience Plan Open House at the Fifth Ward Multi-Service Center. We are gathering to review the plan projects, learn about upcoming projects, and get feedback on what resilience projects are a priority to you. This is your chance to add your voice, share ideas, and be part of the community's resilient future. So come out, get involved, and help us strive, adapt, and thrive together! See you there on Wednesday, March 6 at 5 p.m. Food and drinks will be provided.

If you are unable to attend, we would still love to hear from you! The Fifth Ward Resilience Survey will be available here until March 11.


Neighborhood Resilience Planning is underway in the Greater Fifth Ward Super Neighborhood

Neighborhood Resilience Plans are a crucial step towards realizing the vision established in Resilient Houston , Mayor Turner’s citywide resilience plan unveiled in 2020. So, the Greater Fifth Ward is partnering with the City of Houston to create a neighborhood scale plan that will be used by community members, City departments and other organizations to improve the community’s ability to prepare for, withstand and recover from flooding, excessive heat and freezing conditions. It will lay out specific projects to reduce risks, improve infrastructure, spur economic development, and enhance social empowerment. More information about the program is available here.

Community participation in the year-long planning process is critical to creating a successful plan. A Neighborhood Support Team (NST) made up of community leaders has been established to provide input on what's already happening, areas of concern, meeting locations and agendas. Most importantly, they serve as ambassadors by encouraging participation from everyone in the community.

The first phase of the planning process is to identify issues and opportunities. These are the things that are loved in the community or are going well, and things that need to be addressed. This was the focus of the first public meeting on Thursday, July 20, 2023 held at the Fifth Ward Multi Service Center.

We need more input!

Let us know of meetings or events that we can attend to share information and collect feedback.

Use this Issues and Opportunities interactive map to identify places or things you love and places that need attention.

Take a moment to respond to a short Vision and Purpose Survey to tell us more about your community.


For background information on the program or to see what's happening in other neighborhoods visit Neighborhood Resilience Planning Program(External link).


Fifth Ward History

One of Houston's original six wards, the site was sparsely inhabited before the Civil War. It was subsequently settled by freedmen and became known as the Fifth Ward in 1866, when an alderman was elected to represent the community in the Houston city government.

At the time, half the population was African-American and half Anglo. By 1870, the population of the ward comprised 561 white and 578 black residents. Two schools, one black and one white, corresponded to the roughly equal segments of the ward's population in 1876. Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, founded in 1865 by former slave Rev. Toby Gregg, is the oldest institution in the ward. Five other churches are over 100 years old: Pleasant Grove Baptist, Mount Pleasant Baptist, Sloan Memorial United Methodist, Payne Chapel Methodist, and First Shiloh Baptist. The Fifth Ward was also the site of a saloon named for Carry Nation, which, after considerable damage resulting from a dispute with the owner over the name, was subsequently known as the "Carnation."

In the 1880s, the ward enjoyed a boom following the construction of repair shops for the newly built Southern Pacific Railroad. Growth was interrupted by a fire in 1891 at the Phoenix Lumber Mill and another in 1912 that burned 119 houses, 116 boxcars, nine oil tanks, thirteen plants, and St. Patrick's Catholic Church and school.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the area saw significant housing and commercial growth as the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, organized in 1989, worked to revitalize the neighborhood through new home construction as well as an increased focus on job training, access to technology, and access to the arts. A cultural arts festival celebrated the artistic, culinary, and musical heritage of the area.

Page last updated: 10 Apr 2024, 08:03 AM