BBP love

Beloved urban Houston park blooms with national design award nomination

Buffalo Bayou Park's urban design has yielded national attention.

Photo by David A. Brown

Houston is seeing a renaissance of sorts with its urban parks, as evidenced by the colossal, $70 million-donation to Memorial Park by the Kinder Foundation and Levy Park being named a winner of the Urban Land Institute’s coveted Open Space Award.

Now, Buffalo Bayou Park joins the fertile mix, with a recent selection as a finalist of the 2019 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. This means the park can secure either a gold medal, with a $50,000 prize, or a silver medal, with a $10,000 prize, to enhance current and future projects.

Buffalo Bayou Park was recognized for its “enhancement of a historic waterway into a resilient public greenspace,” according to a statement by Buffalo Bayou Partnership and SWA Group. The nomination is especially sweet, given the myriad floodings and setbacks the park has endured post-Harvey.

Buffalo Bayou Park joins four other 2019 finalists from across the country, including Sulphur Springs, Texas, which was recognized for its renewal of a rural, small-town civic plaza and main street. The other projects hail from Lynn, Massachusetts; Memphis, Tennessee; and New Orleans.

The biennial award has recognized transformative places that contribute to the economic, environmental, and social vitality of American cities, according to a statement. Seventy-eight projects in 27 states have been honored since its founding.

Finalists and medalists are chosen by a nationwide committee of urban experts through an in-depth evaluation process involving input from the award application, site visits, interviews with project participants and community members, and committee discussions.

Next month, RBA staffers will begin site visits to each finalist project in preparation for the committee’s selection of the medal winners in June. Buffalo Bayou Park and the other finalists will be featured in Metropolis magazine.

“Buffalo Bayou Partnership extends our congratulations to the park designers and consultants as well as our sincerest thanks to the Kinder Foundation for its catalyst gift and to all of the generous funders that made Buffalo Bayou Park possible,” park reps say in a statement. “Special thanks also to the Downtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #3 that provides BBP with annual funding for the park's operations and maintenance.”

awards parks

a new record

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo commits over $30 million to education

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo cattle exhibition

Courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

The money supports studies in fields such as animal husbandry.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo continues its annual tradition of breaking its own record when it comes to educational endowments. On Giving Tuesday, the organization pledged to disburse $30,353,380 in 2026 in the form of scholarships, grants, and other funding.

“This milestone moment of reaching $30 million in a single year highlights the Rodeo’s unwavering dedication to Texas youth and education,” HLSR president and CEO Chris Boleman said in a statement. “Thanks to our loyal donors, sponsors, more than 36,000 volunteers and dedicated attendees, 2026 will reach historic heights in supporting the next generation of leaders, agricultural professionals and organizations that share the Rodeo’s mission.”

This brings the total of education funding provided by the Rodeo since 1932 up to $660 million. Last year's $28 million commitment also set a new record.

One innovation this year is the establishment of the Area Go Texan Vocational Scholarship, a program that expands on the relationship with 68 Texas counties through the Area Go Texan affiliate program. One student from each county will receive $6,000 toward a degree or certificate in a vocational field at a Texas nonprofit college or university. Another $500,000 in vocational scholarships will awarded to 10 schools in 2026. Guidelines for applying can be found at this link.

In total, the Rodeo will hand out $15,126,000 in scholarships, $11,273,500 to junior exhibitors, $3,430,880 in grants, and $523,000 in graduate assistantships. Grants will be awarded to 82 Texas institutions and organizations, such as Arts for Rural Texas, BridgeYear, The Bryan Museum, Diversity in the Arts and Entertainment, Greater Houston Partnership Foundation, Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA), Space Center Houston, Texas State University Development Foundation, and University of St. Thomas at Houston.

Money for the annual endowment is raised through the annual auctions, sales of livestock and art, and through charitable donations. The goal of the endowment program is to promote study and research in agriculture, animal husbandry, and other fields that directly benefit the Rodeo.

The Rodeo is scheduled to run from March 2 – 22, 2026. More information on performers, attractions, and vendors can be found at RodeoHouston.com. Scholarship applications are open through February 2, with funds being awarded in summer 2026.

rodeohouston houston livestock show and rodeo