Podcast: Could Mayor Turner's plan give residents more say against Houston's famous lack of zoning?

A cyclist rides down Wilson Street in the Freedman's Town area of the Fourth Ward just west of downtown Houston, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. Freedman's Town has seen most of its original structures demolished during the previous decades and is one of the six pilot areas outlined in Houston's proposed conservation district program.

A cyclist rides down Wilson Street in the Freedman's Town area of the Fourth Ward just west of downtown Houston, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. Freedman's Town has seen most of its original structures demolished during the previous decades and is one of the six pilot areas outlined in Houston's proposed conservation district program.

Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Mayor Sylvester Turner is seeking City Council support for a conservation district program he and city planners say could help lower-income neighborhoods preserve their character and fend off gentrification. Critics say it may actually make gentrification worse.

Marissa Luck and R.A. Schuetz speak with Yilun Cheng, City Council reporter at the Houston Chronicle, about what conservation districts would entail, why some neighborhood advocates have been requesting them and why others are nervous.