Future

land use

Updating the

2012 FLUM

Let’s shape the future of El Paso!

Envision El Paso is the ‘blueprint’ for how El Paso will grow and change over the next 20 years. Imagine it as the guide that helps El Paso residents, business owners and planners visualize the future of their community.

Envision El Paso addresses how land should be used, what types of buildings can go where, and how to create spaces that are enjoyable and functional for everyone. Envision El Paso is not merely a static document - it is a dynamic framework that reflects El Paso’s aspirations for its future, addressing current challenges and anticipating future needs.

Your Voice, Your Map!

Character Areas & Place Types

Character Areas group together parts of El Paso that share similar purposes and design qualities.

They describe how different areas function within the city — such as:

Neighborhoods 🏠
Commercial hubs/centers 🏬
Employment districts 💼
Civic centers/campuses 🏛️
Natural open spaces 🌳

Each Character Area reflects shared traits like density, building scale, street connections, and the overall look and feel of public spaces.

Within each Character Area are Place Types — more detailed descriptions that capture the character and layout of specific neighborhoods or districts. They define features like building styles, street patterns, open spaces, and how different uses come together to shape a place.

Graphic illustrating each of the Place Type components described below.

Descriptions for each of the different components of a Place Type.

Place Types

While Character Areas describe the broader role and purpose of different parts of the city, Place Types focus on the finer details — how those places take shape through their buildings, streets, and public spaces.

Place Types capture the desired future character of neighborhoods across El Paso — how they look, feel, and function. They guide how different areas grow and evolve, shaping the design of:

streets and mobility connections
buildings and open spaces
the relationships between public and private areas

Key Elements of a Place Type

Each Place Type includes several components that work together to create a complete place:

🏡 Character – the overall look, feel, and identity of the area
🛣️ Street Types & Connectivity – how streets link people, places, and movement
🌳 Public Realm – parks, plazas, and shared spaces that bring people together
🏘️ Adjacencies – how areas relate to their neighboring uses and districts
↔️ Transitions – the smooth change between different intensities of use or scale
🏢 Typical Land Uses – the range of activities and purposes within the area
🏗️ Built Form & Intensity – the height, massing, and density of development
📐 Building Siting – how buildings are positioned to shape the street and public realm

Together, these elements show how El Paso’s neighborhoods can grow in ways that are connected, vibrant, and true to their local character.

Proposed Place Types

The following proposed Place Types present the aspirational future character for neighborhoods in the City of El Paso.

These Place Types are generally organized into categories of the residential neighborhoods that we live in (Complete Neighborhoods and Neighborhood Centers), the mixed-use areas that create complete and transit-oriented communities of working, shopping and living (Regional Corridors, Urban Centers and Urban Core), employment-focused areas (Innovation, Light Manufacturing and Logistics and Heavy Industrial), and specialty districts for recreation, learning, and public services (Civic and Institutional Activity Centers, Fort Bliss and Natural and Open Spaces).

View and download the Place Type boards that were presented to workshop participants here.

Overview of Place Types.

The board above served as an introduction to the Place Types and Land Use Goals that shape up the Future Land Use Map.

City staff was present at these open-house workshops to guide participants in learning about the project, answer questions, and collect feedback.

Future Land Use goals

Community Map Character Areas

This summer, we hosted open-house workshops from June to August to explore the Future Land Use Map (FLUM). Together, we learned how the FLUM shapes growth, development, and daily life in El Paso—and how your input can help shape it, too. Most importantly, we asked you:

What kinds of development do you want to see in and around your neighborhoods—and across El Paso?

Future Land Use Vision

The vision, goals, objectives, and policies presented here were developed through earlier Envision El Paso community engagement efforts and will guide the City’s long-range planning initiatives.

The land uses outlined in this section also support the following citywide goals.

Insight and input

At the workshops, participants rotated through stations led by City staff, gaining insight into the FLUM with educational boards, real-world scenarios, and hands-on activities and providing comments and input to the ongoing work.

Explore each of the stations content and material by clicking on the links (underlined) below.

Workshops are designed with educational boards to learn more about the FLUM and how the it is used by city staff to guide development.

Workshop insights

Community Workshop at Michelle T. Adjemian Recreation Center

August 20, 2025

Snapshot
Community Workshop at El Paso Museum of Art

August 21, 2025

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Developer's Focus Group

August 26, 2025

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Youth Symposium - Parkland High School

September 20, 2025

SNAPSHOT

District 1: Don Haskins Recreation Center

hosted on June 25, 2025

Snapshot
District 2: Memorial Park Senior Center

hosted July 16, 2025

Snapshot
District 3: Valle Bajo Community Center

hosted July 17, 2025

Snapshot
District 4: Veterans Recreation Center

hosted June 26, 2025

Snapshot
District 5: Eastside Regional Recreational Center

hosted July 1, 2025

Snapshot
District 6: Marty Robbins Recreation Center

hosted July 2, 2025

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District 7: Pavo Real Recreation Center

hosted July 9, 2025

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District 8: Galatzan Recreation Center

hosted July 10, 2025

Snapshot