Urban Edge

Insights, perspectives and stories about building better cities and better lives

Houston area led nation in issuing building permits for housing in 2023

Preliminary data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicated that the Houston metropolitan statistical area led the nation in building permit activity for housing in 2023, with 50,444 single-family homes making up the majority of the 68,755 permits issued for residential units.

From battling pandemics to serving the uninsured, why Houston’s health care leadership is more important than ever before

Dr. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist, helped lead Houston through the COVID-19 pandemic by prioritizing the public’s accessibility to the COVID-19 vaccine, and he was the first hospital system CEO to introduce an employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Harris County appears to be losing more trees than it is planting. New datasets explore which neighborhoods lost the most.

New datasets on the Kinder Institute’s Urban Data Platform (UDP) make it possible to understand how tree canopy coverage has changed in the past decade across the Houston region. In short: We appear to be losing trees faster than we are planting them.

While Harris County grows a little, its suburbs see big change

Harris County is continuing to grow, but not at the rate of neighboring counties, a trend established more than a decade ago that has more recently emerged among other big counties statewide.

Guidance counselors could help close gender gap in Texas high school STEM participation

In the labor force and in postsecondary education, women lag behind their male counterparts when it comes to careers and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

National report: Houston metro is second-worst for providing affordable housing options

A new national report suggests the Houston metro area is one of the worst in the country when it comes to affordable housing options for its lowest-income households.

Voter registration data shows where Houston may have gaps

When it comes to potential voter strength, not all areas of Houston are the same. More densely populated areas generally have more registered voters, and some areas have fewer registered voters than they could have if every adult were accounted for.

Mayors express uncertainty about inflation bill’s climate change efforts in national survey

When the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law on Aug. 16, 2022, the White House referred to it as “the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in the nation’s history.” But the majority of mayors said its impact has been marginal in a report conducted by the Boston University Initiative on Cities.

Tall building council looks upward to support a more walkable, sustainable Houston

In the 2023 Kinder Houston Area Survey, about 60% of respondents expressed a desire to live in a mixed-use development instead of a single-family home.

More options in career and technical education can bolster Houston’s workforce

School districts throughout the Houston area offer students a plethora of career and technical education (CTE) programs, but a lack of alignment between such initiatives and the living-wage job market can significantly impact career trajectories and future earnings.