In the past several months, the density of urban areas has been demonized by more than a few because of the COVID-19 crisis. While understandable, it’s not completely accurate when it comes to the current pandemic, which has ravaged New York but hasn’t affected other very dense cities like Hong Kong and Singapore in the same way. In Houston, the city’s light touch when it comes to land-use regulations and its relative affordability are leading to greater density. That trend is likely to continue when the pandemic ends.
Kinder Institute senior fellow and former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett sees three major challenges that need to be addressed as Texas begins the task of tackling its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the COVID-19 crisis continues, planners and urbanists should be considering the lessons we’re already learning during the pandemic and think about solutions that will improve our future cities. Those include things like urban farming, neighborhoods that are less drivable and more walkable, and better, safer shared-use of city streets.
Some 80% of Texas’ 29 million residents live in large cities or metropolitan areas, which are the economic drivers in the state. If the recovery is going to be successful after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, it’s important that preparations begin now.
In many African cities, the combination of density, widespread financial insecurity and underdeveloped health care systems make them especially vulnerable to being hit hard by COVID-19.
Despite the current coronavirus-driven economic slowdown and drop in oil prices, Houston continues to be one of the fastest-growing and most prosperous metropolitan areas in America. The metro area continues to add about 100,000 residents annually and has a gross domestic product of a half-trillion dollars per year.
Many families in the Houston region live in homes with flood damage, of which they may or may not be aware. These residents may face high levels of mold exposure that can lead to lung damage that puts them at a greater risk of severe complications should they become infected with the novel coronavirus.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has forever changed the world and life as we know it. Once the current pandemic is over, it will also change our approach to where we work, how we get there and more.
Editor’s note: This is the first of two posts exploring the long-term effects the COVID-19 crisis will have on the American city. Once we get through this, cities as we know them will be changed forever.
Why are there so few studies charting displacement and cultural decline in non-gentrifying neighborhoods? According to this commentary, the implicit assumption in most gentrification research is that if a neighborhood doesn’t change, it stays the same. And that displacement by decline is much more common and more harmful than displacement due to gentrification.
All day long, cars and trucks speed down Rushmore Boulevard, a high-traffic roadway that separates a pair of lifelong friends in the book “The Busiest Street in Town.” That is, until they decide to take matters into their own hands to slow the traffic and make the street safe for everyone. It may be a children’s book but the story doesn’t have to be a fairy tale.
Research consistently shows that higher education pays — for both individuals and society. There’s a direct correlation between the level of postsecondary education and the amount of money a person makes, how much they pay in taxes, their degree of civic engagement and even their health. On average, those with a bachelor’s degree earn 31% more than those with an associate degree and 62% more than those with a high school diploma alone.
Metro Transit, which operates public transportation service in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, launched the region’s first bus rapid transit line (BRT) in 2016 with its METRO A Line. Last year, a second BRT line was added, and more are planned for the future.
It will take 20 years to implement the METRONext plan but if done correctly, getting riders where they want to go will be the top priority and the entire Metro system will work in concert to provide the best service possible.
