Vibrant communities are key to a city's vitality but economic investment can take many forms with an array of consequences.

Latest Urban Edge Stories

It is time to recognize the Rio Grande Valley as a rising borderland metropolis

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV), or el Valle del Rio Bravo as it is known in Mexico, is often considered a far-flung collection of small-town border communities. As such, it remains largely unknown to the rest of the U.S., except when cited as one of the poorest areas in the country alongside Middle Appalachia or the Lower Mississippi Delta. 

Perspective
: Jun 15, 2022
Economic Development, Urban Planning

How Dallas-Fort Worth is poised to dominate America’s heartland

There’s an adage in Texas about a braggart being someone who’s “all hat and no cattle.” But you can’t say that about “Big D,” rapidly emerging as the de facto capital of the American Heartland.
Perspective
: Oct 27, 2021
Demographics, Economic Development, Sun Belt

Cities struggle to regain employment levels seen prior to the pandemic

The jobs recovery is coming along haltingly, and it has been particularly sluggish for the nation’s biggest cities. Even with historic levels of new job openings, it might take longer for cities to adapt to the new dynamics of the post-2020 (we won't call it post-pandemic) economy.  

News Story
: Aug 23, 2021
COVID-19 and Cities, Economic Development

Latest Research

Kinder Houston Area Survey: 2022 Results

The 41st Kinder Houston Area Survey shares Houstonians’ views on the economy, crime, the pandemic and other issues related to the city’s demographic transformations.
Report: May 17, 2022
Demographics, Economic Development, Education, Housing, Immigration, Placemaking, Transportation

Kinder Houston Area Survey: 2021 Results

For the past four decades, Rice University’s Kinder Houston Area Survey (KHAS) has been tracking the changing attitudes and beliefs of Harris County residents. The 2021 survey summarizes the most consequential changes and their implications for public policy initiatives going forward.
Report: May 11, 2021
COVID-19 and Cities, Demographics, Economic Development, Education, Governance, Health, Housing, Hurricane Harvey, Immigration, Placemaking, Transportation

A Bottom-Up Infrastructure Strategy for American Renewal

This report identifies infrastructure priorities identified by local and regional leaders around the nation. Conclusions provide an important set of guideposts about priorities the new administration should take into account in crafting a national infrastructure strategy.
Report: Feb 10, 2021
COVID-19 and Cities, Economic Development, Education, Governance, Health, Housing, Transportation, Urban Planning

Experts

Steve Sherman

Stephen Averill Sherman

  • Research Scientist, Kinder Institute for Urban Research
713-348-8072
Profile

Related Initiatives

Community Bridges

The Community Bridges program at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research addresses urban inequality and poverty issues by pairing academic study with active fieldwork.

Urban Development, Transportation and Placemaking

The Urban Development, Transportation and Placemaking program investigates issues associated with the growth and development in Houston on both a large and small scale.