6 post-pandemic predictions about how cities will be different going forward
As access to the COVID-19 vaccination becomes increasingly widespread, it seems possible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But what’s next for cities? Here are six ways cities will be different — from Zoomburbs and public transit to the fate of retail and housing — in the years to come.
Houston is a top city for women in tech. Gender equity will make it better.
Women faced disadvantages in pay and promotions at work before COVID-19, and for many, the pandemic has only widened that deficit. How can we better address those gaps and improve equity in the years to come?
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.
The US needs a bottom-up plan to fix its glaring infrastructure needs
A major, federally led infrastructure strategy is vital to meeting the nation’s challenges. A new Kinder Institute report shows that to be truly responsive to the needs of America’s cities and regions, a bottom-up consultation process with regional and local leaders and a focus on three priorities will be necessary.
5 lessons Trader Joe’s can teach the city of the future
Making the cities of tomorrow more resilient to pandemics and other threats won’t require completely rethinking planning and design as we know them, but it will require functional problem-solving, practical solutions, better data mining and analysis, and more flexibility. All of which have helped the beloved grocery store chain improve its bottom line during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s how the Biden administration will be a boost for American cities
From an eviction moratorium to support for infrastructure, transportation and affordable housing, there are many moves President Joe Biden may make that will benefit cities. Here’s a look at some of them.
How Houston can become a 15-minute city
What does cancer treatment have to do with fighting climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and neighborhood-level urban planning? Taking preventive steps today can literally save us all tomorrow.
There are only 19 prosperous majority-Black ZIP codes in the US. The Houston area is home to two
A shocking 70% of the nation’s 1,036 majority-Black ZIP codes are considered “distressed,” while only 19 — 1.8% — rank as “prosperous,” according to one analysis. Two of those prosperous ZIP codes are in Fort Bend County.
Here are the 10 most-viewed — and some of the most-engaging — Urban Edge stories of the year, as well as a look at how the Kinder Institute and its researchers are providing the insight needed to solve cities’ equity problems.
Study: Pandemic relief for small businesses did its job, but more stimulus likely needed
New research indicates federal and local COVID-19 relief programs were effective in helping to buoy small businesses with injections of cash earlier in the pandemic. And as the pandemic drags on, additional action may be necessary.
Big-city planners shouldn’t overlook the lessons of small-town design
Influenced by the Garden City movement, Badin, North Carolina, is a small gem of urban planning whose design called for green space, residential areas and commercial development in proportionate amounts. The planning of small towns like Badin can serve as an example for larger cities as they continue to grow.
Finding the small-scale urbanism his hometown lost to urban renewal
After a car-centric urban renewal plan irrevocably changed the town where he grew up, a young urbanist found the essence of Auburn, New York, in Southern California.
Urban renewal was supposed to save my hometown, instead it ripped it apart
A failed plan to breathe life back into the economy of the beautiful, walkable city where I grew up left it half the place it once was, broke my father’s heart and shaped me as an urbanist.
Map of Houston area’s distressed and prosperous ZIP codes shows ongoing and growing inequality
Where you live determines to a great extent how much access you have to quality education, health care, housing, public services and more. More access correlates to better outcomes in life. One-third of the Black population and almost one-third of the Hispanic population of Texas live in an economically distressed community. The populations of the Houston area’s distressed ZIP codes predominantly are people of color.
Where are Texas' fastest-growing cities? Check the suburbs
Though Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin all continue to grow, their suburban neighbors — led by Frisco — appear to be outpacing the biggest cities in Texas.
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