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Race determines home values more today than it did in 1980
New research shows that 50 years after laws were put in place to stop the use of race in real estate appraisals, homes in neighborhoods of color are still being undervalued.
Race determines home values more today than it did in 1980
New research shows that 50 years after laws were put in place to stop the use of race in real estate appraisals, homes in neighborhoods of color are still being undervalued.
Residential segregation rewards whites while punishing people of color
From 1980 to 2015, homes in white neighborhoods increased in value, on average, $194,000 more than in neighborhoods of color, according to new research. And the rate of the gap in assessed values of these comparable homes in comparable neighborhoods is getting larger over time.
COVID-19 has hit Houstonians harder financially than NYC, LA and Chicago residents
Overall, 63% of Houston households have faced serious financial problems related to the COVID-19 crisis. And the overwhelming majority of Black (81%) and Latino (77%) households report having major financial troubles, according to a recent survey.
Houston lost 42,500 creative industry jobs and $1.6 billion in sales in 4 months
A new report measuring the damage done to America’s creative economy by COVID-19 shows the South, Texas and Houston are among the most devastated. At the metropolitan level, the Houston area is the largest metro suffering the worst losses.
A summer fellowship is the bridge to AmeriCorps service in Fifth Ward
The Kinder Institute’s Community Bridges program provides Rice University students an opportunity to both study and work to address urban inequality in Houston. Here’s Susanna Yau’s story of how working with the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation changed her life.
Charlotte and other Sun Belt cities are powering urban growth, but they have issues to tackle
Large Sun Belt cities have similar strengths, such as strong economies and relatively low costs of living. They also face the same problems, like growing income inequality and rising housing costs. A Kinder Institute report concludes that Sun Belt cities need to find new ways to address their common urban issues.
As COVID-19 ebbs and flows, will there be a sea change in cities? It depends on whom you ask.
Surges, hot spots, reopenings and reclosings. As the pandemic’s jagged sawtooth trend line continues to cut across the nation, uncertainty remains. In the end, how much will the composition of urban and suburban areas change?
COVID-19 survey: Houston area is the hardest hit large metro in America
Jobless claims, along with COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations, are on the rise in Texas. And the social and economic impacts seem to be the greatest in the Houston metropolitan area.
Will the rush to reopen only end up intensifying the economic crisis?
Texas and other small-government Sun Belt states, which were already were limited in their capacity to respond in times of economic crisis, were hit hard by big drops in consumer spending resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. As the second part of the pandemic’s first wave now washes over many of these states, it remains to be seen what effect it will have on their floundering economies.
As rents and home prices go up, once-affordable Houston grows less accessible
Dozens of key housing indicators in Houston and Harris County shifted between 2010 and 2018, and in just the past several months the area has been hit by parallel economic and public health crises that have slowed home sales, disrupted the rental market and halted new development, making it even more difficult for many area residents to find affordable housing.
Texas economy ranks near the top for racial equality in a nation with pervasive wealth inequality
The efforts of demonstrators calling for racial justice for Black Americans has evolved into a global movement to address the economic, environmental, educational and health care disparities created by systemic racism in the United States. A new report compares and ranks the economies of all 50 states in terms of racial equality.
Land loss has plagued Black America since emancipation — is it time to look again at ‘Black commons’ and collective ownership?
Together, the bold cities of the I-10 corridor can take on the urgent issues of our time
The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare many of the disparities deeply rooted in our society. Given the technology available to us, such as data-gathering technologies, visualization systems and instantaneous communication, our ability to anticipate the future is unprecedented. Combining those resources with collective action, we can confront the issues we’re facing today and prepare for the challenging events of tomorrow.
The Urban Sun Belt: An Overview
This report documents the unique set of urban challenges Sun Belt Cities face.
Large, young and fast-growing Sun Belt metros need urban policy innovation
Large cities of the Sun Belt are getting bigger and younger faster than metro areas in other parts of the country. They also face a combination of challenges unlike those metros in other regions; however, American urban policy as we know it was created for traditional Northeastern and Midwestern cities.
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