Governance

Special Districts Helped Form Houston. But the Patchwork of Governments Also Presents A Challenge Going Forward.

A patchwork of cities, counties, municipal utility districts and other jurisdictions across the region has created barriers to long-term regional prosperity, according to a new report.

Want to Make Your City Care About A Policy Issue? Try A Dashboard.

Data scientist Jeff Reichman of January Advisors has been building a bridge between data and policymakers in Houston and beyond.

The Challenge of the 2020 Census

With a legal fight ongoing around the citizenship question, many argue trust has already been damaged.

Mayors Acknowledge Inequality For the Most Part, But May Still Be Misunderstanding It

A new survey shows that most mayors are aware of inequality and discrimination, but they tend to think its better than compared to the rest of the country and likely discount its impact on key services.

Report Describes Fragmented Highway Enforcement in Houston

One clear path for improvement is the highway enforcement of Harris County and the Houston region.

Collaborations and Overlapping Services in Harris County Law Enforcement

This report will lay out the landscape of law enforcement in Harris County and document existing overlapping services.

Harris County's Contract Deputy Program Presents Funding and Equity Concerns

The program allows private entities to contract for law enforcement patrol but it presents funding and equity challenges.

Report Details Possible Law Enforcement Consolidations and Collaborations

With dozens of law enforcement agencies across Harris County, there is potential for overlapping services.

To Pay for Trauma Centers, State Program Sinks Thousands of Texas Drivers into Deep Debt

Texas Tribune | Though lawmakers acknowledge the policy disproportionately hurts the poor, they've struggled to eliminate it.

Lessons from Harvey: Crisis Informatics for Urban Resilience

This report suggests that public agencies work closely with social media companies and the operators of crowdsourced sites to install plans to incorporate these systems into the disaster recovery process.

What Twitter Can Teach Us About Hurricane Harvey

Platforms like Twitter can capture immediate, on-the-ground needs in an unfolding disaster and can help fill gaps in response.

Texas High Schools Are Supposed to Help Students Register to Vote. Many Aren't.

A new study from the Texas Civil Rights Project tracked which schools had requested voter registration forms from the state and which hadn't.

Urban Review: Parking, A Football Oz and How To (Not) Write About Los Angeles

This week, new data on parking, a review of a fabricated sports city, the problem with work requirements and a lesson in writing about Los Angeles (and all cities).

National Partisan Nastiness Is Now Poisoning Local Politics

Zocalo Public Square | "Sometimes we couldn’t even agree on what to call our city."

Urban Review: New Black Cities, Prop. 13 40 Years On and Texas' Migrant Child Detention Facilities

This week, a look at newly formed majority-black cities and some of the challenges they face, the legacy of Prop. 13 according to California residents and a map documenting the migrant children being held across Texas.