How an urban gardener without a yard grows vegetables for a family of 5
Part 3 of the "urban gardener" series: From homemade compost and what to plant, to dealing with the sun, wind and water issues of modern gardening in the city of the future.
As the devastating COVID-19 pandemic slowly dissipates, the 2021 Kinder Houston Area Survey results reflect the disproportionate impact it had on Hispanics and African Americans in the Houston area. This year’s survey also shows positive ratings for the economy and changes in attitudes about racial injustice and discrimination against Black residents.
Lessons from the garden city and one planner’s plot to escape London
Ebenezer Howard wanted an antidote to London — a dark, fetid place with social inequities, toxic air and water, overcrowding and rampant infectious disease. So, he decided to experiment with combining town and country.
Black community, the moment to value ourselves is now
“One callous white police officer convicted does not signal the demise of anti-Blackness. Her talons are embedded deeply in this nation’s flesh. It is like putting a $100 down payment on a $100 million house. It is progress, but you might want to hold off on scheduling the housewarming party.”
Can city-owned vacant lots fill the need for park equity in Houston?
The residents of University Village in Greater Third Ward made a very strong case for turning a vacant lot into a pocket park in their neighborhood — and the city listened.
COVID-19 devastated public transit, and underscored how indispensable it is
Ridership and revenues plummeted during the pandemic, but transit service remained essential for many frontline workers. After the pandemic, it’s important that the lessons learned are used to create better, more equitable transit networks.
Pandemic POV: I got back on the bus this week — and it was fine
A longtime public transit rider describes what it was like to use Metro again for the first time in more than a year.
How bikes paved the way for car dependency in America
And why there needs to be more investment in bicycle infrastructure in Houston and other cities.
‘Slow streets’ may have been rolled out too fast in Houston
Despite good intentions, the city’s three-month “slow streets” experiment in Eastwood may have been undone by efforts to react quickly to the circumstances of the pandemic. But the lessons learned could improve the initiative going forward.
Urban gardening has taken root, and it’s time for cities to encourage new growth
For many, the pandemic has been a time of self-reflection and reassessing how and why we spend our days doing what we do and the quality of our lives. That includes what we eat and where it comes from, which has led to a renewed interest in urban gardens. How can cities rethink the use of land and shared spaces in ways that promote gardening and help residents reap the rewards?
How stay-at-home orders added to the homelife stress of many Houstonians
COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the lives of low-income families living in homes that were in need of repairs even before the pandemic. A pilot study involving 16 Fifth Ward households was launched to better understand how stay-at-home stress affected underserved residents both during and after the “Stay Home, Work Safe” order in Harris County.
45% of Houston families couldn’t make ends meet — then COVID-19 made things worse
A new report shows most local economies aren’t delivering enough high-quality jobs to support the cost of raising a family. As cities across the nation work to recover from a recession that has worsened the preexisting challenge of struggling families, how can more jobs be created or upgraded to pay a family-sustaining wage?
America needs more police — just a different kind
In the 10 months since the killing of George Floyd, has policing in America changed at all? We need to rethink what it means to protect and serve the well-being of citizens.
Giving Buffalo Bayou ‘back to the people’ of the East End
As the Buffalo Bayou Partnership looks east, some of the first improvements planned include mixed-income housing options, a Japhet Creek pocket park in the lower Fifth Ward, wharf and dock reconstruction in the Second Ward and filling gaps in existing trails. But it all started with connecting to communities.
3 ways the city can help Houstonians better prepare for the next pileup of disasters
With more extreme weather events and disasters in our future, we need to change how our city prepares for these shocks and their long-lasting impacts so that Houstonians will take disaster preparedness more seriously.
Rice University
Kraft Hall
6100 Main Street, Suite 305
Houston, TX 77005-1892
