Housing

Latest Urban Edge Stories

Segregation is so common, it’s considered a natural part of housing markets. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Racial segregation is so prevalent in American cities that it can seem normal, even natural. Many Americans, including government officials and everyday housing consumers, view segregation in this way. Housing market professionals, or those who professionally assist consumers with home buying or selling, are no exception.

Urban Edge: Oct 13, 2021

Housing, Urban Disparity

Affordable but marginalized: Study provides first comprehensive look at Houston’s mobile home parks

Mobile homes are the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the United States and many are within mobile home parks—unique communities that are poorly understood by planning researchers and many practitioners. A recently published study in the Journal of the American Planning Association has resulted in the first comprehensive mapping and assessment of mobile home park housing in the Greater Houston area. These parks face distinct challenges—its households typically have lower incomes, insecure tenure, less access to transportation and urban amenities and have higher rates of exposure to environmental hazards.

Urban Edge: Oct 7, 2021

Housing

Floods vs. forever homes: What drove decisions to rebuild rather than relocate after Harvey?

After catastrophic floods—like those after Hurricane Harvey dumped several feet of rain on the Houston area four years ago—survivors generally have two options: rebuild, perhaps with the help of flood insurance or federal reimbursement programs, or relocate, perhaps by selling a damaged home or waiting for a government buyout program. A new study has found that the route people choose might have more to do with their pre-flood plans rather than the scale of the disaster itself. This has implications for how policies are designed to encourage resiliency and managed retreat.