Where we live is often linked to how we live, making housing policy a critical and complicated tool of government.

Latest Urban Edge Stories

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.

Feature Story
: May 5, 2021
COVID-19 and Cities, Health, Housing, Placemaking

‘Detached townhomes,’ gentrifying the gentrifiers and housing regulation that is uniquely Houston

The Kinder Institute’s “Re-Taking Stock” report reveals the good, the bad and the best about the city’s housing growth patterns. When it comes to urban infill, there is a lot going right in city, but that doesn’t mean everything is perfect.

Kinder Institute Research
: Apr 29, 2021
Demographics, Housing, Immigration, Urban Planning

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.

Feature Story
: Apr 21, 2021
Demographics, Health, Housing, Placemaking, Urban Disparity, Urban Planning

Latest Research

Kinder Houston Area Survey: 2021 Results

For the past four decades, Rice University’s Kinder Houston Area Survey (KHAS) has been tracking the changing attitudes and beliefs of Harris County residents. The 2021 survey summarizes the most consequential changes and their implications for public policy initiatives going forward. It also explores in what specific ways and to what measurable extent have residents been personally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic shutdown and growing awareness of systemic racism.
Report: May 11, 2021
COVID-19 and Cities, Demographics, Economic Development, Education, Governance, Health, Housing, Hurricane Harvey, Immigration, Placemaking, Transportation

Re-Taking Stock: Understanding How Trends in the Housing Stock and Gentrification are connected in Houston and Harris County

This report connects housing stock changes with gentrification patterns in Harris County.
Report: Apr 6, 2021
Housing

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.
Report: Feb 10, 2021
COVID-19 and Cities, Economic Development, Education, Governance, Health, Housing, Transportation, Urban Planning

Experts

Head shot of Kyle Shelton

Kyle Shelton

  • Deputy Director, Kinder Institute for Urban Research
713-348-3683
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Head shot of Han Park

John Park

  • Senior Research Fellow, Development, Transportation and Placemaking, Kinder Institute for Urban Research
713-348-8127
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Bill Fulton

William Fulton

  • Director, Kinder Institute for Urban Research
  • Research Oversight Committee, Urban Data Platform
  • Publisher, Urban Edge Blog
713-348-2698
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Related Initiatives

Urban Development, Transportation and Placemaking

The Urban Development, Transportation and Placemaking program investigates issues associated with the growth and development in Houston on both a large and small scale.

Urban Disparity and Opportunity

Disparate income, opportunity and access to basic needs such as public transportation, health care, education and parks have long characterized urban life. With such persistent problems to address, the Urban Disparity and Opportunity team seeks to offer analysis to develop innovative and informed solutions.