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

Latest Urban Edge Stories

Here’s what our cities will look like after the coronavirus pandemic

Editor’s note: This is the first of two posts exploring the long-term effects the COVID-19 crisis will have on the American city. Once we get through this, cities as we know them will be changed forever. 

modern design
Perspective
: Mar 26, 2020
Health, Housing, Placemaking, Urban Planning

Suspending evictions is the right move for Census 2020

Thursday, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Texas Supreme Court halted eviction proceedings until April 19.  This is the right call. With an average of 600 evictions per week in Harris County, suspending evictions will prevent thousands of people from losing their homes over the next month.

houses
Urban Edge: Mar 20, 2020
Housing

Is non-gentrification the real threat to neighborhoods?

Why are there so few studies charting displacement and cultural decline in non-gentrifying neighborhoods? According to this commentary, the implicit assumption in most gentrification research is that if a neighborhood doesn’t change, it stays the same. And that displacement by decline is much more common and more harmful than displacement due to gentrification.

artwork showing townhomes as monsters
Perspective
: Mar 10, 2020
Housing, Urban Disparity

Latest Research

Community Resilience Initiatives: Building Stronger Neighborhoods in Houston

Effective efforts at the neighborhood level can be sustained and amplified by plugging into broader citywide efforts in ways that better align long-term goals and influence implementation plans at both levels.
photos related to community organization efforts to more resilient
Report: Feb 18, 2020
Governance, Housing, Hurricane Harvey, Urban Planning

Housing Choice Voucher Mobility in Houston

This report identifies patterns in the household movements of residents who hold Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) in Harris County. It identifies who among the voucher holders are moving, where they are moving to and from, and whether or not these moves are related to attempts to access opportunity or to avoid pressures such as gentrification, flood risk, and high rents.
Housing Choice Voucher Mobility
Report: Oct 10, 2019
Housing

Neighborhood Gentrification across Harris County: 1990 to 2016

The inventory of affordable housing has been diminishing and this report documents where in Houston it's diminishing the fastest.
New Townhomes in Austin
Report: Dec 13, 2018
Housing, Urban Disparity, Urban Planning

Experts

Bill Fulton

William Fulton

  • Director, Kinder Institute for Urban Research
  • Research Oversight Committee, Urban Data Platform
713-348-2698
Profile
Head shot of Han Park

John Park

  • Research Fellow, Development, Transportation and Placemaking, Kinder Institute for Urban Research
713-348-8127
Profile
Head shot of Kyle Shelton

Kyle Shelton

  • Deputy Director, Kinder Institute for Urban Research
713-348-3683
Profile

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.