Urban Planning

Urban Review: SimCity's Influence, An Atlas of Inequality and the Problems with Going Cashless

This week, SimCity's lasting legacy, mapping micro-level segregation, why cashless businesses are discriminatory and more.

Maps: Six 15-minute walks capture the diversity, history of Houston neighborhoods

A quick walk can mean very different things depending on the area.

Sun Belt States in the Top 20 Most Dangerous States for Pedestrians - Again

According to a new report, southern states have an issue with safe streets and pedestrian deaths.

The Connection Between Urban Planning and Your Health

Did your new year's resolutions include health-related goals? Your city's design might have something to say about that.

Excerpt: Can A Market-Oriented City Also Be Inclusive?

In a new chapter, Kinder Institute Director Bill Fulton considers Houston's opportunities and challenges when it comes to creating a truly inclusive city.

The Unstudied Neighborhood

The bulk of sociological research and policies derived from it focuses on just a small slice of cities. That's a problem.

How Houston's Denver Harbor Used A Land-Use Tool To Curb Gentrification

Without citywide zoning, Houston communities must know their way around available land-use tools to shape their fates.

Sales Tax Could be the Key to Alleviate Revenue Shortfalls

Government entities in the Greater Houston region are increasingly struggling to provide urban-level services to all residents, particularly those in unincorporated suburban areas. Raising or allowing high-growth urban counties to collect sales tax could improve the provision of public services to all residents.

Carol Coletta Pushes Citizens to Better Engage Their Communities to Increase Neighborly Trust

The phrase, "You can't feel 'em, if you can't see 'em," frames her discussion of how we all need to better connect with our neighbors.

Governing A Growing Region: Addressing Challenges of Service Provision and Development in Houston

This report takes a regional view to find major issues with the way our growth is governed.

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.

In Houston Neighborhood Short on Parks, A Community Makes Its Own

Through building a park for the community, the dense, diverse Gulfton neighborhood finds ways to come together.

How are parks created in Houston and why Houston isn't meeting its park goal

As the city grew, planners and developers didn't initially plan to embrace the landscape, but rather cover it with a pavement jungle.

How the Walkable Places Committee Plans to Make Houston More Pedestrian Friendly

The Houston Walkable Places Committee aims to make the Bayou City a more pedestrian-friendly city one new construction at a time.

Urban Review: How To Comment on Proposed Policy, Making Texas Roads Safer and Protecting Aretha Franklin's Childhood Home

This week, a handy how-to guide on submitting comments on federal proposals, plus a call out to do just that at the state level to support safer roads in Texas and a look at a new park in Tulsa, an existing Dodger Stadium connection and more.