Covid-19 and Cities

Despite more people in the office, the workplace shift is shaking up all of Houston's other 'downtowns'

In Houston, since the pandemic recovery began, office workers have been quick to return to their desks and cubicles, commuting back to their physical offices, even if for just part of the week.

Houston’s restaurants, not oil and gas, offer a strong signal of the city’s economic recovery

Following a tumultuous span of more than two years since the pandemic’s onset in Houston, employment has shown strong signs of recovery, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In fact, it was on track to grow jobs back to pre-pandemic projections by the end of 2022.

Houston and Harris County's rent relief partnership made a difference. It just didn't last.

When officials at Harris County got word that the Treasury Department was appropriating a historic amount of funding for states and local governments to help struggling renters during the pandemic, Leah Barton picked up the phone and called her counterpart at the city of Houston.

Lone scarred state: Texas must contend with outsized death toll from COVID-19 and anti-vaccine attitudes

The United States of America leads all high-income nations in COVID-19 deaths, even though as a nation it had the greatest access to antiviral vaccines and therapeutics. To understand this disconnect, we can look to the COVID-19 deaths and disability in the state of Texas. Because of COVID-19, Texas is enduring one of the greatest human tragedies in its 186-year history. It did not have to be this way.

With hybrid work here to stay, downtown Houston is looking for office conversion candidates

With the rise of a hybrid and remote workforce as a result of COVID-19, developers are looking for ways to be less reliant on office leases to keep people downtown.