Covid-19 and Cities

They were studying urban inequalities when a pandemic that worsens disparities hit

When colleges and universities moved to online classes in response to the coronavirus pandemic, student fellows in the Kinder Institute’s Community Bridges program pivoted as well, turning their focus to the relationship between COVID-19 and inequality.

4 things limiting Houston’s ability to generate more revenue

Houston lost $25 million in sales tax revenue in March alone because of COVID-19. But the city’s fiscal struggles existed before the coronavirus pandemic. A new Kinder Institute report compares the revenue sources and service levels among the three largest cities in Texas — Houston, Dallas and San Antonio — all of which are expected to see COVID-19-related revenue losses of between 10 and 15%. Of the three, Houston is the most constrained in its options for increasing revenue.

If you’re lucky enough to work from home, where will home be after the pandemic?

The COVID-19 crisis forced many companies to quickly transition to work from home. Now, as the economy continues to open up, businesses have to decide if they’ll go back to the onsite world of the old normal or continue with the remote-work model of the new normal. Employees of companies that choose the latter will have more options for where they live and office, including the Urban Hotel, the Suburban Workshop and the Exurban Metropolis.

How Houston can reinvent itself and be bigger and better

As the city faces an economic crisis brought by the coronavirus pandemic and the downturn in oil, it needs to recognize the enormous opportunity to make changes that are necessary to become a leading 21st-century city.

At the complicated intersection of cars, housing and a fast-growing, sprawling city

Research related to Houston’s problems with ‘newly poor’ neighborhoods, housing affordability, auto loan debt, transportation and COVID-19 all point to one overarching issue: Inequality.