The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare many of the disparities deeply rooted in our society. Given the technology available to us, such as data-gathering technologies, visualization systems and instantaneous communication, our ability to anticipate the future is unprecedented. Combining those resources with collective action, we can confront the issues we’re facing today and prepare for the challenging events of tomorrow.
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.
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.
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.
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.
