Body
Research
Election 2023: Priorities and Concerns of Houston Residents
This report identifies the city's current challenges and opportunities and what issues residents would like to see the next mayor address.
REPORT: September 5, 2023 ELECTIONS | GOVERNANCE
Harris County Winter Storm Uri Resilience Assessment
This report provides a geographic analysis of damage caused by Winter Storm Uri and highlights the unmet needs it uncovered. This assessment also analyzed damages from COVID-19 and Hurricane Harvey to better understand how these crises compound on different communities and to identify where recovery efforts might make the biggest impact.
REPORT: February 23, 2022 GOVERNANCE
Property Tax Equity in Harris County
The purpose of this study is to estimate the extent to which property taxes paid by City of Houston residents, businesses, and property owners financially support County services provided in Harris County outside the City of Houston. In other words, do Houston city taxpayers subsidize services provided by Harris County outside the city?
REPORT: January 26, 2022 GOVERNANCE
Texas Metropolitan Blueprint: A Policy Agenda to Secure the Competitiveness and Prosperity of Texas
The Texas Metropolitan Blueprint lays out recommendations for policies that address the most important economic development, land use, housing, infrastructure, and transportation challenges of the state’s metropolitan areas.
REPORT: March 24, 2021 GOVERNANCE
This report finds that civilian police oversight groups need more resources, fewer legislative hurdles, and proper experience and training.
REPORT: November 19, 2020 GOVERNANCE
This report examines the revenue structure and service levels for Texas' three largest cities: Houston, San Antonio and Dallas.
REPORT: May 28, 2020 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | GOVERNANCE
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.
REPORT: February 18, 2020 HOUSING | GOVERNANCE
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.
REPORT: October 25, 2018 GOVERNANCE | HOUSING
Collaborations and Overlapping Services in Harris County Law Enforcement
This report will lay out the landscape of law enforcement in Harris County and document existing overlapping services.
REPORT: September 6, 2018 GOVERNANCE
Lessons from Harvey: Crisis Informatics for Urban Resilience
This report suggests that public agencies work closely with social media companies and the operators of crowdsourced sites to install plans to incorporate these systems into the disaster recovery process.
REPORT: August 22, 2018 GOVERNANCE | HURRICANE HARVEY
Funding Primer: Harvey Relief and Recovery
This report seeks to inform decision makers about the recovery funding process and potential gaps.
REPORT: November 29, 2017 GOVERNANCE | HURRICANE HARVEY
The State of Local Democracy in Houston and Harris County
This report looks at local elections in Houston and Harris County.
REPORT: October 3, 2017 ELECTIONS | GOVERNANCE
Who Runs for Mayor in America?
This report looks at mayoral elections in California, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota and Virginia.
REPORT: May 24, 2017 ELECTIONS | GOVERNANCE
Consolidation or Collaboration? Common Solutions to Reduce Overlapping Services in Local Government
A report framing the issue of overlapping services within the Houston area.
REPORT: April 3, 2017 GOVERNANCE
Mayoral Elections in Indiana: 2003-2015
The report examines a host of indicators regarding mayoral elections in Indiana, including mayoral races in 474 general elections and 706 primary elections in more than 120 Indiana cities.
REPORT: August 10, 2016 ELECTIONS | GOVERNANCE
Urban Edge
Mayors express uncertainty about inflation bill’s climate change efforts in national survey
When the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law on Aug. 16, 2022, the White House referred to it as “the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in the nation’s history.” But the majority of mayors said its impact has been marginal in a report conducted by the Boston University Initiative on Cities.
INSIGHTS: March 14, 2024 GOVERNANCE
Highways, flooding and sprawl: How Houston could have a bigger say in the region's future
Back in 2021, the Houston region's governing council offered up a final resolution of support for the contentious I-45 expansion project. The measure passed 14-11, with suburban members narrowly outvoting those representing Houston and Harris County. The vote marked an episode of stark division and intense scrutiny for the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). It also raised questions about regional governance and how the Houston area’s urban and suburban populations should be represented.
EXPLAINERS: May 29, 2023 GOVERNANCE | TRANSPORTATION
In national survey, mayors say real climate change progress may fall on their residents
Mayors on both sides of the political aisle have a range of worries on climate change, and found common ground regarding potential solutions in a recent poll by the Boston University Initiative on Cities. While the majority of top city leaders want investment in environmentally friendly municipal vehicles, they also believe that if meaningful climate change progress is to happen, the onus is on “residents to make real sacrifices.”
INSIGHTS: February 2, 2023 GOVERNANCE
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner emphasizes funding for infrastructure, public education
Several hours after rescinding a nearly 40-hour boil water notice, Mayor Sylvester Turner had a timely example for why he thinks there is a clear need for infrastructure investment in Houston and throughout Texas.
RECAP: November 30, 2022 EDUCATION | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | GOVERNANCE
Harris County is learning how to put billions in potential assets to better use
Harris County will soon have, for the first time, a full picture of its public wealth—the commercial value of all government-owned assets, from land to buildings to infrastructure—as well as a plan to start putting this wealth to work toward community development and economic growth.
INSIGHTS: August 1, 2022 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | GOVERNANCE
Events
Kinder Institute Forum: Scott Beyer
Urban affairs journalist Scott Beyer shares how a free-market approach to housing, transportation, public administration and more can create more livable cities.
KINDER INSTITUTE FORUM: May 25, 2022 GOVERNANCE
Kinder Institute Forum: Henry Cisneros
Former Mayor and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros shares strategies for inclusive growth, improving urban and social infrastructure and planning for affordable housing.
KINDER INSTITUTE FORUM: October 24, 2019 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | GOVERNANCE | HOUSING
Body
Physical Address
Rice University
Kraft Hall
6100 Main Street, Suite 305
Houston, TX 77005-1892