Research
The 2022 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston
The third annual State of Housing report looks at the pandemic's impact on the local housing market. The report also sets new housing baselines on mortgage loan data, homelessness and other housing indicators.

Preserving Affordable Housing in Harris County
Kinder Institute researchers identify affordable housing preservation policies and programs in the Houston area, document the range and extent of affordable housing, and describe best practices that could help stem the loss of local affordable housing stock.

The 2021 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston
The 2021 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston report uses a range of indicators to track the challenges, opportunities and trends in the region’s housing system.

This report connects housing stock changes with gentrification patterns in Harris County.

Texas Flood Registry 2020 Report
This report includes updates on Harvey’s long-term impact and recent findings about the health and housing effects of the May 2019 storms and Tropical Storm Imelda.

The 2020 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston
This first State of Housing report compares how dozens of key housing indicators in Harris County and Houston have shifted between 2010 and 2018.

Where Affordable Housing and Transportation Meet in Houston
While local decision-makers and individuals tend to view housing and transportation separately, effectively addressing affordability for Houstonians means considering housing and transportation expenses together.
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.

Housing Choice Voucher Mobility in Houston
This report identifies patterns in the household movements of residents who hold Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) in Harris County. It identifies who among the voucher holders are moving, where they are moving to and from, and whether or not these moves are related to attempts to access opportunity or to avoid pressures such as gentrification, flood risk, and high rents.

Neighborhood Gentrification across Harris County: 1990 to 2016
The inventory of affordable housing has been diminishing and this report documents where in Houston it's diminishing the fastest.

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.

Building a More Resilient Housing System Event Report
This report by the Houston office of Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research highlights key learnings and strategies from the “Building a More Resilient Housing System” event held on March 27, 2018.

Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund Needs Assessment: Phase Two
The second phase of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s needs assessment work on behalf of the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.

Cementing Millennials Downtown: Expressions and Impacts
This report explores how real estate developers are cementing Millennials in the downtowns of two Sun Belt cities, Phoenix and Houston, which are emerging sites of Millennial migration.

Growing But Unequal: Mapping High Opportunity Areas and Implications for Affordable Housing
Analysis of the location of low-income housing tax credit developments in Houston.

Urban Edge
As evictions reach historic levels in Harris County, families in Houston ISD are bearing the brunt
On March 6, nine days before the Texas Education Agency confirmed its plans to take over the Houston Independent School District, officials received a presentation from researchers at Princeton University about a dilemma confronting families and students in the district: evictions.

Houston metro may have set a housing permit record in 2022, but affordability remains elusive
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed a surge in residential building permits issued in the Houston metropolitan statistical area in 2022, with an estimated total of 75,786. The preliminary numbers place the Houston metro at No. 2 in the country behind Dallas and would be an all-time record, according to Federal Reserve records dating back to 1988. Even with potential increases in supply and continued development, affordability remains a big challenge for renters and would-be homeowners.

With conservation districts, Houston could have a new path to preserve neighborhoods
In October 2010, city officials were poised to strengthen Houston’s historic preservation law by adding a provision that, for the first time, would empower the city to forbid the demolition of certain homes in designated historic districts. Preservationists, who referred to the concept as “no means no,” were elated. But during last-minute wrangling over details, a Heights resident named Calvin Simper urged the City Council to reject the whole idea.

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.

Houston’s moment for transit-oriented development may have finally arrived
This week, the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is expected to vote on an update to the agency’s development policies—a key step as the agency fundamentally rethinks how it can influence the urban fabric of Houston so that more people can live in proximity to public transit.

Events
Webinar: 2022 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston
The Kinder Institute for Urban Research shares findings from the third State of Housing in Harris County and Houston report.

Sociologist Rachel T. Kimbro discusses her new book, “In Too Deep: Class and Mothering in a Flooded Community.”

Webinar: Preserving Affordable Housing in Harris County
This panel discussion focuses on how Houston can stem the loss of affordable housing amid rising land values and demand.

Kinder Institute Forum: Antoine Bryant
Planner and community advocate Antoine Bryant discusses his work on affordable housing, equitable development and community-led design.

Urban Reads: Elizabeth Korver-Glenn
Elizabeth Korver-Glenn discusses her book, "Race Brokers: Housing Markets and Segregation in 21st Century Urban America."

Webinar: 2021 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston
Join the Kinder Institute for Urban Research as it shares findings from its second State of Housing in Harris County and Houston report.

The Metropolitan State of Texas: Securing the State's Prosperity and Competitiveness
The LBJ Urban Lab at The University of Texas at Austin, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University and the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative convened the state's top urban policy researchers for a summit addressing the most important issues in Texas cities: economic development, land use, housing, infrastructure and transportation.

Workshop: 2020 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston
This workshop shares findings from the Kinder Institute's 2020 State of Housing report. Panelists also discuss the current housing situation in Houston during COVID-19

Webinar: 2020 State of Housing in Houston and Harris County
The Kinder Institute for Urban Research shared findings from its inaugural State of Housing in Houston and Harris County report.

The Urban Sun Belt: Setting The Agenda
This webinar explores findings from a report from the Kinder Institute on the urban Sun Belt – covering such topics as demographic change, the economy, housing, and sprawl. A panel discussion follows the presentation

Webinar: Linking Quality Transportation and Affordable Housing
This webinar by LINK Houston and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research explores the nexus between transit and housing.

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: Maurice Cox
Maurice Cox, director of planning and development for the city of Detroit, Michigan, discusses creative design and community engagement as strategies for long-term equitable development.

Kinder Institute Forum: Richard Rothstein
Richard Rothstein, an accomplished scholar of education and housing policy and a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, discusses how laws and policies at the federal, state and local levels have promoted and enforced the residential racial segregation that exists today.

Physical Address
Rice University
Kraft Hall
6100 Main Street, Suite 305
Houston, TX 77005-1892