Housing

5 surprising things I learned analyzing property tax protest data

It’s a tough time of year for homeowners in Houston. In November, a letter arrives from the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector with next year’s property tax bill. Some people pay their taxes every month with their mortgage. Others, like me, end up writing a big check in January.

Big Texas cities are rapidly gentrifying, but none as fast as Houston

Since the turn of the century, many neighborhoods in or near the heart of Houston and the state’s other large metropolitan areas — Dallas, San Antonio and Austin — have been transformed by the ongoing inflow of affluence. A change better known as gentrification.

2019’s most-popular stories: Dockless scooters, the I-45 expansion and more

The most-popular Urban Edge stories from the past year ranged in topic from dockless scooters and the growth rate of Dallas to the unequal distribution of trees in the city and the Opportunity Zone program. But the most popular topic of 2019 was TxDOT’s enormous I-45 expansion plan.

Several Houston suburbs rank among cities with least sustainable credit card debt

WalletHub calculated the cost and time it would take residents to pay off median card balances in cities across the country.

Is development fueled by transit driving residents out in some areas?

Extensions of light rail service in areas with easy access to Houston’s major job centers have brought residential and commercial development to those areas. Researchers at the Kinder Institute wanted to find out if and how transit investments impact patterns of gentrification in the city.