Housing

As Fort Bend becomes increasingly urban, developers see opportunity to rethink neighborhood design

A parcel of 235 acres off State Highway 99 and north of Highway 90 in Fort Bend County will be the home of a community where developers are offering residents an open-spaced, “people-first” neighborhood with maximized pedestrian safety, car-free zones and other amenities, including a 42-acre farm and a 25-acre lake.

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.