Hurricane Harvey

Despite increasing risk in Harris County, more people are living in the flood plains

The Kinder Institute's 2021 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston report highlights new data showing an increase in occupied housing units in the 100- and 500-year flood plains from 2018 to 2019. In Harris County, for example, about 2,000 homes were newly occupied—by either renters or homeowners—in the flood plains in 2019. Kinder researchers hope to better understand these development patterns, which can leave Houstonians vulnerable to flooding.

How inequalities made Harvey recovery harder for many nonwhite Houstonians

When Stephen Klineberg was conducting the Kinder Houston Area Survey in February 2017, he asked Houston-area residents to name the biggest problem facing the region. At the time, only 1% of participants thought flooding and storms were the most important issue.

The rapid urbanization of Houston: How it happened and why it matters

From 1997 to 2016, almost 187,000 football fields of impervious surfaces such as concrete were added in the Houston metro area. A sociologist and an ecologist examined what drove growth during the period, which has had critical implications for humans and the environment.

Outdated and inaccurate, FEMA flood maps fail to fully capture risk

New risk models show nearly twice as many properties are at risk from a 100-year flood today than the government's flood maps indicate. Analysis of damage from Hurricane Harvey shows Black and Hispanic residents disproportionately experienced flooding in areas beyond FEMA’s 100-year flood zones.

Libraries are crucial to disaster recovery, but the coronavirus is keeping them closed

In many places, the public library often functions as a community center — a free and shared space that provides crucial social infrastructure for neighborhoods. That’s especially true when a disaster such as Hurricane Harvey hits. But what happens when a crisis like COVID-19 keeps libraries closed for five months and counting.