Public Health

Can a building’s design promote healthy lifestyles?

For more than a decade, developers competed to brand their buildings as “green,” betting that tenants would pay a premium for a structure with energy-efficient features that could save money and or garner positive PR.

Medical Centers Can Serve as a Catalyst for Cities

They have a lot to offer.

Q&A with Rose Gowen: How Brownsville is fighting public obesity and making a more vibrant city

Rose Gowen is a city commissioner and OB-GYN in Brownsville, a city of 180,000 that sits just north of the Texas-Mexico border. The greater Brownsville area has the highest poverty rate in the country – 35 percent – which has contributed to an obesity and diabetes epidemic. Gowen spoke with the Kinder Institute’s Ryan Holeywell about how the city is trying to combat a public health crisis. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q&A with Kinder Institute Director Bill Fulton: The Path Forward

Bill Fulton’s been in Houston since August, listening to city leaders and planning a future for the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Last week, at the unveiling of this year’s results of its flagship Kinder Houston Area Survey, he unveiled the organization’s long-term plan.

Global Lens, Local Focus: How Brownsville turned tragedy into opportunity

Site of tragedy now showing signs of life.