Public Health

Mapping project brings Houston’s flood, environmental hazards into clear view

A flood on its own can be disastrous. But floodwaters combined with decades-old toxic waste sites and releases of potentially cancer-causing chemicals—that’s dangerous. Unfortunately, heightened flood risks are unevenly dispersed throughout Harris County.

Without mask mandates, Texas undermines school districts' efforts to undo pandemic learning gaps

The Texas Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on local mask mandates means the state has officially told public schools to start the 2021-2022 school year as if the COVID-19 pandemic never happened. More correctly, as if it was still not happening. Others have already pointed to the health risks posed by not having a mask mandate in place at schools, and schools around the Houston area have already had to close because of outbreaks. But beyond the dangers posed to the health of students, staff, and families, the state’s approach is undermining schools’ ability to accelerate students’ learning and close gaps created and compounded over the past 18 months.

Understanding the unvaccinated: A look at hesitancy as well as access

The Delta variant has led to COVID-19’s fourth wave—a surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. More than any other factor, what's driving this is the number of unvaccinated people—who either by choice or by design are not getting shots. Because vaccine hesitancy and access varies across states and cities, local solutions might be key to closing the gap.

How Houston plans to plant 4.6 million new trees by 2030

Trees can cool our cities and make them more resilient. Here’s a look at what is being done to grow and protect the urban forest in the Houston area.

Who owns the single-family rentals and what do we know about them?

A lot of the rent houses owned by real estate investment trusts — or REITs — are located in unincorporated parts of Harris County and municipal utility districts (MUDs) that have been hit hardest by foreclosures and flooding. Many of them are connected to local and national homebuilders.