Public Health

Trees battle Houston’s brutal heat, but many poorer areas are left unshaded

Trees provide significant benefits that can be felt both now and in the future, from lowering temperatures, fighting flooding and slowing climate change. But not all Houstonians enjoy the valuable shade and other advantages trees offer in equal measures. A new interactive mapping tool makes it easier to see which neighborhoods are most in need of more trees.

Houston had an overcrowding problem at precisely the wrong time: during a pandemic

COVID-19 killed Black and Brown people at a far higher rate than white or Asian people, and in this year’s State of Housing report, we suggest home overcrowding and labor conditions played a role.

In its 10th year, Community Bridges projects confront ever-apparent inequalities in Houston

The inequality that exists across Houston neighborhoods has perhaps never been more evident than it has over the past year.

Maternal deaths are public health and health equity problems. They’re also preventable.

The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is rising, and Black women have the highest risk. Extending access to postpartum health care would prevent deaths.

How an urban gardener without a yard grows vegetables for a family of 5

Part 3 of the "urban gardener" series: From homemade compost and what to plant, to dealing with the sun, wind and water issues of modern gardening in the city of the future.