Sun Belt

The education—and miseducation—of an urban planner

James Rojas has spent the better part of his career reconciling his formal training with his lived experience as a Gay Chicano.

COVID-19 hot spots emerge across the Sun Belt as states expand reopenings

Amid reopenings, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma and California are among many states seeing large spikes in new coronavirus infections.

Big cities, megaregions and the huge role they will play in response and recovery

Cities need to reject the notion that they are the pandemic problem; rather, they need to assert their collective brainpower, humanity and economies as the solution to emerging from this current crisis smarter, kinder and more prosperous than ever.

A minimal approach to regulations may lead to Houston becoming the nation’s next dense city

In the past several months, the density of urban areas has been demonized by more than a few because of the COVID-19 crisis. While understandable, it’s not completely accurate when it comes to the current pandemic, which has ravaged New York but hasn’t affected other very dense cities like Hong Kong and Singapore in the same way. In Houston, the city’s light touch when it comes to land-use regulations and its relative affordability are leading to greater density. That trend is likely to continue when the pandemic ends.

Report: Texas moves to No. 39 on list of most aggressive states in combating COVID-19 (update)

The state, which ranks 31st in population density, has moved up to No. 38 in tested cases of COVID-19 per capita — it was previously last. It remains 48th in total public health emergency preparedness funding per capita.