For years, Houston has been touted as one of the nation’s most affordable major metropolitan areas. But it’s now facing a decreasing supply of affordable housing.
To effectively address the affordability crisis in Houston, local decision-makers and individuals must consider the combined costs of housing and transportation and their impact on overall affordability.
To better understand the affordability crisis in Houston, LINK Houston and Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research teamed up to explore where affordable housing and high-quality, affordable transportation overlap in the city.
As the COVID-19 crisis continues, planners and urbanists should be considering the lessons we’re already learning during the pandemic and think about solutions that will improve our future cities. Those include things like urban farming, neighborhoods that are less drivable and more walkable, and better, safer shared-use of city streets.
Researchers studying the impact of stay-at-home mandates on the area’s environment and infrastructure share insight into which county populations are limiting their movement — and potential exposure to the coronavirus — more than others.
No, COVID-19 will not be the end of cities. But it will take time, effort and preparation to safely return them to “normal” as soon as possible, says urban studies theorist Richard Florida.