Houston in Flux: Understanding a Decade of Bayou City Development

The Houston region is growing rapidly, but quantification and visualization of this growth is not always readily accessible. Although public entities release data on construction, new building permits and demolition permits, it remains challenging to contextualize individual projects within broader regional trends. This report aims to translate information about isolated developments into a cohesive narrative of the Houston area’s physical transformation over the past decade.By showing both demolition and construction in Harris County, this report spotlights the effects of economic booms and busts, illuminates the locations where development pressures are either most extreme or nonexistent and draws attention to communities rebuilding themselves within a decade. These changes are often discussed anecdotally in Houston, but quantifying construction and demolition offers a concrete and nuanced look at how these processes affect different parts of the region. The report also includes an interactive online map.