In December 2023, the Houston Housing Authority (HHA) received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund a household mobility program that would expand the number of affordable housing options for people who rely on housing choice vouchers. Specifically, the grant aims to move voucher families to “opportunity neighborhoods” or “opportunity areas,” which have high-performing schools, low crime rates, access to jobs and other characteristics that promote the broader goal of upward mobility for low-income residents.
Kinder Institute for Urban Research staff assisted HHA in data collection and analysis to help identify high-opportunity areas within HHA's jurisdiction. Five central metrics of opportunity were analyzed: poverty rate, local employment opportunities, transportation access, educational quality and public safety. A total of 708 census tracts were identified as opportunity areas (defined by meeting the criteria for being an opportunity area in at least 3 out of the 5 categories of interest).
