Covid-19

We’ll overcome COVID-19, but can we overcome 400 years of wrongs?

There has been a lot of discussion and speculation about the future of cities and how they will change following the pandemic. What will that future look like for Black Americans, who have been abused, exploited, ground down and lied to in the past? As we move into the future, what will change? And what will stay the same?

Houston lost 42,500 creative industry jobs and $1.6 billion in sales in 4 months

A new report measuring the damage done to America’s creative economy by COVID-19 shows the South, Texas and Houston are among the most devastated. At the metropolitan level, the Houston area is the largest metro suffering the worst losses.

A summer fellowship is the bridge to AmeriCorps service in Fifth Ward

The Kinder Institute’s Community Bridges program provides Rice University students an opportunity to both study and work to address urban inequality in Houston. Here’s Susanna Yau’s story of how working with the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation changed her life.

Nearly one-quarter of Houston-area renters couldn’t make their July payment

As moratoriums on evictions expire and bonus unemployment benefits run out, many in Houston and across Texas face increasing uncertainty about their ability to pay for a place to live.

Public transit has lost its momentum during the pandemic. Can it be regained?

Since mid-March, ridership has plummeted and there’s concern about a “transit death spiral.” But new studies show that public transportation isn’t a major source of coronavirus transmission.

Talking about walking: A conversation with Houston’s first chief transportation planner

David Fields is the City of Houston’s first chief transportation planner. Leaving the Bay Area for this newly created position, he arrived in Houston at a time, though, when transportation was changing.

As rents and home prices go up, once-affordable Houston grows less accessible

Dozens of key housing indicators in Houston and Harris County shifted between 2010 and 2018, and in just the past several months the area has been hit by parallel economic and public health crises that have slowed home sales, disrupted the rental market and halted new development, making it even more difficult for many area residents to find affordable housing.

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.

The essential role of art has been exhibited during the COVID-19 shutdowns

The sudden closure of museums, galleries, concert halls and theaters in March upended the art world. The resulting financial and personal impacts of the pandemic on artists and art lovers has been enormous. Can the arts stage a comeback?

Together, the bold cities of the I-10 corridor can take on the urgent issues of our time

The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare many of the disparities deeply rooted in our society. Given the technology available to us, such as data-gathering technologies, visualization systems and instantaneous communication, our ability to anticipate the future is unprecedented. Combining those resources with collective action, we can confront the issues we’re facing today and prepare for the challenging events of tomorrow.

The only treatment for metastatic racism may be radical reconstructive surgery

From frequent recurrences of police brutality and the widening gaps in access to opportunity, to the coronavirus’ outsized impact on communities of color, the invasive disease of racism has spread throughout the American system. If white people truly mean well, they must make an unflinching commitment to the tough, unpleasant and honest work of authentic change.

Troubled Fiscal Times: A Comparison of Revenue Sources and Service Levels for Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio

This report examines the revenue structure and service levels for Texas' three largest cities: Houston, San Antonio and Dallas.

How coronavirus infection rates in Texas metros compare to nation’s largest areas

Data analysis shows the confirmed cases and deaths per 100,000 residents in the 53 U.S. metropolitan areas with a population of 1 million or more.

Amid the pandemic, lessons in what we’ve overlooked

Has the COVID-19 crisis made you more aware of things you didn’t properly appreciate before the outbreak? What have you learned new reverence for since life was disrupted?

Update: COVID-19 Registry shows racial disparities in economic impact of pandemic

More than 40% of Houston-area households have lost income as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. And the pandemic appears to be taking a greater economic toll on African American and Hispanic households than white and Asian American households, according to the latest survey results from Rice University’s COVID-19 Registry.