Houston’s moment for transit-oriented development may have finally arrived
This week, the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is expected to vote on an update to the agency’s development policies—a key step as the agency fundamentally rethinks how it can influence the urban fabric of Houston so that more people can live in proximity to public transit.
Metro seeks to bring inclusive, transit-oriented development to north Houston
After receiving a new federal grant to explore the potential for transit-oriented development at the Tidwell Transit Center in north Houston, Metro is now phasing into an “intense and aggressive public involvement strategy” for the site.
To achieve Vision Zero, Houston must shift the way it thinks about transportation at every level
Vision Zero has been changing traffic safety culture internationally since the 1990s, but in Houston, it did not begin until the 2010s. A traffic safety culture shift is happening among city leaders and within departments. However, transforming communitywide beliefs here will require meaningful engagement, clear strategies and sustained political will for the long road ahead.
Kinder Institute Forum: Tamika L. Butler
A national expert and speaker on issues related to the built environment and equity, Tamika L. Butler discusses institutional oppression, the importance of inclusive urban design, and how to make transportation and public spaces more equitable.
Journalist Angie Schmitt discusses her new book, "Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America."
Webinar: Linking Quality Transportation and Affordable Housing
This webinar by LINK Houston and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research explores the nexus between transit and housing.
The Urban Sun Belt: Setting The Agenda
This webinar explores findings from a report from the Kinder Institute on the urban Sun Belt – covering such topics as demographic change, the economy, housing, and sprawl. A panel discussion follows the presentation
The Metropolitan State of Texas: Securing the State's Prosperity and Competitiveness
The LBJ Urban Lab at The University of Texas at Austin, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University and the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative convened the state's top urban policy researchers for a summit addressing the most important issues in Texas cities: economic development, land use, housing, infrastructure and transportation.
Houston on the Front Lines of Sprawl
In this talk, William Fulton discusses Houston as a prototypical, sprawling Sun Belt city.
Technology historian Peter Norton discusses his book, "Autonorama: The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving."
Why technofuturism can’t deliver on its promises of a transportation utopia
In the 1930s, motordom learned to depict an unachievable future utopia that is forever just over the next horizon, apparently always close enough to attract extravagant private and public investment, but somehow never actually achieved.
In cars, Texans are literally the worst, according to the rankings
About every quarter, the Urban Edge takes a break from its usual in-depth research-focused topics to assess the latest rankings of cities and states—some silly, some serious—and what they might tell us about Houston and Texas and their standing in the world of urban life. Today, we have to start with the bad news, where Texas is literally the worst.
Houston METRORail Human Factors Safety Analysis
Concern over METRORail light rail vehicles collisions with cars, pedestrians, and motorists led the Kinder Institute to fund Rice Human Factors researchers to conduct a safety analysis of the rail line.
Ride-hailing is finding inroads to equity and sustainability, Uber’s global head of cities says
Uber saw its ridership decline sharply amid the pandemic, but it was saved by an expansion of its delivery service. Its future, however, is tied to growing its ride-hailing service as it confronts reduced transit use overall and as it charts a path to electrifying its fleet by 2030. Uber’s global head of cities and transportation policy, Shin-pei Tsay, said the company is focused on pragmatic wins that it can scale across thousands of cities rather than wait on a transportation utopia to arrive.
Kinder Institute Forum: Shin-pei Tsay
Shin-pei Tsay is the global head of cities and transportation policy at Uber. Her experience converges at the intersection of design, policy and governance to transform the built environment, with a focus on sustainable and inclusive transportation.
Rice University
Kraft Hall
6100 Main Street, Suite 305
Houston, TX 77005-1892
