Housing

Here’s what our cities will look like after the coronavirus pandemic

Editor’s note: This is the first of two posts exploring the long-term effects the COVID-19 crisis will have on the American city. Once we get through this, cities as we know them will be changed forever. 

Suspending evictions is the right move for Census 2020

Thursday, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Texas Supreme Court halted eviction proceedings until April 19. This is the right call. With an average of 600 evictions per week in Harris County, suspending evictions will prevent thousands of people from losing their homes over the next month.

Is non-gentrification the real threat to neighborhoods?

Why are there so few studies charting displacement and cultural decline in non-gentrifying neighborhoods? According to this commentary, the implicit assumption in most gentrification research is that if a neighborhood doesn’t change, it stays the same. And that displacement by decline is much more common and more harmful than displacement due to gentrification.

Community Resilience Initiatives: Building Stronger Neighborhoods in Houston

Effective efforts at the neighborhood level can be sustained and amplified by plugging into broader citywide efforts in ways that better align long-term goals and influence implementation plans at both levels.

Study reveals effects of white privilege in FEMA flood buyout program

Research from Rice University sociologists shows urban areas and predominantly white neighborhoods that are at risk of flooding in cities benefit the most from FEMA’s voluntary buyout program.

The housing voucher program isn’t perfect, but it’s essential

How much do you know about the 45-year-old federal housing assistance program that was created to help those with the nation’s lowest incomes access better opportunities and escape poverty?

If you are disabled and live in the Houston area, we’d love to hear your story

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research is launching a new survey to better understand housing and neighborhood challenges faced by those living with disabilities in Houston.

5 surprising things I learned analyzing property tax protest data

It’s a tough time of year for homeowners in Houston. In November, a letter arrives from the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector with next year’s property tax bill. Some people pay their taxes every month with their mortgage. Others, like me, end up writing a big check in January.

Big Texas cities are rapidly gentrifying, but none as fast as Houston

Since the turn of the century, many neighborhoods in or near the heart of Houston and the state’s other large metropolitan areas — Dallas, San Antonio and Austin — have been transformed by the ongoing inflow of affluence. A change better known as gentrification.

2019’s most-popular stories: Dockless scooters, the I-45 expansion and more

The most-popular Urban Edge stories from the past year ranged in topic from dockless scooters and the growth rate of Dallas to the unequal distribution of trees in the city and the Opportunity Zone program. But the most popular topic of 2019 was TxDOT’s enormous I-45 expansion plan.

Several Houston suburbs rank among cities with least sustainable credit card debt

WalletHub calculated the cost and time it would take residents to pay off median card balances in cities across the country.

Is development fueled by transit driving residents out in some areas?

Extensions of light rail service in areas with easy access to Houston’s major job centers have brought residential and commercial development to those areas. Researchers at the Kinder Institute wanted to find out if and how transit investments impact patterns of gentrification in the city.

Financial insecurity plaguing families could cost Houston millions

Despite month after month of strong jobs reports and an economy seen as robust by most analysts, many families in Houston are struggling to make ends meet and afford basic household necessities.

How the Third Ward is fighting the 'effects of unchecked gentrification'

When Pamela Ramirez relocated to Houston in 2014 to pursue her career in public service with Harris County, she purchased her first car and began looking for a place to rent. While on HAR.com searching for rental property, she found a listing for a single-family home with a mortgage payment in her rental range. Ramirez took a deep breath and decided to explore.

Housing vouchers work but more funding is needed to help more families

Research shows housing vouchers lead to improvements for families — children, in particular. Unfortunately, for many in Houston, limits on the program are blocking their access to those opportunities.