In November 1979, Houston City Council went from being almost exclusively male and white to being dramatically more diverse, literally overnight, as voters elected the council’s first two women and its first Mexican-American, and tripled the representation of African-Americans. The new council was also on average 10 years younger. It was a new day in city politics—thanks to federally required reforms that led to single-member districting—and Houston never looked back.
The Houston suburb of The Woodlands has been called an “invisible city” for the dense tree canopy that shrouds the extent of its development. It is invisible perhaps in another way: It’s not a city at all, but rather a patchwork of special districts, service contracts and interlocal agreements—a tenuous marvel of public-private partnership. But that could soon change.
The Texas Supreme Court has settled it: Houston's historic preservation ordinance is not a form of zoning, which is expressly banned in the city charter. The decision seems to clear the way for more local experimentation with urban design and development rules.
Just don’t call it zoning.
As a kid, I spent a good chunk of time in the Astrodome, but I didn’t know the story behind how it was built and the role it played in the desegregation of Houston.
Among 34 large cities studied, homicide rates increased almost 30% last year, compared to 2019. Reasons for the shocking spike relate in large part to the pandemic and its societal impacts, but the killing of George Floyd may have been a contributing factor as well. Evidence-based approaches and committed elected officials will be key to reducing violent crime in American cities going forward.
The Texas Metropolitan Blueprint lays out recommendations
for policies that address the most important
economic development, land use, housing, infrastructure,
and transportation challenges of the state’s metropolitan
areas.
Texas metros are the engines driving the state’s robust economy. To ensure things run smoothly in the future, metropolitan areas need to be at the center of state policy. The collaborative Texas Metropolitan Blueprint provides a plan for continuing and building on the metropolitan progress that benefits the entire state.
In the 10 months since the killing of George Floyd, has policing in America changed at all? We need to rethink what it means to protect and serve the well-being of citizens.
With more extreme weather events and disasters in our future, we need to change how our city prepares for these shocks and their long-lasting impacts so that Houstonians will take disaster preparedness more seriously.
In 2020, the City of Houston and regional stakeholders cemented a resilience strategy and a climate action plan, which were adapted to reflect COVID-19’s impact on urban life. The Kinder Institute has gathered information and updates on the progress made in the first year of these efforts in one place.
There’s no question the United States is living off past investments in infrastructure without building the new infrastructure we need — or even upgrading the old infrastructure we have. It’s time to invest heavily in quasi-public infrastructure and ramp up effective public oversight of that infrastructure so it will work for us in emergency situations.
From an eviction moratorium to support for infrastructure, transportation and affordable housing, there are many moves President Joe Biden may make that will benefit cities. Here’s a look at some of them.
The city’s strong mayor has the power to set the City Council agenda, which means nothing can go before the council without the mayor’s OK. A coalition led by the fire union is trying to rein in that strength.
To effectively monitor police and investigate cases of alleged misconduct, oversight boards need independence, access to information and evidence, and adequate funding. If given sufficient power and authority, these agencies can hold police departments accountable for officers’ actions and build public trust. A new Kinder Institute report examines the police oversight systems in the state’s five largest cities to see how they compare.
