Urban Edge

Research related to Houston’s problems with ‘newly poor’ neighborhoods, housing affordability, auto loan debt, transportation and COVID-19 all point to one overarching issue: Inequality.

The economic downturn resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak coupled with the pandemic being politicized by some will challenge the feelings of solidarity and trust that have been building in Houston in recent years. It’s important to remember the city and surrounding region’s ability to unite in the face of disaster.

Stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of COVID-19 resulted in Houstonians driving a lot less. But Houston hasn’t stopped being an industrial city during the pandemic, which shows why reducing all air pollution is key to protecting public health.

Interviews for the 2020 Kinder Houston Area Survey were conducted just before the world was upended. The results of the survey reflect the existing disparities in health care and economics that the COVID-19 outbreak has underscored and exacerbated. 

Public art is an important part of urban design that strengthens community identity and pride. It can have cultural and economic benefits for neighborhoods and it’s accessible to everyone. Great and unexpected pieces of public art can be found across Houston. And best of all, it can be enjoyed at a safe distance from others.

As restaurants in Houston reopen and expand beyond to-go and delivery service, they’re required to provide more space between diners. In a number of cities, steps are being taken to allow businesses like restaurants to temporarily use outdoor space and parking lots to help with adequate physical distancing.

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. 

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.

To better understand the affordability crisis in Houston, LINK Houston and Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research teamed up to explore where affordable housing and high-quality, affordable transportation overlap in the city.

For years, Houston has been touted as one of the nation’s most affordable major metropolitan areas. But it’s now facing a decreasing supply of affordable housing.

To effectively address the affordability crisis in Houston, local decision-makers and individuals must consider the combined costs of housing and transportation and their impact on overall affordability.

For those who haven’t completed the ongoing 2020 Census, an important reason to respond online, by phone or by mail to the nine-question survey is the neighbor next door, two doors down or down the street.

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?

A dashboard created by the Kinder Institute’s Houston Community Data Connections shows job-loss estimates in each Harris County community. Many of the areas impacted most by the economic downturn are home to low-income renters, the working poor and single-parent households.

Through workshops, community feedback and an interactive data walk, a Houston Community Data Connections team empowered Third Ward community members and other stakeholders to use data from a multi-phase comprehensive needs assessment to pursue priorities in the neighborhood.

Over the years, more and more of our public space has been given over to cars and congestion while pedestrians, cyclists and others have been squeezed out. One possible silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic is the chance to give some of that space back.

Cities need to reject the notion that they are the pandemic problem; rather, they need to assert their collective brainpower, humanity and economies as the solution to emerging from this current crisis smarter, kinder and more prosperous than ever.

In the past several months, the density of urban areas has been demonized by more than a few because of the COVID-19 crisis. While understandable, it’s not completely accurate when it comes to the current pandemic, which has ravaged New York but hasn’t affected other very dense cities like Hong Kong and Singapore in the same way. In Houston, the city’s light touch when it comes to land-use regulations and its relative affordability are leading to greater density. That trend is likely to continue when the pandemic ends.  

Kinder Institute senior fellow and former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett sees three major challenges that need to be addressed as Texas begins the task of tackling its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues, planners and urbanists should be considering the lessons we’re already learning during the pandemic and think about solutions that will improve our future cities. Those include things like urban farming, neighborhoods that are less drivable and more walkable, and better, safer shared-use of city streets.

Some 80% of Texas’ 29 million residents live in large cities or metropolitan areas, which are the economic drivers in the state. If the recovery is going to be successful after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, it’s important that preparations begin now.