Urban Edge

Economists studying the dramatic growth of new business activity found that the proportion of Black residents in a ZIP code had the greatest impact on the rate of increase and that business formation coincided with the stimulus payments.

As the school year ends, the relief is palpable. Let’s acknowledge what we went through during the pandemic. Many of us are feeling burnt out, but this is not the time to stop paying attention. Now is the moment to think big about the future of education.

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.

Central Houston President Bob Eury has been tracking COVID-19 case counts since the early days of the pandemic and has the spreadsheet to prove it. It was a ritual that he says helped him stay on top of the virus and how far off “normal” might be. But there may be one number he is tracking even more closely: how many of downtown’s estimated 168,000 workers are returning to the office. 

The city has eight months of ideal cycling weather each year and has taken some sizable steps in building out its bike infrastructure in the past decade. But is anyone outside of Houston paying attention?  

The inequality that exists across Houston neighborhoods has perhaps never been more evident than it has over the past year. 

The National Register of Historic Places lists 290 entries for Houston. Of those, only 13 focus on the history of African-American residents.

Houston, a quintessentially free-enterprise, anti-government city, is increasingly recognizing the critical role of government in strengthening the safety net, expanding opportunity and building resiliency, according to the Kinder Houston Area Surveys.

The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is rising, and Black women have the highest risk. Extending access to postpartum health care would prevent deaths.

COVID-19 infections and fatalities peaked at different times in cities across the U.S., and local efforts to slow the spread varied as well. Despite those differences, retail spending in Houston and other large metros followed very similar trajectories.

Part 3 of the "urban gardener" series: From homemade compost and what to plant, to dealing with the sun, wind and water issues of modern gardening in the city of the future.

In 1966, a lawyer named Herb Kelleher met one of his clients, a pilot and investment banker named Rollin King, for a drink in a San Antonio hotel bar. Both were entrepreneurs looking for new opportunities, and they discussed starting an airline to serve an in-state. The legend is that King drew a triangle on a cocktail napkin, showing how the new airline would connect the major markets in Texas. 

The 2021 Kinder Houston Area Survey shows a striking uptick among white and Hispanic residents in their acknowledgment of racial injustice and the discrimination that Black Americans face.

As the devastating COVID-19 pandemic slowly dissipates, the 2021 Kinder Houston Area Survey results reflect the disproportionate impact it had on Hispanics and African Americans in the Houston area. This year’s survey also shows positive ratings for the economy and changes in attitudes about racial injustice and discrimination against Black residents.

Ebenezer Howard wanted an antidote to London — a dark, fetid place with social inequities, toxic air and water, overcrowding and rampant infectious disease. So, he decided to experiment with combining town and country.

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.