Urban Edge Stories by Andy Olin

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

In Houston and across the country, the growth in younger populations is being driven by people of color — many of whom continue to grow up experiencing high levels of poverty. To ensure the nation's economic success in the future, there needs to be more support for children in the U.S. starting now.

The residents of University Village in Greater Third Ward made a very strong case for turning a vacant lot into a pocket park in their neighborhood — and the city listened.

Despite good intentions, the city’s three-month “slow streets” experiment in Eastwood may have been undone by efforts to react quickly to the circumstances of the pandemic. But the lessons learned could improve the initiative going forward.

A new report shows most local economies aren’t delivering enough high-quality jobs to support the cost of raising a family. As cities across the nation work to recover from a recession that has worsened the preexisting challenge of struggling families, how can more jobs be created or upgraded to pay a family-sustaining wage?

Women faced disadvantages in pay and promotions at work before COVID-19, and for many, the pandemic has only widened that deficit. How can we better address those gaps and improve equity in the years to come?

When a west Houston intersection was retrofitted with infrastructure to protect pedestrians, City Observatory’s Joe Cortright called the redesign hollow and ‘performative.’ But it’s not that simple.

A new study shows large, small and midsize cities with the highest — and lowest — minority homeownership rates. The No. 1 city in the U.S. is a Houston suburb.

Shifts in travel habits because of the pandemic, including less driving and more active transportation, drove the metro’s improved ranking among the most climate-friendly areas in the U.S.

Whether you ride a bike full time or part time, just for fun or for transportation, BikeHouston’s new executive director wants to make it safer to ride a bike in Houston. It’s why he left New York to come here.

In the past 10 years, the number of people who have died while walking in the United States has shot up by more than 50%. In Houston, pedestrian deaths have more than doubled in that time — spiking 125%. In “Right of Way,” Angie Schmitt examines the crisis of pedestrian injuries and fatalities across the U.S. — a crisis that disproportionately impacts low-income and minority communities.

We couldn’t help but notice that the suburb north of Dallas consistently ranks high on many of those “best cities for (fill in the blank)” lists we see so often. What is Plano’s secret?

Since 1983, the innovative SPARK parks program has taken a multi-use, community-based approach to increasing park acreage by turning school playgrounds into community parks. The effort has helped put many Houstonians within walking distance of active green space.