Urban Edge Stories by Andy Olin

If the Trust for Public Land’s annual ParkScore rankings mean anything to you, Houston’s steady slide over the past seven years may surprise, concern, frustrate or alarm you. The nonprofit’s evaluation of “park access and quality” — based on an assessment of access, investment, acreage and amenities — puts Houston at No. 85 among the nation’s 100 largest cities. Overall, the city’s parks get a score of 35.3.

The Acres Homes Health Action Team is contending with food insecurity, health disparities and climate change and more. It’s also excited and passionate about the Acres Homes community and making it stronger.

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.

On average, Houston offers women tech workers more income equality than all American cities except Long Beach, California, where women earn more than men. But how does the city rank overall?

When it comes to health care, most people know they can either put in the work of maintaining a healthy diet and getting enough exercise now or pay a much higher price — physically and fiscally — later in life. The same is true when it comes to the health and well-being of a city and its residents. In the long run, it’s smarter and less expensive for local governments to invest now to ensure they are prepared to handle unexpected disasters and possibly prevent problems altogether in the future.

Writer and transit advocate Steven Higashide says buses provide affordable mobility, combat climate change and address inequalities in American cities.

Transit equity benefits all of society — both those who use it and those who don’t. It provides access to jobs, schools and other opportunities to underserved communities, people who can’t afford the costs related to owning a car as well as those who use it because of convenience or to limit their contribution to the problems of congestion and pollution. In turn, the reductions in traffic and emissions they represent benefit those who drive. But we should also consider the equity of infrastructure such as sidewalks, crosswalks and drainage, all of which affect connectivity, accessibility and safety for people who walk, roll and ride bikes in Houston.  

Ridership in most major metropolitan areas of the U.S. has been steadily declining in recent years. And transit experts worry about the trend’s impact on cities — economically and socially. But when you improve buses, as the experience in Houston and in so many other places shows, ridership and relevancy increase.

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?

As Houston strives to improve transit, shrink its carbon footprint and make streets safer for all modes of transportation, it may be struggling to rise above the status quo in some areas. 

More and more American cities are setting Vision Zero goals, but progress toward making streets safe for all users, particularly those using non-motorized transportation, is slow to come.

In 2015, METRO took its outdated bus network down to the studs and designed an entirely new regional transit system that made bus service less complicated and more frequent along the busiest routes. The results made transportation officials in cities across the country take notice.

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.

It’s been a decade since the Kinder Institute for Urban Research was formed at Rice University. During that time, a lot has changed at the institute and in the Houston metropolitan area. In 2020, the Urban Edge will feature a number of stories related to the 10-year anniversary of the institute. To kick things off, let's compare the Houston area of 2010 with the city today.

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.

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

Last month, Metro announced it was studying the elimination of transit fares. Kansas City, whose city council recently approved a move to a universal free-fare system, could provide valuable insight into how such a system would work.

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. 

In his Kinder Institute Forum talk, sociologist Eric Klinenberg discussed the amazing power of the public library system, as well as the biggest threats to this vital and sorely neglected part of America's social infrastructure.

Meet America's low-wage workforce: 53 million hard-working people struggling to keep their heads above water no matter what they do.