Urban Edge Stories by William Fulton

In the past four-plus months, many cities have been confronted with renewed outcries to remove offensive or ‘problem’ monuments that commemorate values of a bygone era. In some cases, these statues have been forcibly removed. In the latest essay in his ongoing series of stories about cities and why they are great, Bill Fulton revisits how Ventura, California, handled the controversy surrounding a statue of Father Junipero Serra.

Main Street in Ventura, California, which has been closed to cars and opened to restaurants and other businesses affected by the coronavirus, is my favorite street. This essay is both a discussion of what makes a great street and a personal reminiscence about what this particular street means to me.

In the past 20 years, many social functions and gaps in city services have fallen to police departments, which, at the same time, have been acquiring more paramilitary equipment. Now, as cities face large budget deficits because of revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic and protestors call for defunding the police, it's yet to be seen how police services will be affected. 

The state’s property tax reform bill, which limits the amount cities and counties can raise property taxes to 3.5%, is expected to significantly affect one of the largest sources of revenue for local governments. Many will be looking for ways to circumvent the financial constraints of the measure. That’s something Houston has been dealing with since 2004.

Houston lost $25 million in sales tax revenue in March alone because of COVID-19. But the city’s fiscal struggles existed before the coronavirus pandemic.
A new Kinder Institute report compares the revenue sources and service levels among the three largest cities in Texas — Houston, Dallas and San Antonio — all of which are expected to see COVID-19-related revenue losses of between 10 and 15%. Of the three, Houston is the most constrained in its options for increasing revenue.

The COVID-19 crisis forced many companies to quickly transition to work from home. Now, as the economy continues to open up, businesses have to decide if they’ll go back to the onsite world of the old normal or continue with the remote-work model of the new normal. Employees of companies that choose the latter will have more options for where they live and office, including the Urban Hotel, the Suburban Workshop and the Exurban Metropolis.

Long known as a place where everything except the cost of living is big, the state seems to be losing its edge in the area of home prices — especially in its large metros. Continuing in that direction could lead to trouble down the road.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has forever changed the world and life as we know it. Once the current pandemic is over, it will also change our approach to where we work, how we get there and more. 

Editor’s note: This is the first of two posts exploring the long-term effects the COVID-19 crisis will have on the American city. Once we get through this, cities as we know them will be changed forever. 

One day before the release of the city’s Resilient Houston plan on Wednesday, a new network of resilient cities was publicly announced at the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi. Houston will be a member of the network.

Kinder Institute for Urban Research Director Bill Fulton recalls the optimism and influence of his mentor, the urban affairs writer and journalist Neal Peirce. 

A comparison of data from the latest American Community Survey (ACS) with that of the ACS from 2008 to 2012 revealed something interesting about the continued steady growth of the Houston-area population.

Texas’ leading political figures have made it clear they don’t have much use for local government. From curbing cities’ ability to generate property tax revenue to a call for banning localities from lobbying in Austin, state officials continue to limit the power of local governments.

The World Series faceoff revealed some additional similarities between the two seemingly-contrasting cities. 

This is the first in a series of posts on the I-45 project that will be published on Monday and Wednesday throughout June.

Texas' largest metro areas are credited for 85 percent of the state's overall growth since 2010.

A new federal program meant to spur investment in underserved areas could bring positive changes. Or it could hasten gentrification, particularly in Houston.

The program allows private entities to contract for law enforcement patrol but it presents funding and equity challenges.

Zocalo Public Square | "Sometimes we couldn’t even agree on what to call our city."