Urban Edge

Stories, perspectives and insights from the Kinder Institute

15 years after Hurricane Ike, Houston’s communities remain exposed

It has been 15 years since Hurricane Ike made landfall on the Gulf Coast and six years since Hurricane Harvey. These two storms had very different impacts on our region and provided different lessons for how we can be better prepared for weather disasters.

As districts confront staffing shortages, centering equity can make a huge difference

Teachers are the most important resource in a school campus, and ensuring students have access to highly qualified teachers is essential. Unfortunately for PK-12 students in Texas, too many teachers have been leaving the profession and too few highly trained and experienced teachers are taking their place. At the same time, some schools have greater access to highly qualified teachers than others, which poses an obstacle to closing achievement gaps.

Third Ward EV shuttle offers a way to close the first-and-last-mile gap in transit

Third Ward residents have recently gained increased access to grocery stores, health care, public transit and other necessities, thanks to an electric vehicle shuttle service that transports residents at no cost. It is part of a 12-week pilot program that could help close a critical transportation gap in Houston communities facing transit disadvantages and low vehicle ownership.

Pathways to homeownership: Collaborative aims to open doors in Houston, Harris County

The dream of homeownership remains an enduring aspiration for countless individuals and families across the United States. However, the reality often falls short, especially in urban areas grappling with housing affordability challenges, including Houston.

With community action plan, Settegast takes next step toward lasting change

Following a three-phase, 18-month project, Harris County Public Health has released a community action plan for Settegast, a historically Black neighborhood in northeast Houston with the lowest life expectancy in Harris County, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s U.S. Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates Project.

United Way data shows where Houstonians are struggling to make ends meet

According to the United Way of Greater Houston, more than 1 million households in the Greater Houston area are considered asset-limited, income-constrained and employed (ALICE) or are below the federal poverty level. These households — as many as 8 in 10 in some neighborhoods — are unable to afford basic necessities.

Renting in Harris County is increasingly unaffordable and fraught with other challenges

This year’s State of Housing in Harris County and Houston focuses on renters and renting. A majority of Houston households rent, as does a soon-to-be majority of the county’s households. This means renting and rental policy play an increasingly important role in determining the region’s quality of life.

Community Bridges fellows continue to advance equitable solutions for Houston

In partnership with 16 nonprofit partner organizations, the 27 fellows in the 2022-2023 Community Bridges cohort grappled with urban inequality and poverty issues within Greater Houston communities.

What should the future of transportation look like in American cities? A new book invites you to have a stake in it.

Houston is a city for cars today, but that doesn’t mean it has to be one in the future. In a new book, “Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities”, Veronica O. Davis makes the case that reorienting communities toward people rather than automobiles is in the hands of everyday people as well as policymakers.

'You betta do somethin’': How seven artists helped Third Ward reclaim itself 30 years ago

In honor of the 30th anniversary of Project Row Houses' debut, the Urban Edge asked author and artist Lindsay Gary to reflect on the impact of this project on Third Ward, on Houston and on her own journey.

With new youth facility, Harris Center takes community-based approach to avoid recidivism

One of the central aspirations of The Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is to reduce the footprint of criminal justice in the lives of people with mental health concerns. After providing services to over 90,000 individuals in 2022, it recently opened a facility specifically dedicated to juveniles between the ages of 13-17 with the launch of its Youth Diversion Center.

When it comes to flood buyouts, distance and race have played outsized roles

After Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans in 2021, Kirt Talamo, a fourth-generation Louisianan, decided it was time to go. He sold his flooded home, purchased his grandmother’s former house on New Orleans’ west bank, which hadn’t flooded, and moved in. It felt good to be back within its familiar walls, but his mind was on the future.

Rising flood insurance costs may be another blow to Houston’s affordability

Hurricane season is here, and with it comes a familiar feeling of dread in the Greater Houston area, particularly about floods. But more than five years after Hurricane Harvey, Houstonians may be less inclined to buy flood insurance because of cost increases that have begun to roll out in the last year, with the latest data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency showing that prices could go up by 75% in Harris County alone.

Physical activity is a magic bullet for our health. So what’s holding us back?

Regular physical activity may be the closest thing we have to a “magic bullet” to combat the obesity epidemic and alarmingly high rates of cardiovascular disease. Physical activity offers dramatic benefits for individuals but it also has the potential to knit together the social fabric of our communities, making us healthier physically and mentally. And it is free. So, what’s holding us back? As it turns out, something as easy as a safe walk around the neighborhood is out of reach for too many communities.

Highways, flooding and sprawl: How Houston could have a bigger say in the region's future

Back in 2021, the Houston region's governing council offered up a final resolution of support for the contentious I-45 expansion project. The measure passed 14-11, with suburban members narrowly outvoting those representing Houston and Harris County. The vote marked an episode of stark division and intense scrutiny for the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). It also raised questions about regional governance and how the Houston area’s urban and suburban populations should be represented.