Urban Edge

Q&A: How a green approach could help Houston shrink its flood risks—and its carbon footprint

If Houston took a nature-based approach to its drainage systems, it could help mitigate climate change, lessen the city’s severe heat and create job opportunities among other benefits, according to a recent report by the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Despite more people in the office, the workplace shift is shaking up all of Houston's other 'downtowns'

In Houston, since the pandemic recovery began, office workers have been quick to return to their desks and cubicles, commuting back to their physical offices, even if for just part of the week.

When it comes to education outcomes, we get what we pay for

A lack of investment in education is holding back students in Houston and Texas, particularly those experiencing socioeconomic challenges, Kinder Institute Director Ruth N. López Turley said on Tuesday.

To become the city the future needs it to be, Houston must invest in its people more than ever before

When my family and I moved here from the East Coast in the early 1970s, Houston was a booming oil-based metropolis, riding the key resource of the industrial age to continuing prosperity. It was also world-famous for having imposed the fewest restrictions on development of any large American city. This was the undisputed energy capital of the world, the “Golden Buckle of the Sun Belt,” the bastion of classical laissez-faire capitalism, the epitome of “free enterprise” America — a city to be built almost entirely by developers’ decisions.

Public school enrollment is facing a 'demographic bubble.' Urban districts are already seeing its effects

As part of a wide range of testimony before the state Senate finance committee, education commissioner Mike Morath told lawmakers that Texas is entering a new demographic era for public school enrollment.

Houston metro may have set a housing permit record in 2022, but affordability remains elusive

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed a surge in residential building permits issued in the Houston metropolitan statistical area in 2022, with an estimated total of 75,786. The preliminary numbers place the Houston metro at No. 2 in the country behind Dallas and would be an all-time record, according to Federal Reserve records dating back to 1988. Even with potential increases in supply and continued development, affordability remains a big challenge for renters and would-be homeowners.

In national survey, mayors say real climate change progress may fall on their residents

Mayors on both sides of the political aisle have a range of worries on climate change, and found common ground regarding potential solutions in a recent poll by the Boston University Initiative on Cities. While the majority of top city leaders want investment in environmentally friendly municipal vehicles, they also believe that if meaningful climate change progress is to happen, the onus is on “residents to make real sacrifices.”

New research is helping Houston get its arms around the needs of students and families

Recent findings by the Kinder Institute’s Houston Education Research Consortium indicate that mental health services, food and housing are among the greatest non-instructional needs for students in the Houston Independent School District. HERC, HISD and local partners are looking to find more ways to bridge resources within the community to meet these needs.

How a former landfill could help fight floods and reimagine a swath of southwest Houston

A proposal to transform a former landfill in southwest Houston into a mixed-use development with a flood control component recently caught the attention of statewide planners who recognized it for its contributions to resilience.

Fort Bend County found to be among the nation’s most prosperous for immigrants

In the past decade, immigrant populations fueled immense population growth in cities and suburbs in particular, according to a new report by the George W. Bush Institute. In the Houston metropolitan area, the report finds that immigrants are thriving best in Fort Bend County, ranked No. 8 in the country, and Brazoria County, ranked No. 15. Harris County was ranked No. 99.

Historic Tamina community’s $21 million water deal comes at another cost

James Leveston has been fighting for more than 20 years to bring basic public services to the Montgomery County community of Tamina, where he’s lived for most of his life. Late last year, he went door to door asking his neighbors if they would support a deal with the nearby city of Shenandoah to provide water and sewer service. About 150 of the 190 affected households agreed, he said.

After Census redefines urban and rural, Texas remains steadfastly both

The number of people in the U.S. who live in an urban setting has grown by 6.4%, according to new 2020 Census data. But the nation's overall percentage of urban area population was slightly reduced after the U.S. Census Bureau altered the criteria for what is considered an urban or rural area.

With conservation districts, Houston could have a new path to preserve neighborhoods

In October 2010, city officials were poised to strengthen Houston’s historic preservation law by adding a provision that, for the first time, would empower the city to forbid the demolition of certain homes in designated historic districts. Preservationists, who referred to the concept as “no means no,” were elated. But during last-minute wrangling over details, a Heights resident named Calvin Simper urged the City Council to reject the whole idea.

2022 in review: Backyards, rooftops, windfalls, buyouts, downtowns and big ideas

From the perspective of the Urban Edge, 2022 was a year when tried-and-true ideas—the utility of a garage apartment and the wisdom of living in close-knit communities—gained new life.

Houston’s restaurants, not oil and gas, offer a strong signal of the city’s economic recovery

Following a tumultuous span of more than two years since the pandemic’s onset in Houston, employment has shown strong signs of recovery, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In fact, it was on track to grow jobs back to pre-pandemic projections by the end of 2022.