Urban Edge

Insights, perspectives and stories about building better cities and better lives

Many in Harris County find themselves living farther and farther from jobs

For the average Harris County household, the combined costs of housing and transportation are at the edge of affordability. Add to that the growing distance between home locations and jobs, and the costs quickly can become unsustainable, particularly for lower-income households.

Nearly one-quarter of Houston-area renters couldn’t make their July payment

As moratoriums on evictions expire and bonus unemployment benefits run out, many in Houston and across Texas face increasing uncertainty about their ability to pay for a place to live.

Charlotte and other Sun Belt cities are powering urban growth, but they have issues to tackle

Large Sun Belt cities have similar strengths, such as strong economies and relatively low costs of living. They also face the same problems, like growing income inequality and rising housing costs. A Kinder Institute report concludes that Sun Belt cities need to find new ways to address their common urban issues.

Public transit has lost its momentum during the pandemic. Can it be regained?

Since mid-March, ridership has plummeted and there’s concern about a “transit death spiral.” But new studies show that public transportation isn’t a major source of coronavirus transmission.

The City of Angels, the sins of the LAPD and the dos and don’ts of policing reform

Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Task Force on Policing Reform has started its work, drawing on a very broad set of local leaders, activists and citizens. A series of similar task forces were launched in Los Angeles in the 1990s, all of which arose from controversies and scandals within the LAPD. What can Houston learn from LA’s “blue ribbon” police task forces?

Talking about walking: A conversation with Houston’s first chief transportation planner

David Fields is the City of Houston’s first chief transportation planner. Leaving the Bay Area for this newly created position, he arrived in Houston at a time, though, when transportation was changing.

Traffic dropped 66%, but it came back and the coronavirus followed

Traffic levels fell dramatically throughout the Houston metro area as people were ordered to stay at home and businesses were closed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 — and it worked. But, as the economy was reopened and people returned to work, restaurants, bars, beaches and more, traffic levels and infection rates increased.

Imbalance, inequality and the growing burden on working parents with school-age kids

While children attend K-12 public schools for an average of 1,195 hours per year, a full-time working parent averages twice as much time, about 2,450 hours per year, working and commuting. Now, as school districts prepare to reopen for the fall semester — whether in-person, virtually or a combination of both — administrators, teachers, parents and students are having to adjust their plans based what’s possible during the coronavirus pandemic.

Many cities are rethinking the police, but what are the alternatives?

Investments, institutions and decriminalization all are strategies that can reduce the mandate of police and be more effective in addressing certain “offenses” than the criminal justice solution. This post explores police alternatives for cities, dividing them into three groups: health, relationships and community patrol.

As COVID-19 ebbs and flows, will there be a sea change in cities? It depends on whom you ask.

Surges, hot spots, reopenings and reclosings. As the pandemic’s jagged sawtooth trend line continues to cut across the nation, uncertainty remains. In the end, how much will the composition of urban and suburban areas change?