Third Ward EV shuttle offers a way to close the first-and-last-mile gap in transit
URBAN EDGE : August 28, 2023
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.
With community action plan, Settegast takes next step toward lasting change
URBAN EDGE : August 14, 2023
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.
With new youth facility, Harris Center takes community-based approach to avoid recidivism
URBAN EDGE : June 21, 2023
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.
A generation ago, a documentary revealed an unseen housing crisis in Houston
URBAN EDGE : April 23, 2023
In 1979, a documentary filmmaker and an architect trained both of their lenses on Houston’s housing crisis. The result was a film that could have easily been made today, as housing costs, inflation and demographic change continue to reshape the region. It is also a film that demands a second viewing.
Education leader Ruth Simmons ponders what's next for diversity, equity and inclusion
URBAN EDGE : April 16, 2023
With publicly-funded state universities eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion as part of the hiring process, and proposed legislation targeted at other DEI policies in higher education, private institutions have an opportunity—and an obligation—to respond, Ruth J. Simmons said at the Kinder Institute Forum on Wednesday at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
New research is helping Houston get its arms around the needs of students and families
URBAN EDGE : January 27, 2023
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.
Historic Tamina community’s $21 million water deal comes at another cost
URBAN EDGE : January 11, 2023
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.