Features

Trees battle Houston’s brutal heat, but many poorer areas are left unshaded

Trees provide significant benefits that can be felt both now and in the future, from lowering temperatures, fighting flooding and slowing climate change. But not all Houstonians enjoy the valuable shade and other advantages trees offer in equal measures. A new interactive mapping tool makes it easier to see which neighborhoods are most in need of more trees.

We need to talk about the Astrodome

Former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett discusses the past, present and once-future plan for the Astrodome, which has stood empty for almost 20 years. Recently, efforts to remake the Dome have been renewed.

In its 10th year, Community Bridges projects confront ever-apparent inequalities in Houston

The inequality that exists across Houston neighborhoods has perhaps never been more evident than it has over the past year.

The struggle to preserve the Black experience in Houston

The National Register of Historic Places lists 290 entries for Houston. Of those, only 13 focus on the history of African-American residents.

How inequalities made Harvey recovery harder for many nonwhite Houstonians

When Stephen Klineberg was conducting the Kinder Houston Area Survey in February 2017, he asked Houston-area residents to name the biggest problem facing the region. At the time, only 1% of participants thought flooding and storms were the most important issue.

Lessons from the garden city and one planner’s plot to escape London

Ebenezer Howard wanted an antidote to London — a dark, fetid place with social inequities, toxic air and water, overcrowding and rampant infectious disease. So, he decided to experiment with combining town and country.

The Astrodome’s future is uncertain, but its past is certainly worth revisiting

As a kid, I spent a good chunk of time in the Astrodome, but I didn’t know the story behind how it was built and the role it played in the desegregation of Houston.

How to lessen the long-term educational — and economic — consequences of the pandemic

If action isn’t taken now to address and counter the disruptions in the education of students during the COVID-19 pandemic, the damage will be long-lasting and disproportionate. Here are some ways to deal with the impact.

Urban gardening has taken root, and it’s time for cities to encourage new growth

For many, the pandemic has been a time of self-reflection and reassessing how and why we spend our days doing what we do and the quality of our lives. That includes what we eat and where it comes from, which has led to a renewed interest in urban gardens. How can cities rethink the use of land and shared spaces in ways that promote gardening and help residents reap the rewards?

How stay-at-home orders added to the homelife stress of many Houstonians

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the lives of low-income families living in homes that were in need of repairs even before the pandemic. A pilot study involving 16 Fifth Ward households was launched to better understand how stay-at-home stress affected underserved residents both during and after the “Stay Home, Work Safe” order in Harris County.

Giving Buffalo Bayou ‘back to the people’ of the East End

As the Buffalo Bayou Partnership looks east, some of the first improvements planned include mixed-income housing options, a Japhet Creek pocket park in the lower Fifth Ward, wharf and dock reconstruction in the Second Ward and filling gaps in existing trails. But it all started with connecting to communities.

6 post-pandemic predictions about how cities will be different going forward

As access to the COVID-19 vaccination becomes increasingly widespread, it seems possible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But what’s next for cities? Here are six ways cities will be different — from Zoomburbs and public transit to the fate of retail and housing — in the years to come.

Houston is a top city for women in tech. Gender equity will make it better.

Women faced disadvantages in pay and promotions at work before COVID-19, and for many, the pandemic has only widened that deficit. How can we better address those gaps and improve equity in the years to come?

No, Houston isn’t a walkable city, but you have to start somewhere

When a west Houston intersection was retrofitted with infrastructure to protect pedestrians, City Observatory’s Joe Cortright called the redesign hollow and ‘performative.’ But it’s not that simple.

It seems like all of California is moving to Texas. Is that true?

In the past, the influx of Californians to Texas has fluctuated from year to year. However, since 2018, the West Coast migration has remained high. Why is that? (Hint: It’s not oil prices.)