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.)
Repairing the urban fabric torn apart by highways in America
How rebuilding freeways has helped heal mid-20th-century transportation scars in cities like San Francisco, Dallas, Syracuse and Washington, D.C., along with a cautionary tale from Houston.
Mapping inequity in Houston’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout
Like many resources in Houston, access to the COVID-19 vaccine is concentrated on the west side of the city, while the greatest need and impact of the disease is concentrated among the residents on the east side.
Shedding light on the invisible epidemic of pedestrian deaths in America
In the past 10 years, the number of people who have died while walking in the United States has shot up by more than 50%. In Houston, pedestrian deaths have more than doubled in that time — spiking 125%. In “Right of Way,” Angie Schmitt examines the crisis of pedestrian injuries and fatalities across the U.S. — a crisis that disproportionately impacts low-income and minority communities.
We couldn’t help but notice that the suburb north of Dallas consistently ranks high on many of those “best cities for (fill in the blank)” lists we see so often. What is Plano’s secret?
How Houston can become a 15-minute city
What does cancer treatment have to do with fighting climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and neighborhood-level urban planning? Taking preventive steps today can literally save us all tomorrow.
How will COVID-19 alter today’s house of tomorrow?
In 2020, many American companies and their employees embraced working from home, and polls show the majority of workers want to continue the arrangement after the pandemic is over. With so many spending much more time at home, what design trends will benefit workers, households and individuals the most?
Here are the 10 most-viewed — and some of the most-engaging — Urban Edge stories of the year, as well as a look at how the Kinder Institute and its researchers are providing the insight needed to solve cities’ equity problems.
Hindsight in 2020: Some of the things that helped us cope
The year in review or the year in the rearview mirror? In 2020, we’ve seen a once-a-century pandemic amplify and exacerbate many of America’s long-existing disparities. We’ve also seen life-affirming kindness, dedication and sacrifice from so many fighting the effects of COVID-19 on a number of fronts. Here are some of the simple things that helped sustain us during the coronavirus crisis.
With added e-bikes, Houston bike share charges forward with expansion
BCycle rolls out the first batch of its electric bikes, which could help riders go farther and choose to bike more often. The boost from the e-bikes, along with plans to install more docking stations, should extend the network’s reach and improve access to biking for many in the city.
Want transportation equity? Be an accomplice, not an ally
Tamika L. Butler loves biking, transit and transportation, and she advocates for all three because she cares about her family and wants to build a better world for them. That’s why, when talking about transportation, planning and the built environment — especially now, when transit agencies are considering drastic cuts because of the pandemic — she always talks about race.
America is more diverse than ever, but diversity doesn’t equal equality
In the time since the Immigration and Nationality Act was signed in 1965, the demographics of Houston have changed dramatically. In 1980, the city was 55% white, 28% Black and 17% Hispanic. Today, the population is 25% white, 22% Black, around 7% Asian and nearly 45% Hispanic. Despite Houston’s high level of diversity, the city’s neighborhoods are segregated to a large degree.
The Black Church has been getting ‘souls to the polls’ for more than 60 years
At Black churches up and down the U.S., religious slogans have been supplanted with another message in the run up to Nov. 3: Vote!
Rice University
Kraft Hall
6100 Main Street, Suite 305
Houston, TX 77005-1892
