Features

Understanding Houston: Teacher advocates for early childhood education in Houston

This is a part of a series connected to our partnership with the Greater Houston Community Foundation's regional project Understanding Houston. This story, and others, also appears on the Understanding Houston website.

Understanding Houston: First-generation Houstonian makes her voice heard through voting

This is a part of a series connected to our partnership with the Greater Houston Community Foundation's regional project Understanding Houston. This story, and others, also appears on the Understanding Houston website.

Greens Bayou resiliency plans tie engagement and technical expertise together

Public engagement and sharing information with members of a community help as critical steps of any planning effort or public project. Too often, though, that engagement asks residents to communicate with professionals or experts about subjects they are not adept in. When discussing a technical topic such as flood control or transportation planning, residents can get lost in a sea of acronyms or complicated renderings. Finding ways to offer residents meaningful information that they can digest and use to shape their opinions is essential to making engagement meaningful.

Greens Bayou Watershed analysis reveals strategies to increase resiliency from flooding

Understanding Houston: 'It's like I can't survive,' temporarily-homeless Houstonian says

This is a part of a series connected to our partnership with the Greater Houston Community Foundation's regional project Understanding Houston. This story, and others, also appears on the Understanding Houston website.

Could cities, not national governments, be the ones to fight the climate crisis?

What happens if cities rethink their policies to combat climate change rather than waiting for nations to do so?

Living in walkable neighborhoods makes children richer when they grow up, new study finds

Living in walkable neighborhoods has shown to improve health, social wellbeing and general happiness, and now, a new study shows children growing up in walkable areas earn more money as adults.

To build inclusive tech hubs, we must educate, collaborate and build past weaknesses

Anthony Frasier, the founder of ABF Creative and Brick City Tech, shared his thoughts on inclusive tech hubs during a Next City webinar on Wednesday.

Our cities will become smart only through private-public partnerships, experts say

Technology will transform our cities for the better, according to a panel hosted by the French American Chamber of Commerce and Ion Smart Cities Accelerator program and prototyping lab.

Washington is a great (baseball) town. So is Houston.

The World Series faceoff revealed some additional similarities between the two seemingly-contrasting cities.

The amount of money needed in your savings fluctuates based on your age, income, report says

The financial gap between the wealthiest and the poorest in America is at the widest it's been in the past 50 years. 

Cemeteries as urban public spaces? This is why it could work

Some cemeteries come up with creative ways to maintain the grounds, including historic tours and respectful events. 

Equity questions raised over Buffalo Bayou East master plan

The plan aims to add 40 miles of new and improved trails and bikeways, 200 acres of parks and open spaces, seven new boat landings and seven new bridges. But not all welcome the changes.

Traffic identified as Houston's biggest problem, METRO's $3.5 billion bond could help

This election season, Houstonians will decide on cashing in on more transportation options that promise to ease traffic woes. 

Dallas-Fort Worth area named as worst large metro Texas city to live car-free, analysis shows

While the majority of Texas and southern cities are car-dependent, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is among the worst to live without a vehicle.