The Texas Medical Center in Houston. Image via flickr/Katie Haugland.Next month, the Kinder Institute is hosting 45 young urban leaders from across the country as part of its partnership with the Next City Vanguard 2016 Conference.
It's a highly selective group, narrowed down from 450 applicants. The fellows include entrepreneurs, architects, planners and artists, and they share one thing in common: they have a passion for helping cities excel.
Houstonians are well aware of the urban revolution happening in the city, punctuated by a focus on new and expanded park space and transit options. But at the same time, the city is struggling with growing pains. Not everyone who calls the city home has benefited equally from its prosperity.
As part of the Kinder Institute's involvement in the conference, its staff members (and members of the local conference host committee) assembled a reading list of articles and books about Houston that they shared with the Vanguard fellows who will soon be visiting. They cover the city's history and its future, as well as its transformation and its challenges. We've included that list for the Urban Edge readers.
Parks & Green Space
Can Houston Go Green Without Black and Brown?
What Houston's New Park Can Learn From Atlanta, Los Angeles
Houston's Big Green Transformation
Transportation
Houston Just Dramatically Improved Its Mass Transit System Without Spending a Dime
What Happened When Houston Revamped Its Entire Bus System Overnight
Can Houston Learn to Love Light Rail?
Houston’s Transit Guru on the City’s Moment in the Sun
Urbanists Will Like Houston’s New Mayor
Housing
Houston’s High-Tech Solution to Connecting the Homeless With Housing
What Do the Poor Need? Try Asking Them
The Beautiful Projects: Contradiction and Complexity in Houston’s Multifamily Housing
The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City
Planning
Forget What You’ve Heard, Houston Really Does Have Zoning (Sort Of)
A Soundwalk on Private Sidewalks in Houston’s Third Ward
One Million Acres and No Zoning
Economics/Poverty
Houston Economy: 'It's bad, but it's not awful'
“Poverty is arranged differently here:” An Interview with Angela Blanchard
History
Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City
A People's War on Poverty: Urban Politics and Grassroots Activists in Houston