The vast majority of college undergrads depend on some amount of financial aid to afford their education. But to get it, they have to fill out a FAFSA. Research shows that students in higher-poverty school districts are less likely to complete the FAFSA than students in wealthier districts. So far this year, which has been greatly disrupted by the pandemic, completion rates are down at all levels, especially in high-minority and Title 1 high schools.
Though Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin all continue to grow, their suburban neighbors — led by Frisco — appear to be outpacing the biggest cities in Texas.
New risk models show nearly twice as many properties are at risk from a 100-year flood today than the government's flood maps indicate. Analysis of damage from Hurricane Harvey shows Black and Hispanic residents disproportionately experienced flooding in areas beyond FEMA’s 100-year flood zones.
New research shows that 50 years after laws were put in place to stop the use of race in real estate appraisals, homes in neighborhoods of color are still being undervalued.
Using a random sample designed by Rice University researchers, the results of the COVID-19 antibody testing survey will provide an accurate count of infections among the 2.3 million people living in Houston.
Overall, 63% of Houston households have faced serious financial problems related to the COVID-19 crisis. And the overwhelming majority of Black (81%) and Latino (77%) households report having major financial troubles, according to a recent survey.
NIMBY opposition alone isn’t enough to counter the harmful effects of air pollutants emitted by concrete batch plants located in underserved and over-polluted communities in Harris County, which is home to more of these facilities than any county in Texas. Too often, much of the pollution and many of the polluters largely go unchecked by the state.
A new report measuring the damage done to America’s creative economy by COVID-19 shows the South, Texas and Houston are among the most devastated. At the metropolitan level, the Houston area is the largest metro suffering the worst losses.
To ensure Houston ISD schools don’t miss out on important census-guided funding in the next decade, there needs to be a full and accurate local population count. Unfortunately, the city’s self-response rate trails that of the nation by close to 10%. And on top of that, the counting is now set to end a month earlier than originally planned.
As moratoriums on evictions expire and bonus unemployment benefits run out, many in Houston and across Texas face increasing uncertainty about their ability to pay for a place to live.
Since mid-March, ridership has plummeted and there’s concern about a “transit death spiral.” But new studies show that public transportation isn’t a major source of coronavirus transmission.
Traffic levels fell dramatically throughout the Houston metro area as people were ordered to stay at home and businesses were closed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 — and it worked. But, as the economy was reopened and people returned to work, restaurants, bars, beaches and more, traffic levels and infection rates increased.
Investments, institutions and decriminalization all are strategies that can reduce the mandate of police and be more effective in addressing certain “offenses” than the criminal justice solution. This post explores police alternatives for cities, dividing them into three groups: health, relationships and community patrol.
Surges, hot spots, reopenings and reclosings. As the pandemic’s jagged sawtooth trend line continues to cut across the nation, uncertainty remains. In the end, how much will the composition of urban and suburban areas change?
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