Urban Edge

Stories, perspectives and insights from the Kinder Institute

Now Hiring: Houston METRO Looks to Add Urban Designer

A year after redesigning its routes, Houston METRO is continuing to shake things up as it looks to add an urban designer to its executive office.

Suburban Sprawl and Poor Preparation Worsened Flood Damage in Louisiana

Craig E. Colten | September 6, 2016 If there is one lesson we have learned about floods, it is that records are made to be broken.

Weekly Roundup: The Air We Breathe (When We're in Our Cars)

Think you're safe from pollution when you're inside your car with the windows rolled up? Think again.

Census Finds Houston Ranks High for Minority Entrepreneurs

Houston outranks Austin, despite the latter's reputation as a startup hub.

The Most Economically Segregated School District Boundaries in the Country

A new study shows the majority of income segregation is happening between, not within, school districts.

In Houston, Muslim Community Enjoying a Surprising Source of Growth: Latinos

A Houston organization just opened the city's only Spanish-language mosque as part of an effort to tap into the 10 percent of U.S.-born Muslims who are Hispanic.

Weekly Roundup: How Welfare Reform Changed the Nation

Twenty years ago, Bill Clinton signed welfare reform into law. Though fewer people are on welfare today, the reforms haven't saved the federal government money, and poverty is higher than it was 20 years ago, according to Washington Post analysis.

I Moved to Houston From 9,000 Miles Away. What I Saw Surprised Me

Nearly a quarter of Houstonians are foreign-born, like me. This is what the city looks like through my eyes.

New Recommendation Says Every School Should Have a Nurse. Many Don't

Health experts and data researchers agree: school nurses are good for students. So why don't all schools have them?

Not Just Food: Book Deserts Also Characterize Poor Neighborhoods

In poor neighborhoods, there are few places where parents can purchase books for their kids. That matters, since reading at home is closely tied to academic success.