Urban Edge

Stories, perspectives and insights from the Kinder Institute

Lessons from the garden city and one planner’s plot to escape London

Ebenezer Howard wanted an antidote to London — a dark, fetid place with social inequities, toxic air and water, overcrowding and rampant infectious disease. So, he decided to experiment with combining town and country.

The Astrodome’s future is uncertain, but its past is certainly worth revisiting

As a kid, I spent a good chunk of time in the Astrodome, but I didn’t know the story behind how it was built and the role it played in the desegregation of Houston.

‘Detached townhomes,’ gentrifying the gentrifiers and housing regulation that is uniquely Houston

The Kinder Institute’s “Re-Taking Stock” report reveals the good, the bad and the best about the city’s housing growth patterns. When it comes to urban infill, there is a lot going right in city, but that doesn’t mean everything is perfect.

Black community, the moment to value ourselves is now

“One callous white police officer convicted does not signal the demise of anti-Blackness. Her talons are embedded deeply in this nation’s flesh. It is like putting a $100 down payment on a $100 million house. It is progress, but you might want to hold off on scheduling the housewarming party.”

Economic recovery from the pandemic requires returning women to jobs with equal pay

America is facing an unprecedented exodus of women from the workforce. The hard-fought gains women have made over the past 40 years are at risk of being wiped out by the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investing in ‘human infrastructure’ today is an investment in America’s workforce of tomorrow

In Houston and across the country, the growth in younger populations is being driven by people of color — many of whom continue to grow up experiencing high levels of poverty. To ensure the nation's economic success in the future, there needs to be more support for children in the U.S. starting now.

Can city-owned vacant lots fill the need for park equity in Houston?

The residents of University Village in Greater Third Ward made a very strong case for turning a vacant lot into a pocket park in their neighborhood — and the city listened.

COVID-19 devastated public transit, and underscored how indispensable it is

Ridership and revenues plummeted during the pandemic, but transit service remained essential for many frontline workers. After the pandemic, it’s important that the lessons learned are used to create better, more equitable transit networks.

Pandemic POV: I got back on the bus this week — and it was fine

A longtime public transit rider describes what it was like to use Metro again for the first time in more than a year.

How bikes paved the way for car dependency in America

And why there needs to be more investment in bicycle infrastructure in Houston and other cities.