Latest Posts
Police oversight in Houston is lax compared to Austin and Dallas, and needs reform
To effectively monitor police and investigate cases of alleged misconduct, oversight boards need independence, access to information and evidence, and adequate funding. If given sufficient power and authority, these agencies can hold police departments accountable for officers’ actions and build public trust. A new Kinder Institute report examines the police oversight systems in the state’s five largest cities to see how they compare.
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/images/HPD%20police%20oversight%20report%20lede.jpg?itok=1-JSPjOU)
Big-city planners shouldn’t overlook the lessons of small-town design
Influenced by the Garden City movement, Badin, North Carolina, is a small gem of urban planning whose design called for green space, residential areas and commercial development in proportionate amounts. The planning of small towns like Badin can serve as an example for larger cities as they continue to grow.
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/images/BadinQuad.jpg?itok=r9X-W4Bp)
Rent prices are up in Houston as they’ve fallen in many US cities amid the pandemic
New reports on rental market trends show Houston, Austin and other Texas Triangle cities are hotspots for millennials while many of the most expensive U.S. cities for renters have seen prices decrease in the past year.
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/images/Screenshot_2020-11-16%20Likes%20-%20Canva.png?itok=i7XpmIhO)
Young workers account for almost 30% of pandemic-related job losses in the region
More than 325,000 16- to 29-year-olds have filed jobless claims since the COVID-19 outbreak began, many of them worked in accommodation, food services and retail — trade sectors hit hardest by the pandemic.
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/images/young%20restaurant%20worker.jpg?itok=r1vZULxY)
Finding the small-scale urbanism his hometown lost to urban renewal
After a car-centric urban renewal plan irrevocably changed the town where he grew up, a young urbanist found the essence of Auburn, New York, in Southern California.
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/images/Road%20to%20Ventura_0.jpg?itok=Zmp4mO3T)
Urban renewal was supposed to save my hometown, instead it ripped it apart
A failed plan to breathe life back into the economy of the beautiful, walkable city where I grew up left it half the place it once was, broke my father’s heart and shaped me as an urbanist.
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/Auburn%20NY%20map.jpg?itok=GwsANUfE)
A car-free, bus-only street in NYC is a case study in transportation equity
The Miracle on 14th Street demonstrates how taking a tiny fraction of road space from car traffic and giving it to bus travel is inherently equitable. And charging a very high price to cars for using scarce road space promotes equity and safety.
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/images/14th%20Street%20bus%20NYC.jpg?itok=Z8OSlmrH)
Map of Houston area’s distressed and prosperous ZIP codes shows ongoing and growing inequality
Where you live determines to a great extent how much access you have to quality education, health care, housing, public services and more. More access correlates to better outcomes in life. One-third of the Black population and almost one-third of the Hispanic population of Texas live in an economically distressed community. The populations of the Houston area’s distressed ZIP codes predominantly are people of color.
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/images/Houston%20neighborhood%20black%20and%20white.jpg?itok=wVdidekB)
Playing on fears of crime and poverty by playing up the myth of the suburbs
The image of the suburbs as being home to only white and wealthy residents whose ‘suburban lifestyle dream’ is being threatened doesn’t square with the reality of American life in 2020. Half of Black Americans live in the suburbs, which are much more diverse — both racially and economically — than many urban areas.
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/images/1950s%20suburbia.jpg?itok=8R_9yL0n)
The Black Church has been getting ‘souls to the polls’ for more than 60 years
At Black churches up and down the U.S., religious slogans have been supplanted with another message in the run up to Nov. 3: Vote!
![](/sites/g/files/bxs4896/files/styles/articles_in_list_thumbnail_260x175_cropped_/public/images/Black%20churches%20voting.jpg?itok=jsS0Z464)
Physical Address
Rice University
Kraft Hall
6100 Main Street, Suite 305
Houston, TX 77005-1892