Understanding Houston: An unemployed engineer finds help in community
This is a part of a series connected to our partnership with the Greater Houston Community Foundation's regional project Understanding Houston. This story, and others in the series, also appears on the Understanding Houston website.

Big Texas cities are rapidly gentrifying, but none as fast as Houston
Since the turn of the century, many neighborhoods in or near the heart of Houston and the state’s other large metropolitan areas — Dallas, San Antonio and Austin — have been transformed by the ongoing inflow of affluence. A change better known as gentrification.

How Houston has changed — and stayed the same — in the past 10 years
It’s been a decade since the Kinder Institute for Urban Research was formed at Rice University. During that time, a lot has changed at the institute and in the Houston metropolitan area. In 2020, the Urban Edge will feature a number of stories related to the 10-year anniversary of the institute. To kick things off, let's compare the Houston area of 2010 with the city today.

Remembering a pioneering proponent of cities’ power to improve prosperity
Kinder Institute for Urban Research Director Bill Fulton recalls the optimism and influence of his mentor, the urban affairs writer and journalist Neal Peirce.

Understanding Houston: Rice professor chronicles the oral history of city's Asian American community
This is a part of a series connected to our partnership with the Greater Houston Community Foundation's regional project Understanding Houston. This story, and others, also appears on the Understanding Houston website.

2019’s most-popular stories: Dockless scooters, the I-45 expansion and more
The most-popular Urban Edge stories from the past year ranged in topic from dockless scooters and the growth rate of Dallas to the unequal distribution of trees in the city and the Opportunity Zone program. But the most popular topic of 2019 was TxDOT’s enormous I-45 expansion plan.

Should we worry about how fast Houston’s older population is growing?
A comparison of data from the latest American Community Survey (ACS) with that of the ACS from 2008 to 2012 revealed something interesting about the continued steady growth of the Houston-area population.

State lawmakers need to partner with — not impede — local governments
Texas’ leading political figures have made it clear they don’t have much use for local government. From curbing cities’ ability to generate property tax revenue to a call for banning localities from lobbying in Austin, state officials continue to limit the power of local governments.

Understanding Houston: Advocate for broader perspective on mental illness addresses stigmas
This is a part of a series connected to our partnership with the Greater Houston Community Foundation's regional project Understanding Houston. This story, and others, also appears on the Understanding Houston website.

Movies, books, music and fried-rice omelets were part of what we loved this year
And just like that, 2019 is (almost) over. It was a blur. As we close in on Day 365 of the year, we're thinking back on some of the best things we watched, listened to, read and even came to rely on because they entertained, inspired, informed and moved us.

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