Urban Edge

Insights, perspectives and stories about building better cities and better lives

Bus rapid transit is coming. Here’s what you need to know.

Bus rapid transit — BRT for short — is part of METRO’s plan for improving public transportation in the Houston area. It will feaure 75 miles of MetroRapid service on dedicated, bus-only lanes. Here’s a breakdown of BRT.

How buses can drive equity and success in cities — and even help kill zombie ideas

Ridership in most major metropolitan areas of the U.S. has been steadily declining in recent years. And transit experts worry about the trend’s impact on cities — economically and socially. But when you improve buses, as the experience in Houston and in so many other places shows, ridership and relevancy increase.

The housing voucher program isn’t perfect, but it’s essential

How much do you know about the 45-year-old federal housing assistance program that was created to help those with the nation’s lowest incomes access better opportunities and escape poverty?

Are Houston and other cities ‘trying to have their cake and eat it, too?’

As Houston strives to improve transit, shrink its carbon footprint and make streets safer for all modes of transportation, it may be struggling to rise above the status quo in some areas.

If you are disabled and live in the Houston area, we’d love to hear your story

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research is launching a new survey to better understand housing and neighborhood challenges faced by those living with disabilities in Houston.

Far too many cyclists and pedestrians continue to die on US roads

More and more American cities are setting Vision Zero goals, but progress toward making streets safe for all users, particularly those using non-motorized transportation, is slow to come.

Understanding Houston: How a business manager navigates his multi-county commute in Houston

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.

How METRO made bus service a priority and became a transit trendsetter

In 2015, METRO took its outdated bus network down to the studs and designed an entirely new regional transit system that made bus service less complicated and more frequent along the busiest routes. The results made transportation officials in cities across the country take notice.

5 surprising things I learned analyzing property tax protest data

It’s a tough time of year for homeowners in Houston. In November, a letter arrives from the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector with next year’s property tax bill. Some people pay their taxes every month with their mortgage. Others, like me, end up writing a big check in January.

Houston doesn’t have zoning, but there are workarounds

So, what’s the deal with zoning laws in Houston? While it’s true the city has none, it still regulates development using a complex system of codes. These codes, however, don’t govern land use.