Urban Edge

Stories, perspectives and insights from the Kinder Institute

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.

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.