“This is the city where the American future is going to be worked out,” Stephen L. Klineberg, Ph.D., said of Houston in 2010. Klineberg, the founding director of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, has been tracking the ways in which Houston has been changing since the 1980s through the Kinder Houston Area Survey. …
Author Archives: Understanding Houston
Ending the inertia of student mobility in Houston
It matters that 60,000+ Houston-area students change schools each year. Here’s what we can do about it. Each school year in the Houston area, more than 60,000 children leave the school they were attending to enter another school. Given that more than 700,000 students are served by Houston-area schools1, the number of children moving may …
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Examining Houston’s Reputation as a Car City
A data-driven look at personal vehicle use in Greater Houston You’ve probably heard it from visiting relatives who just can’t seem to wrap their heads around how big the city is, asking “is this still Houston?” on the twenty-minute drive to your favorite dinner spot. Houston’s size contributes to its character, but it also makes owning …
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Houston is… Entrepreneurial
Exploring the factors influencing Houston’s famed entrepreneurial spirit Houston’s business culture is unique — both distinctly global and local, it owes its evolution as much to every hardworking Houstonian as it does to the frontier mentality from which its industry grew. Entrepreneurship is an essential part of what it means to live in Houston, and …
2021 in Greater Houston: The year in review
A data-driven look at what 2021 meant for Houston’s three-county area No year in recent memory has simultaneously had so much and so little to live up to as 2021. Coming on the heels of a tumultuous 2020 mired in an ongoing pandemic and a contentious political landscape, the arrival of 2021 represented hope and …
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Celebrating Understanding Houston’s Second Anniversary
Reflecting on two years of community connections and informed action. When we began work on Understanding Houston a few years ago, we set out to create a relevant, accessible platform that would connect community leaders and changemakers with the information they need to take targeted, informed action where our region needs it most. This November, …
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Houston’s three-county region accounts for a quarter of Texas’ population growth
2020 Census data shows how the Houston region has evolved over the last decade The U.S. Census Bureau has released data from the 2020 Census; however, collecting this data did not come without its challenges. In March 2020, right as households began receiving invitations to participate in the 2020 Census, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the …
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Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrating a rich past, present, and future
As the largest ethnic group in the region, Houston’s Hispanic community has left an indelible impression in our communities — both past and present. From indigenous roots spanning the Americas and those with African ancestry, to early Spanish-speaking settlers and present-day community pillars, Houstonians who identify as Hispanic/Latino have shaped our region in fundamental and …
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COVID-19’s ongoing effect on students in Greater Houston
A data-driven look into how the pandemic has affected students in Greater Houston Since March 2020, the world has been coping with the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many students, the classroom suddenly became the kitchen table. Their teachers were now little squares on a screen. The learning experience that most students were …
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4 facts every resident should know about Houston’s environment
Greater Houston has many reputations, many good, some more challenging. We’re the Space City, Clutch City and home to the medical capital of the world. We’re also known to be the Bayou City, the Energy Capital of the World and a car city, to name a few. On their own each reputation speaks to a …
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