Houston has long been celebrated for its affordability, attracting individuals and families seeking economic opportunities and a reasonable cost of living. Indeed, according to the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston Metropolitan Area has the third-lowest living costs among the 20 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. However, data reveals a growing housing affordability crisis that challenges …
Category Archives: Housing
Fort Bend County Health and Human Services’ Journey toward a Community Health Assessment
Banner photo: Carrie Rai, FBCHHS Performance and Innovation Specialist This article is the first of a two-part series that describes the community engagement plan and process to create Fort Bend County’s first Community Health Assessment and Health Improvement Plan since 2007. In the summer of 2022, Fort Bend County Health & Human Services (FBCHHS) completed …
Key Insights from The Big Picture | Fort Bend County
On October 6, 2022, Fort Bend County residents convened at Long Acres Ranch in Richmond, TX, to learn, engage, and explore ways to solve some of the county’s most significant challenges. At this event, Understanding Houston shared key data highlighting Fort Bend County’s strengths and challenges. Guests also heard from representatives from Fort Bend County …
Continue reading “Key Insights from The Big Picture | Fort Bend County”
Key Insights from our Ending Homelessness in Houston Event
On September 21, 2022, Greater Houston Community Foundation hosted a program to celebrate the progress made in reducing homelessness in the Houston three-county area and explore how we can continue to work together to end homelessness in Houston. Results from the 2022 Homeless Count Survey done by the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston, indicate …
Continue reading “Key Insights from our Ending Homelessness in Houston Event”
Is Houston really that affordable?
Over the years, the greater Houston region has gained a reputation for affordability. Historically, Greater Houston is the rare major metro in which the cost of living is low and overall opportunity is high, especially relative to its size as the fifth largest metropolitan area and the fourth largest city in the nation. Our region’s …
Exploring the Legacy of Redlining in Houston
In the Houston area, there are neighborhoods fewer than 15 miles apart in which the average life expectancy differs by 21 years and future income differs by $50,000 for low-income children. The disparities may exist in the present, but their roots run deep through our region’s history. More than 90 years of discriminatory federal, state, …
Continue reading “Exploring the Legacy of Redlining in Houston”
Key insights from our webinar on housing inequities
Housing in Houston has become less affordable, and low-income households bear the greatest burden In partnership with Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Greater Houston Community Foundation hosted a Housing Inequities program on October 20 to educate and engage donors and community partners on inequities in housing affordability, supply, and vulnerability in Greater Houston. …
Continue reading “Key insights from our webinar on housing inequities”
Evictions during COVID-19 across Greater Houston
Evictions are on the rise in Houston. As the Covid-19 pandemic and economic downturn continues to batter Texas and the Greater Houston region, millions of families are wondering how they’re going to be able to pay the bills. According to a recent Census Bureau survey, 37% of adults in the Houston metropolitan area either missed …
Continue reading “Evictions during COVID-19 across Greater Houston”
Houston native and community activist for the temporarily homeless
Sharon Johnson: Aspiring — temporarily homeless — graphic designer There are 3,938 homeless men, women and children in the Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend counties, combined, according to the 2019 homeless count by the Coalition for the Homeless. And as of now, Houston-native Sharon Johnson is one of them. Johnson, 57, was born and raised …
Continue reading “Houston native and community activist for the temporarily homeless”