Houston Matters

Full Show: East Side Gentrification, And The Year In Transportation (Dec. 18, 2018)

Posted on · On Tuesday's Houston Matters: A report expects crime and murder rates to decline in most big cities -- except Houston. Then, a study examines which of Houston's neighborhoods are the most susceptible to gentrification. Plus, we reflect on the year's biggest transportation stories. And John Lomax III discusses the contributions of his father, John Avery Lomax, Jr., to the documentation of American folk music.

Houston Matters

Full Show: Restaurants And The #MeToo Movement, And Gentrification Of The Third Ward (Feb. 16, 2018)

Posted on · On Friday's Houston Matters: Could the #MeToo movement have played a role in who didn't get selected as a James Beard Award semifinalist? Then, we explore the gentrification of Houston's Third Ward. Our non-experts break down The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the week’s news. And we find some people actually participating in the winter sport of curling here in Houston.

Houston Matters

Houston’s Changing Neighborhoods

Posted on · We’ve regularly discussed on this program the ways in which Houston has been transforming in recent years. We Houstonians have watched as our infrastructure has struggled to keep up with dramatic population growth. We’ve also both celebrated and bemoaned the reinvention of entire neighborhoods — what some see as improvements, and others dismiss as gentrification. […]

Full Show

Big 12 Dreams and Houston’s Changing Neighborhoods: Thursday’s Show (October 13, 2016)

Posted on · The conference structure in NCAA Division I college athletics can be dizzying to try to understand. There are a couple tiers of major conferences. The top tier are the Power 5 conferences. They get more media attention, and more acclaim — and the revenue that comes with it all. Universities want to be part of […]

Houston Matters

What Potential Artist Housing Could Mean for Acres Homes Neighborhood

Posted on · Acres Homes has been talked about as a place for revitalization for a while but typically within the context of preserving the historic African-American neighborhood. But now a different sort of development is planned in the enclave: high-end housing for artists. We discuss the concept, how Acres Homes residents are reacting to it, and what […]

Houston Matters

Revitalization Brings Hope — and a Little Worry — to Houston’s Fifth Ward

Posted on · Changes are happening all over Greater Houston, which can take many forms. It might be a high-rise in midtown, a master-planned community along the Grand Parkway or the revitalization of a 150-year-old neighborhood — making something old new again. That's exactly what's happening in Houston's Fifth Ward. That's the area north of Buffalo Bayou and […]

Full Show

The Future of the Astrodome and Revitalizing the Fifth Ward: Wednesday’s Show (June 29, 2016)

Posted on · Yesterday (June 28, 2016), the Harris County Commissioners Court unveiled updated plans and cost estimates for preserving the Astrodome. The plan involves raising the dome's floor to ground level to create a 9-acre open space with air conditioning and building an underground parking garage with room for 1,400 vehicles. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett says […]

Houston Matters

How and Why Houston Neighborhoods Have Morphed Over the Years

Posted on · Some of Houston’s neighborhoods have, for lack of a better phrase, “morphed” over the decades. Montrose once had a much larger African-American community, then it became known as Houston’s gay neighborhood, then a more gentrified area. Sharpstown, Meyerland, The Heights — they’ve all undergone transformative change from one generation to the next. We explore what’s […]

Houston Matters

Is it About Race or Income? How We Define Gentrification in Houston

Posted on · You may have heard Andrew Schneider’s story a week ago about a recent study from Rice University’s Shell Center for Sustainability, which found the cost of living in Houston is no longer a bargain. According to the 5th Houston Sustainability Indicators Report, Houstonians spend more than 45 percent of their income on transportation and housing, […]