It is really hard to figure out Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s position on racial housing segregation in government-assisted housing. He…
Category: Local issues
Local issues consist of housing topics faced by city and county governments that are of interest to local organizers and community groups.
A plan for increasing Austin’s affordable housing, racial and economic diversity
Austin is experiencing a moment of anxiety and introspection unlike any I have seen since I came here 44 years…
Sweeping federal investigation finds City of Houston’s housing segregation violates Civil Rights Act
Racial housing segregation in Houston is no accident. It is not voluntary on the part of Houstonians of color. It is…
How City actions perpetuate Houston’s housing segregation and violate civil rights
Every neighborhood in Houston deserves quality affordable housing, including the community of Independence Heights. But affordable housing should not only be…
After first local Zika transmission, state and local officials must act to protect Rio Grande Valley
The first local transmission of the Zika virus in the state of Texas, and just the second in the country,…
Video: Visualizing Houston’s housing segregation
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched a fair housing investigation after the City…
Houston co-director talks fair housing and comprehensive reinvestment on public radio
Fair housing is all about providing choice – the right to choose a living situation free from discrimination. But when…
Stirring call for fair housing in Houston Chronicle editorial
The Houston Chronicle editorial board wrote a powerful column in support of fair housing in Sunday’s edition. We would not normally quote…
Hands-on training for colonia leaders emphasizes role of government in solving problems
Cris Rocha, a community organizer with La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), welcomed the group and Norma Aldape, a LUPE member and…
Where you live matters: Assessing unequal access to healthy environments
[The following is adapted from a presentation to the National Fair Housing Alliance‘s national conference on June 27, 2016.] Where…
A call to confront segregation in colonias: Addressing development and civil rights
[The following remarks were delivered on June 22, 2016 at a conference, Southwest Border Colonias: Housing and Sustainable Development in…
Austin for everyone: Building an inclusive, diverse city begins in every neighborhood
[The following remarks were delivered before the Austin chapter of the American Institute of Architects on June 21, 2016.] I…
A builder of The Beloved Community passes – who’s gonna fill her shoes?
Photo: Charles Smith, Katherine Poole, Councilwoman Sally Shipman in the midst of fight to save Blackland neighborhood from University of Texas expansion (ca.…
Dallas apartment association advocates for voucher discrimination against veterans
The Dallas City Council has tabled a proposal to protect veterans from being denied housing based on their source of…
State to hold public hearing on colonia environmental injustice thanks to youth leaders
Youth activists in the Rio Grande Valley have already won increased resources and attention to address the odor nuisance caused…
Read the Sunnyside Neighborhood Plan, a community-developed blueprint for change in Houston
For the past several months, residents of the Sunnyside neighborhood in south Houston have been developing a comprehensive plan to…
Years of organizing lead to vital stormwater drainage project for Rio Grande Valley colonias
Inequality is most starkly manifested in the differences between rich and poor neighborhoods. And nowhere is inequality greater than in the…
More of the same: Houston risks fair housing progress, adds to segregation
There have been some recent signs that Houston is slowly accepting the need to practice fair housing and treat all…
Austin’s proposed development codes and building the inclusive community
I live today just outside Clarksville, where three decades ago low income African-American families, aided by a handful of supporters, waged a landmark…
Colonia youth take charge to protect neighbors from contamination
As discussed in our staff conversation last week, there has been a shameful lack of government oversight around the toxic contamination of…
Listen: Shining a light on environmental injustice in the colonias
TxLIHIS staff members work on a wide range of issues across the state. To highlight some of that work, I’ll…
#ReentryWeek: Sunnyside residents have a vision for fair chances at housing
The U.S. Justice Department has declared this week “National Reentry Week” to shed light on the challenges faced by formerly…
The importance of speaking up for fair housing
I recently I had the pleasure of providing comment at a public meeting around the Houston Housing Authority’s Fountain View project,…
Video: Anger over proposed public housing in high opportunity Houston neighborhood
The public meeting on the Houston Housing Authority’s (HHA) proposal to build the Fountain View Apartments, a mixed-income apartment complex in…
TxLIHIS Houston co-director Chrishelle Palay named to Next City Vanguard “40 under 40”
Our Houston co-director Chrishelle Palay has been selected as one of America’s top 40 urban innovators aged 40 or younger for this…
Houston Chronicle editorial supports Fountain View proposal and fair housing
On February 25, the editorial board of the Houston Chronicle defended a proposed affordable housing development which has become the target of organized…
The opportunity blueprint: Our plan for a united, diverse Houston
Houston is at a crossroads. The city is growing and the economy is booming – but only for some. Despite…
What’s behind the opposition to public housing in a high opportunity area in Houston?
(Update: After receiving a great deal of feedback on this post – see the comment section below – we posted…
Rebuilding public housing isn’t always so RAD
Interesting news from my hometown of El Paso this month: The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) announced they will begin rebuilding two…
Street light installation finally begins as colonia residents celebrate victory
Above: Residents of Colonia Goolie Meadows enjoy the illumination provided by their new street lights. Last week marked another milestone in…