R-3 Repository :: Browsing by Author "Shelton, Kyle"

Browsing by Author "Shelton, Kyle"

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A Tale of Two Departments: Public Health in Harris County and the City of Houston
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2021) Fulton, William; Witt, Alan; Fedorowicz, Nikola; Mokrushina, Ksenia; Shelton, Kyle; Guajardo, Luis; Kinder Institute for Urban Research
The purpose of this report is to take a fresh look at possible service overlaps between the Harris County Department of Public Health and the City of Houston Department of Health and Human Services and identify options to reduce those overlaps and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the public health delivery system.
Building Stronger Suburbs: Adaptability and Resilience Best Practices From Suburban Houston
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2016) Shelton, Kyle
This report highlights best practices for creating resilient and adaptable development in diverse suburban communities. Faced with both immense opportunities and challenges, these areas must avoid overcommitting to outdated practices that limit future flexibility. Many changes are elevating this need. Shifting consumer preferences are supporting the revitalization of central cities. Suburban communities are becoming denser and more urban. Demographic revolutions and growing suburban poverty are changing entire regions’ political and socioeconomic dynamics. Climate change and worsening natural disasters are pushing the limits of existing infrastructure. A growing acknowledgement of how our communities’ designs impact their residents’ health is promoting conversations about building more sustainable regions. In order to ensure long-term prosperity, all suburban communities must recognize their connection with each other and the region around them. Rather than competing with each other, suburbs and core cities must share innovations, successes and lessons learned from mistakes. Best practices for adaptability and resilience are drawn from several Houston-area suburban case studies. By implementing these practices, aging suburban communities are retooling. Thriving suburbs are redefining themselves. New suburbs are integrating resilience and adaptability strategies into their initial plans. The documentation and dissemination of these best practices provides a blueprint for the pursuit of more successful suburbs nationwide.
Collaborations and Overlapping Services in Harris County Law Enforcement
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2018) Shelton, Kyle; Fulton, William; Villegas, Carlos; Krause, Matthew; Zhang, Mingming; Lightbourne, Jesseca
In Harris County, there are more than 60 law enforcement agencies. In general, these agencies provide a high level of service to area residents. However, there are possible efficiencies and improvements to be found. The funding that supports these entities mostly comes from local general funds and, on average, accounts for about 30 percent of local government budgets. The sheer number of agencies creates multiple overlapping services and duplicative costs. While several existing collaborations between local agencies have been successful, this more in-depth look at local law enforcement operations lays out possible options for improving service and cutting costs.
Community Resilience Initiatives: Building Stronger Neighborhoods in Houston
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2020) Servidio, Chris; Shelton, Kyle; Nostikasari, Dian
This report spotlights the work taking place in the five pilot Complete Communities to build community resilience. By documenting the processes surrounding these key community initiatives, this report identifies best practices that should underpin future work in Houston neighborhoods. Further, it documents how these efforts connect directly to the work of the Complete Communities program and the Resilient Houston strategy.
Dangerous Crossings: The Links Between Intersections and Crashes in Houston
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2017) Hu, Yujie; Shelton, Kyle
Traffic accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists have increased both in Houston and nationally in recent years. Coverage of this situation relies mainly on statistics that list the number and possibly the location of crashes. However, this information alone is not enough to help policymakers address this deadly problem. This report identifies how the attributes of intersections in Houston correlate with higher crash risks.This report uses a technique called colocation, which identifies spatial patterns — such as the physical distance between two objects or events — in order to analyze the impacts of the built environment on collisions between bicycles or pedestrians and automobiles in Houston. The colocation analysis identifies both the physical characteristics that make an intersection likely to attract future collisions and specific intersections that require attention in Houston. The analysis does not provide a prediction of the number of incidents that will occur at a given intersection; instead it identifies intersections that will likely attract incidents in the future. This work should help policymakers and engineers identify troublesome areas and improve street design to promote greater safety for all users.
Developing Houston: Land-Use Regulation in the "Unzoned City" and its Outcomes
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2017) Marcano, Alexius; Festa, Matthew; Shelton, Kyle
Houston is recognized nationally for its unique approach to land-use regulation and lack of formal zoning. The city possesses a number of tools that are or can be used to regulate and shape development in lieu of zoning. The tools that exist in Houston are similar to those found in peer cities such as Dallas and Los Angeles. And in all three cities there are similar development patterns, especially in residential development. While much of Houston’s existing land-use rules allow development to function similarly to how it functions in these other cities, Houston’s regulations struggle to offer predictability to both developers and residents. Because many of its regulations are one-size-fits-all, the city is unable to easily tailor plans to the needs of specific business areas or neighborhoods. This report lays out the existing elements of Houston’s land development system and highlights several areas where it could be improved to better serve the city, residents, businesses and developers.
Filling Potholes: Analyzing the City of Houston's Response
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2016) Walker, Kelsey; Shelton, Kyle
All mayors pledge to fix potholes. When Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner made the promise, he also created a website where citizens could track whether a pothole had been filled. The Kinder Institute conducted an independent analysis to verify the numbers collected on that site between January 4 and January 21, 2016.
From Close Calls to Crashes: Infrastructure Priorities to Improve Safety For People on Bikes
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2018) Nostikasari, Dian; Shelton, Kyle
Building on previous work by the Kinder Institute that captured the near-miss experiences of pedestrians and bicyclists, this report focuses on how information about daily trips can be used to improve transportation safety for some of the most vulnerable road users. For this report, we focus on safety concerns tied to people on bikes and will address those for pedestrians in later reports. Using the combination of travel diaries, self-reported near-miss data, the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) bicycle-involved crash data and bike trip information from Love To Ride, this report examines bicyclists’ vulnerability on Houston-area roadways.
Funding Primer: Harvey Relief and Recovery
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2017) Villegas, Carlos; Wowk, Kateryna (Katya); Shelton, Kyle; Lightbourne, Jesseca; Patterson, Grant
This primer is intended to inform decision makers and the public about the complicated process of financing disaster response. This work shows how federal, state and local funding have provided and will provide relief to the areas and people affected by Hurricane Harvey. The vulnerable populations section discusses some of the challenges certain populations face in trying to access relief and recovery resources. This primer does not address some of the longstanding challenges in using disaster relief funding wisely, which requires the close coordination of each unit of government. These challenges – time constraints for spending recovery dollars, difficulties in gaining support to mitigate impacts of future disasters, understanding multiple layers of regulations, and the tension between balancing long-term hazard mitigation investments with short-term economic development goals – will be addressed in subsequent work.
Governing a Growing Region: Addressing Challenges of Service Provision and Development in Houston
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2018) Shelton, Kyle; Fulton, William; Villegas, Carlos; Krause, Matthew
Most MUDs are on firm financial footing and effectively help communities function. But, zooming out from individual communities and taking a regional view, major issues with the regional governance system appear on the horizon. This report analyzes how government entities in the Greater Houston region are struggling to provide urban-level services to all residents, especially those in unincorporated, non-central suburban areas known as municipal utility districts. The current system of providing services is uneven. The purpose of this report is to highlight how cities, counties and MUDs relate to one another and provide services, in order to identify issues associated with the current governance system and to provide possible alternatives where appropriate.
Growing But Unequal: Mapping High Opportunity Areas and Implications for Affordable Housing
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2017) Nostikasari, Dian; Shelton, Kyle; Morin, Taylor; Walker, Kelsey
This report looks at the relationship between LIHTC projects and areas receiving full points on the 2016 QAP compared to the 2017 QAP’s Opportunity Index. It finds that the bulk of LIHTC properties continue to be located in places where they represent large shares of multifamily units and that LIHTC properties remain separate from those areas of Harris County that could be called the highest opportunity areas. Finally, using the Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Employment and Household Dynamic dataset, it explores the employment opportunities to residents within and outside areas with LIHTC properties. The findings underscore the importance of balancing high opportunity housing with meaningful revitalization efforts.
Housing Choice Voucher Mobility in Houston
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2019) Park, John; Shelton, Kyle
Houston in Flux: Understanding a Decade of Bayou City Development
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2016) Walker, Kelsey; Shelton, Kyle
This report quantifies, visualizes and analyzes new construction and demolition in Harris County between 2005 and 2015. By showing both demolition and construction, this report spotlights the effects of economic booms and busts, illuminates the locations where development pressures are either most extreme or nonexistent and draws attention to communities rebuilding themselves within a decade. These changes are often discussed anecdotally in Houston, but quantifying construction and demolition offers a concrete and nuanced look at how these processes affect different parts of the region. Redevelopment, preservation, outward growth and gentrification can all be spotted in the maps included in the report and in the accompanying interactive online map (www.houstoninflux.com). The report and accompanying interactive component serve two purposes. First, the report is an example of forthcoming Kinder Institute “landscape” analyses that will establish a baseline understanding of important critical issues facing the Houston area. Second, the interactive map provides an accessible public tool that citizens, public entities, businesses and community-based organizations can utilize to better understand their respective communities.
Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund Needs Assessment: Phase One
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2017) Wu, Jie; Zhang, Mingming; Villegas, Carlos; Patterson, Grant; Shelton, Kyle; Love, Samantha; Lightbourne, Jesseca; Wowk, Kateryna (Katya)
This document represents the first phase of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s needs assessment work on behalf of the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. This fund was jointly created by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to accept private donations to aid in hurricane relief and recovery. The report includes an analysis of 211, 311, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance (IA) data. These three datasets begin the process of identifying key needs post-Harvey and areas that were hardest hit. This analysis is the first step in what will be a much deeper damage assessment intended for phase two.
Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund Needs Assessment: Phase Two
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2018) Wu, Jie; Zhang, Mingming; Park, John; Villegas, Carlos; Patterson, Grant; Shelton, Kyle
This report represents the second phase of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s needs assessment work on behalf of the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. This document includes an updated analysis of zip code level 211 data from October 11 to November 30, 2017, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance (IA) data as of December 5, 2017, and FEMA Individual and Households Program (IHP) data as of December 20, 2017, all for Harris County. This report includes a summary of the data provided by the American Red Cross’ Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN) as of January 5, 2018 (this information was not in the Phase One report). In addition, this report includes a damage assessment for Harris County presented at the census block group level. This assessment combines data from the City of Houston, Harris County and multiple non-profit groups. Summaries of several of the largest needs assessments undertaken since Hurricane Harvey are also included here.
Identifying Latent Transit Ridership
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2018) Park, John; Shelton, Kyle
This report provides another tool for agencies to use in planning services by offering a method to show which parts of Houston METRO’s service area may have latent or untapped ridership. By analyzing the existing demographic, land use and transit service characteristics of transit lines, this report identifies areas where opportunities to increase ridership may exist. Underperforming areas are defined as the neighborhoods where existing ridership is lower than statistically expected ridership of a given area based on key characteristics. The goal of this work is to augment, not replace, the planning practices of METRO or other agencies. This approach identifies neighborhoods that might be well served by future service and also points to some small-scale interventions that might create greater ridership in areas already served. It is essential that local agencies apply their on-the-ground knowledge of their systems—the intricacies of specific routes and peculiarities of ridership patterns—in future applications. This work does not take into account questions of funding, a topic that would shape responses to the findings.
Learning from Close Calls: A Glimpse Into Near-Miss Experiences
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2017) Nostikasari, Dian; Shelton, Kyle
A near-miss is an incident between a pedestrian or a bicyclist and another mode of transportation — a bike, a car, or a bus/train — that results either in a crash or a situation where a pedestrian/bicyclist feels unsafe. This could be either a car passing a bicyclist too closely or a car rolling through a stop sign and almost hitting a pedestrian in the crosswalk. At its most basic level, it’s an event that leaves a pedestrian or bicyclists thinking “that was close.” Any of these situations count as near-misses, and they're the kind of information this report looks for to identify dangerous places on Houston’s roads.
Near Northside: Safer Streets, Safer Communities
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2020) Nostikasari, Dian; Haile, Gelila; Shelton, Kyle
The Near Northside is a historic neighborhood in the heart of Houston. A seemingly ideal area for active living, the community has numerous community assets, commercial hubs, schools and homes within walking or biking distance of one another. However, because of lacking infrastructure for pedestrians and people on bikes, safely traveling between these sites is difficult. This report is the second in a series aimed at aiding efforts to improve street safety in the Houston region. It should be read alongside the survey report done in Near Northside which measures residents' attitudes and perspectives about street safety.
Neighborhood Voices: Using Community Engagement to Address Transportation, Infrastructure and Safety Concerns in Near Northside, Houston
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2020) Nostikasari, Dian; Haile, Gelila; Shelton, Kyle
Over the span of 11 months, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research collaborated with various community partners such as LINK Houston, BakerRipley and the University of Houston's Psychological Health and Learning Sciences department to conduct a two-part assessment of the Near Northside neighborhood. This effort mirrors one conducted by the Kinder Institute and neighborhood partners in Gulfton in 2018. The first part of the assessment and the focus of this report revolved around a survey of community residents to gather input on street safety concerns of the neighborhood. The second part of the effort, which is documented in an accompanying report, used a detailed walk audit to create an inventory of pedestrian, bicycle and public transit street infrastructure in the Near Northside.
Planning From Inside Out: Using Community Responses to Address Transportation, Infrastructure and Safety Concerns
(Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 2018) Nostikasari, Dian; Patterson, Grant; Shelton, Kyle
Building on previous Kinder Institute work about how to improve safety for all road users, this report uses input from residents to highlight problem areas and safety concerns in Houston’s Gulfton neighborhood. The information revealed through this input can complement the city’s Complete Communities work in Gulfton. It also dovetails with local organizations’ efforts to improve street safety and address mobility issues. The findings provide a more in-depth understanding of critical transportation safety issues and highlight what areas residents see as key issues. These primary findings can be used to prioritize street safety improvements.

Browsing by Author "Shelton, Kyle"

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