Can a ‘Smart Highway’ in Texas Pave the Way to Self-Driving?, Bloomberg, March 25, 2024

The tech company Cavnue says that its sensor-equipped “autonomous freight corridor” outside of Austin will help usher in a future full of driverless trucks. 

Houston Evictions Are Skyrocketing. One Court Is Testing a Solution. Texas Monthly, January 10, 2024

Last year, one in every ten Harris County renters faced losing their home. A new program aims to connect tenants with resources.

The New Generation of Freeway Fighters Is Assembling, Bloomberg, November 15, 2023

Foes of US highway expansions, fueled by environmental and equity concerns, gathered at a summit to share strategy, compare notes and try to forge a national movement.

A Regional Government Faces Calls for Reform in Houston, Bloomberg, October 26, 2023

Voters are weighing changes to the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a planning organization that’s been at odds with the city over freeway and flood recovery funds. 

In Red-Hot Austin, Climate Fears Can’t Stop a $4.5 Billion Highway Expansion, Bloomberg, September 29, 2023

The long-planned project to widen Interstate 35 through the booming Texas capital is racing ahead, despite years of opposition from environmental advocates. 

A Highway That Doesn’t Exist Is Strangling a Black Neighborhood, Bloomberg, February 17, 2023

In the Louisiana city of Shreveport, residents of Allendale have spent decades fighting a highway expansion. Even if they succeed, the neighborhood is already losing.

Why Bringing More Affordable Housing to Austin is a Block-by-Block Battle, Texas Monthly, September 15, 2022

A recent neighborhood fight demonstrates how the outsized influence of existing homeowners restricts supply in a city that badly needs 135,000 new homes.

Can Anacostia Build a Bridge Without Displacing Its People?, The New York Times, August 9, 2022

A decade in the works, the 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, D.C., has yet to be built. But it could be a model for how to create public space while lessening the effects of gentrification.

Desperate for Housing, Austin Seeks Relief in Rezoning, Bloomberg, April 29, 2022

The booming Texas capital’s efforts to revise its land development code and build more affordable housing have been thwarted by protests from homeowners.

The Great Springs Project Aims to Build a 100-Mile Hike-and-Bike Trail From Austin to San Antonio, Texas Monthly, April 11, 2022

The nonprofit effort will cost hundreds of millions and preserve 50,000 acres over the fragile Edwards Aquifer. Can it be done?

Writing Love Letters Can Give Home Buyers An Edge—And Open the Door to Discrimination, Texas Monthly, August 31, 2021

As home prices skyrocket in Texas, buyers will try anything to stand out, and neuroscience shows these letters work. But housing experts say the implications are troubling.

The CDC Halted Evictions. Texas Judges Are Proceeding Anyway, Texas Observer, August 16, 2021

Despite federal protections aimed at preventing eviction, thousands of tenants in Texas have been unable to use them to keep their homes.

The Road Home, Texas Observer / The Nation, July/August 2021

The Texas Department of Transportation intends to spend $25 billion widening highways to fix traffic in Texas cities. What if we tore them down instead?

In Houston, A Plan to Expand Interstate 45 Encounters Federal Pushback, Texas Observer, March 29, 2021

For years, community groups have been organizing to stop a massive highway expansion. In March, the federal government paused the project, citing serious civil rights concerns.

The Blacklist, Texas Observer, November/December 2020

Screened out by automated background checks, tenants who face eviction can be denied housing for years to come.

Texas Landlords Are Filing Hundreds of Illegal Evictions, Texas Observer, June 24, 2020

As courts reopen in Harris County, tenants may be removed from their homes as COVID-19 cases skyrocket, despite CARES Act protections that guarantee shelter.

If You Can Buy It, By All Means Do That, Texas Observer, June 3, 2020

Five years ago, facing significant rent increases and, in some cases, eviction, residents at the North Lamar Mobile Home Park organized. Now, they own the park.

Building Trust, Texas Observer, March/April 2020

As Texans face the skyrocketing cost of housing, community land trusts offer the promise of permanent affordability. You just have to give up ownership of your land. March|April 2020

Advocacy Groups Say Lubbock’s 2040 Land Use Plan Violates the Fair Housing Act, Texas Observer, December 19, 2019

Texas Housers and the Lubbock NAACP filed a federal complaint alleging that industrial zoning in East and North Lubbock disproportionately burdens black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

The Fight to Make Austin Affordable, Texas Observer, December 6, 2019

Austin is one of the most segregated and sprawling cities in Texas. A new land development code aims to change that.

The Quest for the Multigenerational City, CityLab, January 29, 2019

The lives of the young and the old rarely cross in many American cities. After I moved to Austin, I used a volunteer opportunity as a way to change that.

Austin’s Fix for Homelessness: Tiny Houses, and Lots of Neighbors, CityLab, November 12, 2018

Community First! Village’s model for ending homelessness emphasizes the stabilizing power of social connections.

Why Arizona is Building Tiny Homes for School Teachers, CityLab

The state ranks last in the nation for elementary school teacher salaries. For one rural school district, building a tiny-home community for staffers is one way to address the issue.

Tiny home communities: housing solution or gentrified trailer parks? The Guardian, June 26, 2018

Like many US cities, Austin is facing an affordable-housing crisis. Can the burgeoning Instagram- and tech-friendly tiny home movement help solve it?

Austin’s Not-So Fair Housing Market, Austin Monthly

2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the Federal Fair Housing Act, yet many Austin renters still experience discrimination in housing. With the largest housing bond in Austin’s history on the ballot in November, there’s never been a more important moment to pay attention to fair housing.

Making A Run For It, Pacific Standard, March 7, 2018

Meet some of the first-time female candidates running for office in the wake of the Trump presidency: The underrepresentation of women in government is not just bad for women; it’s bad for democracy.