Houston is an international city, with a diverse population and economy. Its equity indicators, however, are relatively average compared to other U.S. cities.
The city of Houston this week published the “One Complete Houston: Understanding Our Equity Challenges and Opportunities” report, the first to emerge from the city’s equity indicator study, launched in 2021.
According to an article by Dylan McGuinness for the Houston Chronicle, the study finds that opportunities depend on zip code, race, and sexual orientation in the city of Houston, placing the city squarely in the middle of the pack when it comes to equity. “Houston scored a 44.1 out of 100, landing in the middle of the pack among seven U.S. cities that have conducted the measure. Pittsburgh (55), New York City (48.52) and St. Louis (45.57) scored higher, while Tulsa (43.63), Dallas (39.8), and Oakland (33.5) scored lower,” reports McGuinness.
The report was created in partnership between the city, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, and Shell USA Inc. The report uses a methodology developed by the City University of New York to measure the varying levels of opportunity in a city. A total of 63 metrics contribute to the overall score. “Houston scored below a 20 out of 100 on 13 of them, and scored a 1 on eight of them, including residents without bank accounts, environmental penalties and mental health transports,” explains McGuinness.
Read the full story: Houston is more equitable than Dallas but trails NYC, St. Louis, according to city's first ever report
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