Where Affordable Housing and Transportation Meet in Houston

The Kinder Institute partnered with LINK Houston to develop this report analyzing where affordable housing and high-quality, affordable transportation presently co-exist.

This report provides policy recommendations to help government and nongovernment stakeholders in the City of Houston address affordability issues in the region. Additionally, it aims to help individuals and families make well-informed decisions about where to live to minimize their expenses while accessing social and economic opportunity using quality, affordable transportation — walking on good sidewalks, biking on protected bikeways and riding frequent transit. 

To address affordability issues in Houston, the report recommends the following steps to align housing and transportation development:

•  Preserve and build affordable housing in areas with high-quality, affordable transportation.
•  Increase opportunities to walk, bike and use transit near affordable housing.
•  Map and monitor affordable housing and affordable transportation to demonstrate and direct the beneficial impacts of policies and investments in affordability for residents.
•  Assess, compare and prioritize potential affordable housing sites to improve access to affordable transportation.
•  Develop resources to help people understand how housing and transportation impact overall affordability.
   

The Kinder and LINK Houston research team co-developed the Quality Affordable Transportation Index (QATi) to help families and stakeholders understand where to look for better access to affordable transportation. LINK Houston also created accompanying assessment tools to facilitate connections between future affordable housing investments and affordable, high-quality transportation options to guide individuals and families to consider transportation in their housing decisions.