Cover of City Limits on a bus

For today’s #LayoverLibrary, I’m reading ‘City Limits’ by @megankimble.bsky.social. The book focuses on the stories of people whose neighborhoods were affected by construction of the highways and those fighting highway expansion today while working to rebuild community.

Map shows where low credit adds the most to home insurance in Harris County Texans with low credit scores are paying almost $3,000 more for home insurance on average each year than those with high scores.

Think your home insurance costs too much? Look at your credit. A new report from shows that Texans with low credit scores pay almost $3,000 more for home insurance on average each year than those with high scores. New in @houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/202...

Houston! I'll be talking about CITY LIMITS -- and how to build a city without highways -- on Wednesday evening at MATCH Houston, hosted by Houston Design Collaborative. Come say hi!
houstondesigncollaborative.org

How a Dallas investor's East Texas water grab triggered a statewide battle Kyle Bass wants to pump 10 billion gallons of groundwater a year from the aquifer underneath Anderson County and pipe it to other parts of the state.

“It's no longer just a rural issue, not just about the groundwater in East Texas,” said state Rep. Cody Harris, a Palestine Republican behind the effort to overhaul the state’s groundwater regulation. “This affects everyone.” Great story from @megankimble.bsky.social

How a Dallas investor's East Texas water grab triggered a statewide battle Kyle Bass wants to pump 10 billion gallons of groundwater a year from the aquifer underneath Anderson County and pipe it to other parts of the state.

NEW in @houstonchronicle.com: A fight over groundwater in East Texas has triggered a seismic rethinking of the state's water law, with state leaders promising to topple the 120-year-old doctrine governing groundwater in Texas known as the rule of capture. www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

How a Dallas investor's East Texas water grab triggered a statewide battle Kyle Bass wants to pump 10 billion gallons of groundwater a year from the aquifer underneath Anderson County and pipe it to other parts of the state.

How a Dallas investor's East Texas water grab triggered a statewide battle, via @megankimble.bsky.social www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Exclusive: Most Kerr County homes hit on July 4 had no flood insurance Less than 5% of homes in the county's FEMA floodplain had flood coverage, well below the national average. Uptake was even worse in other areas that flooded.

NEW @houstonchronicle.com: Less than 5% of homes in the highest-risk areas of Kerr County had flood insurance before July 4.

Without insurance, "It's a much, much longer road home.”

Read the story, by me and Caroline Ghisolfi:
www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Trump officials want to give TxDOT more power over highway expansions If approved, TxDOT won’t have to inform citizens of their right to sue the agency or file a civil rights complaint with the Federal Highway Administration.

The Trump administration wants to give Texas more authority – and require less transparency – as the state expands existing highways and builds new ones. New in @houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

The National Climate Assessment, and all special reports and past assessments, are now offline. Federal climate science is being systematically erased.

City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways Published in Journal of the American Planning Association (Ahead of Print, 2025)

a lovely review of CITY LIMITS in the Journal of the American Planning Assocation!

Professors, take note: "The book serves as a nearly complete introduction to many of the significant recent and ongoing debates in transportation and land use planning." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Texas lawmakers reach deal to spend billions shoring up water supply The deal allocates $1 billion a year for water and splits that funding equally between new water supply projects and aging infrastructure in need of repair.

NEW in @houstonchronicle.com After months of wrangling, lawmakers reach a deal to spend billions shoring up the state's water supply, agreeing to a 50/50 split between new water supply projects and aging infrastructure in need of repair. www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

How a bill to speed up evictions is testing Texas’ powerful landlord lobby The Texas Apartment Association helped turn Texas into one of the most landlord-friendly states. But its new 'anti-squatting' bill is a step too far for some.

“Critics warn doing away with those protections would punish all renters in the state for the rare instance of an illegal squatter.”

www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/202...

By @houstonchronicle.com's @megankimble.bsky.social
#housing+ #urbanism+ #urbanism

How a bill to speed up evictions is testing Texas’ powerful landlord lobby The Texas Apartment Association helped turn Texas into one of the most landlord-friendly states. But its new 'anti-squatting' bill is a step too far for some.

For decades, the Texas Apartment Association has influenced lawmakers to weaken tenants’ rights. Now they want the right to evict tenants without a court proceeding. @megankimble.bsky.social www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/202...

How a bill to speed up evictions is testing Texas’ powerful landlord lobby The Texas Apartment Association helped turn Texas into one of the most landlord-friendly states. But its new 'anti-squatting' bill is a step too far for some.

The Texas Apartment Association helped turn Texas into one of the most landlord-friendly states. But its new 'anti-squatting' bill is a step too far for some lawmakers. NEW from me & Matt Zdun in @houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/202...

Texas Oil and Gas Companies Drill With River Water During Extreme Drought - Inside Climate News Oil and gas companies have used billions of gallons of Rio Grande and Pecos River water for drilling in the past four years, according to an exclusive Inside Climate News analysis.

My story on Rio Grande & Pecos River water use in oil and gas drilling during an extreme drought is out today in @insideclimatenews.org insideclimatenews.org/news/1305202...

As Texas looks to invest in desalination, critics want protections for the coast The state has few regulations governing what seawater desalination plants do with the concentrated brine that is left over.

NEW in @houstonchronicle.com: Lawmakers hope desalination can bring new water to Texas. Critics want protections for the coast.

“If we want seawater desalination to be our long-term water supply strategy, we better do it right." @texassierraclub.bsky.social www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Texas plan to rein in home insurers won't guarantee lower prices, critics say Texas lawmakers are considering proposals that would require insurers to get approval for rate hikes over a certain threshold.

H/t to @megankimble.bsky.social @houstonchronicle.com for great reporting on the TX insurance crisis: www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Texas' insurance crisis is hitting an unexpected target: Public schools Insurance costs for districts have increased by 44% statewide since 2020, according to financial data from the Texas Education Agency.

Texas' property insurance crisis hits an unexpected target: public schools. Can state lawmakers help struggling districts? New in @houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Texas bill would bar cities from narrowing streets for new bike and ped zones The bill by Houston Sen. Paul Bettencourt would also ban congestion pricing, which was undertaken in New York.

Texas lawmakers are pushing a measure that would bar cities from narrowing roadways to create wider sidewalks or protected lanes for bicyclists and buses. New in
@houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

NEW in @houstonchronicle.com: Texas Central's new investors told state lawmakers the high-speed rail project could be completed as soon as 2032, even after the Trump administration pulled federal funding earlier this week. www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Republican bill would divert millions in Harris County toll revenue to Houston Supporters say the move would help compensate the city's first responders while critics say it would block projects like nature trails and bike paths.

This Republican-led bill would divert millions in Harris County toll revenue to Houston, via @megankimble.bsky.social

www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Trump’s tariffs could increase homebuilding and insurance costs in Texas The state imports many of the raw goods used to build and repair homes. The tariffs come just months before hurricane season.

Trump’s tariffs could increase homebuilding, insurance costs in Texas just ahead of hurricane season, via @megankimble.bsky.social www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Texas tenant advocates dispute lawmakers' claim that squatting is widespread Housing experts say there is little data to show that squatting is a widespread problem, much less a growing one.

“This is the equivalent of using a shotgun in a schoolyard to kill a mosquito.” 

www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

By @houstonchronicle.com's @megankimble.bsky.social
#housing+ #urbanism+ #urbanism

@megankimble.bsky.social wrote a phenomenal book on this very subject!

Texas bill to curb squatting would make it easier to evict any renter Tenant advocates, judges and lawyers have raised the alarm about House Bill 32, calling it a Trojan Horse that would strip tenants of their due process rights.

NEW: Texas leaders promised to crack down on squatting. But a new bill would radically transform the eviction process for millions of Texas renters, making it easier for landlords to evict them without notice or a legal proceeding. @houstonchronicle.com
www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Texas wants more affordable housing. Insurance costs are getting in the way. Some affordable housing developers have seen their insurance costs increase by 300% since 2020, far surpassing the price hikes for single-family homeowners.

Low-income tenants are paying for skyrocketing insurance costs through higher rents and fewer units. My latest, in @houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Texas GOP lawmakers have shunned the idea of mandating paid parental leave in a state where most don't have access to it. Instead, they've touted a plan to let businesses buy paid leave insurance to cover the time off.


But in its first year, just 2 insurers have signed up🧵

Climate change is driving insurance costs up in Texas — and home values down Buyers are backing away from increasingly uninsurable homes, and homeowners are struggling to keep up with rising monthly costs.

My latest on home insurance, in @houstonchronicle.com: How much is your Texas home worth? If you pay a lot for insurance, less than you might think.
www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

"Our addiction to highways cuts across the political spectrum, afflicting red and blue states alike. And most of us willingly bear this cost without a second thought. Idols demand sacrifice." NEW REVIEW of City Limits by @megankimble.bsky.social
https://buff.ly/3CnLVZp

Where are homeowners getting dropped by insurers? Texas doesn’t know. Texas doesn't track where homeowners are being dropped by their insurance providers, which advocates say is critical to getting a handle on rising rates.

Texas doesn't track where homeowners are being dropped by their insurance providers, which advocates say is critical to getting a handle on rising rates. My latest, in @houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...