About the Institute

Cities have choices as they consider how to grow into the future. To choose wisely, their leaders need to stay ahead of the economic and demographic trends and understand the changing attitudes and concerns of the public. A community thrives when the voices of its residents inform its vision of the future.

The Institute for Urban Research (IUR) will conduct scientific research, sponsor educational programs, and engage in public outreach that advances understanding of pressing urban issues and fosters the development of more humane and sustainable cities. Its goal is to become a magnet for talent, a catalyst for civic engagement, and a nationally recognized leader in conducting first-rate research and in translating its findings into a valued resource that informs and inspires the community on which the research is based.

Scholars at the Institute will study both the macro changes in the economic, demographic, and sociocultural patterns of large metropolitan regions, and the micro experiences of life in local neighborhoods and communities. Among the IUR’s current research projects are the following:

• Panel surveys of 2,500 Americans over time, studying their faith, ethnicity, health, and relationships.
• Research on biracial identities and the distribution of multiracial families in urban space.
• The study of immigrant religious communities and their civic participation.
• Maternal anxieties and neighborhood traits as predictors of the outdoor activity of inner-city children.
• The continuation of the Houston Area Survey, conducted annually since 1982.

One of this region’s most distinctive assets, the Houston Area Survey (HAS) is the nation’s longest running study of any metropolitan area’s economy, population, life experiences, beliefs, and attitudes. The surveys develop an ever-richer, ever-changing picture of the region’s economic and demographic patterns, its quality of life, the growth of its urban centers, and the impact of continuing in-migration both from the United States and abroad. With a permanent home in the IUR and poised to expand dramatically in its reach and impact, the HAS is now assured of continuing into the future to provide increasingly valuable empirical insights into the challenges and opportunities facing this region as the twenty-first century unfolds.