Research Library

In this paper, Jim Blackburn examines some of the major issues currently facing the city of Houston — flooding, the climate and carbon, and food supply — and explores possible policy solutions to these challenges.

What should new and established Houstonians know about area flooding caused by hurricanes? How can they avoid buying a home in a flood zone or contact the policymakers who decide where development can occur? Rice faculty fellow Jim Blackburn discusses these issues and more in this guide to living with flooding in Houston.

This paper addresses the role of both the private sector and the public sector in altering Houston’s current situation relative to flooding.

The unfettered development of Houston's flood-prone areas undoubtedly magnified the tremendous damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, but zoning or other land use controls are unpopular on the Texas coast and are unlikely to be adopted as a result. With this in mind, the SSPEED Center at Rice University looked to innovation and the market system to find a creative solution to protect important natural, flood-prone areas from further development. 

Faculty scholar Jim Blackburn proposes a series of realistic ideas that can substantially reduce misery and damage the next time a catastrophic storm like Harvey tears through the Houston-Galveston area. 

This research paper examines the potential market for a system that would pay landowners to restore natural ecosystems, such as native prairies and oyster reefs, that protect the Gulf Coast from hurricane and severe storm damage.

What structural and nonstructural solutions could better protect the Houston-Galveston area from the devastating impact of hurricanes and severe storms? Baker Institute fellows Jim Blackburn and Regina Buono studied the issue from legal, policy and governmental perspectives.

The Texas coast is one of the most ecologically productive and least appreciated natural assets of the United States. Unfortunately, this coastal resource is being destroyed by the various management actions (or inactions) of the state of Texas. It is not too late to reverse this destruction, but major policy shifts will be required to alter this trend.