"When the people of Houston first elected me as mayor in 2015, I said that I did not want to be the mayor of two cities. Houston cannot continue to be divided as a city of haves and have nots."

These powerful words from former Mayor Sylvester Turner capture the urgency of the City of Houston’s decades-long journey towards becoming a more equitable and inclusive city. Through the visionary Complete Communities initiative and the Resilient Houston strategy launched in the Turner administration, the City of Houston committed to acknowledging, addressing and alleviating historic inequities and present-day disparities that limit our city’s growth and inclusive prosperity.

One Complete Houston: Understanding Our Equity Challenges and Opportunities is the result of the City of Houston’s first equity indicator study.

Conducted by the Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research with funding from Shell USA, Inc., the report uses equity scores to identify socioeconomic inequalities exacerbated by biases based on race, ethnicity, gender and ZIP code.

The equity scores are not pass or fail measurements of progress toward our goal of being a more equitable city. Equity is a lens through which we can assess and adjust city policies and procedures; business strategies; corporate environmental, social and governance initiatives; philanthropic investment models; nonprofit missions; and a host of other efforts that impact Houstonians opportunities and life circumstances.

One Complete Houston’s indicators can be tracked over time to monitor our city’s collective progress on improving the quality of life of all residents. Use this report as a guide for understanding the complex causes and compounding effects of inequities and a foundation for developing potential solutions to those challenges.

Together, we can address systemic inequalities and build a movement that positions Houston as a leader in opportunity and equity.

Thank you to our esteemed partners at Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research for collecting and analyzing the data and Shell USA, Inc. for funding support this research initiative. The collaborative work of the Houston Planning and Development Department, Mayor's Office of Resilience and Sustainability, and the Mayor’s Office of Complete Communities aligned the Kinder Institute’s work with the vision and framework outlined in the Resilient Houston strategy and the 10 Complete Communities Action Plans.

One Complete Houston is a significant step towards a more equitable future for all Houstonians.