HOUSTON – Stephen L. Klineberg, Ph.D. started taking the pulse of Houston opinion as a project for his Rice sociology class 36 years ago.
That class project has evolved into the Kinder Houston Area Survey, now a part of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. It is used by city leaders, county leaders and residents as a guide post about opinions and attitudes throughout the Houston metropolitan region.
The 2017 Houston Area Survey is the topic on this week’s "Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall" and among this year’s revelations:
About residential segregation: “Anglos are still used to being in the majority and feel uncomfortable in the context with a majority of folks, so the segregation in Houston is in part a reflection of the continuing preferences and concerns of Anglos," Klineberg said.
About decreasing immigration population: “The rise of Mexican and Asian populations is not new immigrants. It’s the 100 percent American kids and the children of the immigrants of 25 and 30 years ago," Klineberg said.
Houston evolution toward diversity: “You know the story of Houston is that it was a bi-racial Southern city controlled by white men and has now become the single most ethnically diverse metropolitan area in the country," Klineberg said.
Klineberg also touches on what, for the fourth year in a row, continues to be the biggest concern of those polled, the eye opening response from one community about comfort with police, and much more.
To see the full Houston Area Survey -- http://kinder.rice.edu/khas/
"Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall", airs Sunday at 10 a.m., right after "Meet the Press" on KPRC Channel 2.
• Stephen L. Klineberg, co-director Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, can be reached at 713-348-3483 https://kinder.rice.edu