Major new Rice study reveals what Houstonians care about most in 2021

Hou cares

The annual survey revealed that the percentage of Houston-area residents who had a positive view of the local job market dropped slightly. Photo via Getty Images

Few studies gauge the barometric pressure of the Bayou City like the Kinder Houston Area Survey.

Designed to take the temperature of the general population, the study — now in its 40th year — reveals a Houston citizenry optimistic about its personal futures, per the report.

A little about the study before delving in: The report was conducted by the esteemed Stephen Klineberg, founding director of Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research and emeritus professor of sociology; and Robert Bozick, senior research fellow at the Kinder Institute.

This new survey was unveiled at the Kinder Institute's "Lunch-Out" recent virtual event. Interviews of some 1,051 Harris County adults were conducted between January 18 and March 29 by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

The full report is available online.

The No. 1 concern

Public health concerns, while rarely registering in previous surveys, were cited as the biggest problem facing Houstonians this year, according to a press release. Some 25 percent of respondents cited the pandemic or health-related issues.

Others — 20 percent — pointed to the economy as the biggest problem, that's up from 13 percent last year. Only 14 percent cited crime, and traffic dropped to 13 percent, down from 30 percent last year.

Highlighting a national socioeconomic disparity, 58 percent of Blacks and 66 percent of Hispanics said they had to risk exposure to the coronavirus to keep their jobs during the past year, per the report. That's compared to 41 percent of Asians and only 36 percent of whites.

Additionally, the report notes that Blacks and Hispanics were more likely (at 73 percent and 67 percent, respectively) to know someone who was hospitalized with or died as a result of having COVID-19, compared with whites (57 percent) and Asians (40 percent).

Mental health issues have arisen as a serious problem in equal numbers across ethnic communities. More than 50 percent of respondents — in all four groups — reported feeling more stress and experiencing more emotional problems during the past year, compared with 2020.

Jobs and the economy

Though Houston is an opportunity city, the Kinder Survey revealed that the percentage of Houston-area residents who had a positive view of the local job market dropped slightly, to 61 percent this year from 68 percent in 2020.

A mere 21 percent reported their economic situations were getting better, down from 34 percent in 2020. Notably — for the first time in the 40 years — of the survey, more respondents (25 percent) said their financial situations were getting worse than getting better.

Blacks and Hispanics were also more likely than Asians and whites to have experienced a loss of income and to have received help from government programs in the past year.

Race relations, immigration, and inequity

Positive ratings of relations among ethnic groups in the Houston area declined across the board, especially among Blacks. Whites and Hispanics were significantly more likely than in previous years to agree that Blacks are still a long way from having the same opportunities in life as whites.

The number of people who said the criminal justice system is biased against Blacks increased to 54 percent from 32 percent in 2015, when the question was last asked, per a release.

Weather, religion, and politics

Area residents were less likely than in previous surveys to say it's virtually certain the region will experience more severe storms in coming years (59 percent in 2021, compared with 81 percent in 2018 and 2020).

The number of religious Houstonians continues to decline, with more people than ever indicating they are not part of any faith tradition (22 percent today, compared with 8 percent in 2008) and do not consider religion to be an important part of their lives (26 percent, compared with 10 percent in 2008), per the study.

Meanwhile, 45 percent of those surveyed said they felt closer to the Democratic Party this year, while only 25 percent voiced support for the Republican Party.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Rice scientist earns $600K NSF award to study distractions in digital age

fresh funding

Rice University psychologist Kirsten Adam has received a $600,000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award to research how visual distractions like phone notifications, flashing alerts, crowded screens and busy workspaces can negatively impact focus—and how the brain works to try to regain it.

The highly competitive five-year NSF grants are given to career faculty members with the potential to serve as academic models and leaders in research and education. Adam’s work will aim to clarify how the brain refocuses in the age of screens, instant gratification and other lingering distractions. The funding will also be used to train graduate students in advanced cognitive neuroscience methods, expand access to electroencephalography (EEG) and for public data sharing.

“Kirsten is a valued member of the School of Social Sciences, and we are thrilled that she has been awarded the prestigious NSF CAREER,” Rachel Kimbro, dean of social sciences, said in a news release. “Because distractions continue to increase all around us, her research is timely and imperative to understanding their widespread impacts on the human brain.”

In Adam’s lab, participants complete simplified visual search tasks while their brain activity is recorded using EEG, allowing researchers to measure attention shifts in real time. This process then captures the moment attention is drawn from a goal and how much effort it takes to refocus.

According to Rice, Adam’s work will test long-standing theories about distraction. The research is meant to have real-world implications for jobs and aspects of everyday life where attention to detail is key, including medical imaging, airport security screening and even driving.

“At any given moment, there’s far more information in the world than our brains can process,” Adam added in the release. “Attention is what determines what reaches our awareness and what doesn’t.”

Additionally, the research could inform the design of new technologies that would support focus and decision-making, according to Rice.

“We’re not trying to make attention limitless,” Adam added. “We’re trying to understand how it actually works, so we can stop designing environments and expectations that fight against it.”

12 Houston climatetech startups join Greentown Labs' growing incubator

Startup Talk

More than 40 climatetech startups joined the Greentown Labs Houston community in the second half of 2025, 12 of which hail from the Bayou City.

The companies are among a group of nearly 70 total that joined the climatetech incubator, which is co-located in Houston and Boston, in Q3 and Q4.

The new companies that have joined the Houston incubator specialize in a variety of clean energy applications, from green hydrogen-producing water-splitting cycles to drones that service wind turbines.

The local startups that joined Greentown Houston include:

  • Houston-based Wise Energie, which delivers turnkey microgrids that blend vertical-axis wind, solar PV, and battery storage into a single, silent system.
  • The Woodlands-based Resollant, which is developing compact, zero-emissions hydrogen and carbon reactors to provide low-cost, scalable clean hydrogen and high-purity carbon for the energy and manufacturing sectors.
  • Houston-based ClarityCastle, which designs and manufactures modular, soundproof work pods that replace traditional drywall construction with reusable, low-waste alternatives made from recycled materials.
  • Houston-based WattSto Energy, which manufactures vanadium redox flow batteries to deliver long-duration storage for both grid-scale projects and off-grid microgrids.
  • Houston-based AMPeers, which delivers advanced, high-temperature superconductors in the U.S. at a fraction of traditional costs.
  • Houston-based Biosimo, which is developing bio-based platform chemicals, pioneering sustainable chemistry for a healthier planet and economy.
  • Houston-based Ententia, which offers purpose-built, generative AI for industry.
  • Houston-based GeoKiln Energy Innovation, which is developing a new way to produce clean hydrogen by accelerating natural geologic reactions in iron-rich rock formations using precision electrical heating.
  • Houston-based Timbergrove, which builds AI and IoT solutions that connect and optimize assets—boosting visibility, safety, and efficiency.
  • Houston-based dataVediK, which combines energy-domain expertise with advanced machine learning and intelligent automation to empower organizations to achieve operational excellence and accelerate their sustainability goals.
  • Houston-based Resonant Thermal Systems, which uses a resonant energy-transfer (RET) system to extract critical minerals from industrial and natural brines without using membranes or grid electricity.
  • Houston-based Torres Orbital Mining (TOM),which develops autonomous excavation systems for extreme environments on Earth and the moon, enabling safe, data-driven resource recovery and laying the groundwork for sustainable off-world industry.

Other startups from around the world joined the Houston incubator in the same time period, including:

More than 100 startups joined Greentown this year, according to an end-of-year reflection shared by Greentown CEO Georgina Campbell Flatter.

Flatter joined Greentown in the top leadership role in February 2025. She succeeded former CEO and president Kevin Knobloch, who stepped down in July 2024.

"I moved back to the United States in March 2025 after six years overseas—2,000 miles, three children, and one very patient husband later. Over these months, I’ve had the chance to hear from the entrepreneurs, industry leaders, investors, and partners who make this community thrive. What I’ve experienced has left me brimming with urgent optimism for the future we’re building together," she said in the release.

According to Flatter, Greentown alumni raised more than $2 billion this year and created more than 3,000 jobs.

"Greentown startups and ecosystem leaders—from Boston, Houston, and beyond—are showing that we can move further and faster together. That we don’t have to choose between more energy or lower emissions, or between increasing sustainability and boosting profit. I call this the power of 'and,'" Flatter added. "We’re working for energy and climate, innovation and scale, legacy industry and startups, prosperity for people and planet. The 'and' is where possibility expands."

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCaptialHTX.com.

Intuitive Machines forms partnership with Italian companies for lunar exploration services

to the moon

Houston-based space technology, infrastructure and services company Intuitive Machines has forged a partnership with two Italian companies to offer infrastructure, communication and navigation services for exploration of the moon.

Intuitive Machines’ agreement with the two companies, Leonardo and Telespazio, paves the way for collaboration on satellite services for NASA, a customer of Intuitive Machines, and the European Space Agency, a customer of Leonardo and Telespazio. Leonardo, an aerospace, defense and security company, is the majority owner of Telespazio, a provider of satellite technology and services.

“Resilient, secure, and scalable space infrastructure and space data networks are vital to customers who want to push farther on the lunar surface and beyond to Mars,” Steve Altemus, co-founder and CEO of Intuitive Machine, said in a news release.

Massimo Claudio Comparini, managing director of Leonardo’s space division, added that the partnership with Intuitive Machines is a big step toward enabling human and robotic missions from the U.S., Europe and other places “to access a robust communications network and high-precision navigation services while operating in the lunar environment.”

Intuitive Machines recently expanded its Houston Spaceport facilities to ramp up in-house production of satellites. The company’s first satellite will launch with its upcoming IM‑3 lunar mission.

Intuitive Machines says it ultimately wants to establish a “center of space excellence” at Houston Spaceport to support missions to the moon, Mars and the region between Earth and the moon.

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