November 2017 - February 2018
The Houston Centered Policy Challenge tasked teams at Rice with designing policy solutions for various flood-related challenges in Meyerland, a historically Jewish neighborhood of Houston that was severely affected by Hurricane Harvey as well as previous flooding events. Teams interviewed experts and community members to gather insights and used a human-centered design approach to devise ideas. Our policy proposal creates a system for children attending public schools in the Meyerland area to remain at the same school if their family decides to pursue a home buyout and relocate from the neighborhood.
Meyerland was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey, but its residents are no strangers to flooding—the neighborhood flooded in each of the two previous years (2015 and 2016). Many residents are considering taking a federal buyout and leaving the neighborhood. Buyouts can be hugely beneficial for flood resilience because bought-out land cannot be redeveloped and is often used for flood-detaining landscaping. However, obtaining a buyout is an arduous process that can take up to a year and a half, which is incredibly mentally taxing for families, especially after enduring a severe natural disaster. This ordeal is tough for children, who have to switch into new schools, impairing their educational experience and losing the support network of friends that is so crucial after a stressful event.
We proposed that HISD (the main public school system of Houston) allow children of families in Meyerland remain at their Meyerland-area school if the family decides to take a buyout and relocate to another HISD-zoned neighborhood. The proposal aims to ease the transition for families and minimize disruptions to education for children. Without having to worry about their children's education, families are empowered to make the most responsible decisions for their family.
For schools and districts there is minimal financial disruption. Because a family must relocate to an HISD school district to participate in the program, the family's property taxes will remain contributing to the HISD budget. The Meyerland school's budget would also remain constant, as its total enrollment, and therefore its budget, would remain the same. The reduced disruption in students' education and academic performance (particularly in standardized testing), and the minimized logistical issues are a benefit for students, teachers, and administrators.
Flooding events will continue to affect Houston and many homeowners will continue to have to make tough decisions regarding their families and buying out their house. This program will help alleviate some worries in the decision making process, potentially increasing the number of families that pursue buyouts. Federal buyouts are important for the future of flood resiliency in Houston because it both moves homeowners into less flood-prone areas and improves the flood resiliency of the most flood-prone neighborhoods.
The Team: Mike Hua (Mechanical Engineering), Ridge Liu (Physics, Mathematics), Manlin Yao (Anthropology), Andy Zhang (Bioengineering)