Center for Housing & Urban Development

CHUD’s mission is to provide leadership as a center of inquiry for the creation of sustainable housing and communities.

Learn More About our Impact
Shannon Van Zandt speaking to a group of students.
Two students are sketching and drawing an illustration.

Leading to a sustainable future

CHUD’s mission is to provide leadership as a center of inquiry for the creation of sustainable housing and communities. Sustainable communities are those that feature vibrant economies, offer a choice of housing and transportation modes, are closer to jobs, schools, shopping and recreation, are less energy dependent, and/or help protect clean water and air.

Our Programs & Units

A student presenting material with a large amount of information on a poster board.
Center of Excellence in Hispanic Housing Studies (CoHHS)
Computer display with a colorized map as part of a disaster program
Vacant and Abandoned Properties
Digital aesthetic render of a city model with skyscrapers and buildings placed on a flat city road map
Smart Cities Program
Team of students and faculty in front of a house project
Fair and Affordable Housing Center

News and Research

Read Additional News
An aerial view of a neighborhood that has been heavily impacted by storms.

Displaced but Not Silenced: Community Voices Shape Harris County Buyouts

May 16, 2025 • 4 min. read

Texas A&M University and Texas Appleseed partner to reveal the human impact of mandatory home buyouts in Harris County, highlighting the emotional and social cost of disaster recovery efforts.

Split-view of a cityscape rendered in grayscale as a 3D model on one side, and the side is fully colored and textured. It visually represents the transition from architectural visualization to a lifelike urban environment. Concepts on digital twins.

Urban Planning Prof Finds Relationship Between Underfunded Public Schools and Corporate Tax Breaks

June 8, 2023 • 2 min. read

A study by Dr. Christine Wen, a Texas A&M assistant professor of urban planning, suggests a link between corporate tax breaks and public school underfunding across nine states.

People talk around a table with urban planning students.

East Texas Town’s Residents Shape Their City’s Future with Urban Planning Students

Nov. 21, 2022 • 2 min. read

Residents of Jefferson, a small town in East Texas with a rich history that includes almost 100 historic commercial and residential landmarks, are creating a vision for their community’s future with graduate urban planning students and faculty associated with Texas Target Communities.