“It’s our form of apartheid”: How Galveston stalled public housing reconstruction in the 10 years after Ike
“Still, about $76 million of that recovery money remains unspent: The dollars earmarked to rebuild public housing for the city’s poorest residents. After Ike’s head-high floodwaters and 110 mile-per-hour winds damaged three Galveston public housing developments beyond repair, the city demolished all 569 units — and the city’s housing authority promised that it would rebuild all of them. But once the storm waters receded, it didn’t take long for some Galveston residents to begin asking whether the city should rebuild the public housing at all. The ensuing debate would reshape the island’s politics for a decade.”