Michael Lewis thought of himself as an “urban pioneer” when he and his wife bought a home in Midtown in 1998. Situated just south of downtown, the neighborhood was a sparsely populated patchwork of vacant lots and blighted buildings nestled between Montrose, Third Ward and Fourth Ward.
Nearly 30 years later, Midtown has become the fastest-growing neighborhood in Houston, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
The neighborhood’s population grew by roughly 35% between 2019 and 2024, a surge driven by an increase in Black, Hispanic and Asian residents. Experts say the data shows a growing appetite for a dense urban lifestyle in Houston, long considered an oxymoron in the sprawling city…