The Houston Area Survey turns 29 this year. Director Stephen Klineberg says findings over the years include:

• Abortion: Sentiment about abortion has changed little over the years
• Gay rights: Respondents are far more likely to support gay rights than they once did
• Demographics: 70 percent of residents age 60 and older are Anglo; 75 percent of those 18-29 are non-Anglo
• Can-do: A majority say hard work leads to success in Houston. Last year, 87 percent agreed

 The Houston Area Survey has tracked Houston's transformation over the past three decades, from a Southern oil industry boomtown to a showcase for America's multiracial future.

Now, the survey itself is getting a new home, ensuring its survival for the long haul. The survey, started in 1982 by Rice University sociologist Stephen Klineberg as a project for his undergraduate students, will become part of Rice's new Institute for Urban Research.

The institute will combine Klineberg's Urban Research Center and the Center on Race, Religion and Urban Life, led by Rice sociologist Michael Emerson. Klineberg and Emerson will serve as co-directors.

 “One of the great advantages is that it's no longer just me and my undergraduate class,” Klineberg said. “Now, we have the ability to do major research.”

Rice has pledged to raise $10 million to support the institute's work. In the meantime, it is funded by grants and corporate donations.

That reflects a recognition that data from the Houston Area Survey provides what Jeff Moseley, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, calls “a strategic advantage” for the city.

“Decision-makers, if they're looking to expand or relocate, they want to know about quality of place,” he said. “That data in the survey gives a good sense of how Houston is moving forward.”

The institute's first new project will be an expanded look at Houston, funded by a $475,000 grant from the Houston Endowment and focusing on health, education and the arts. That work will start next fall, Klineberg said.

But researchers also will look beyond Houston. An ongoing project is studying Houston, New York and Los Angeles, along with three coastal cities in China, to measure attitudes regarding pollution, hurricane preparedness, recycling and other issues.

That will allow researchers to determine the impact of culture on those issues and could lead to better ways to implement changes, Emerson said.

The institute will give students — both undergraduates and those in a new doctoral program in sociology — more chances to engage in research. It won't be busy-work just to learn skills needed in the field, Emerson said.

“Everybody involved with the institute really shares the same passion for research that is helpful to Houston and to the international community,” he said.

At least for a while, the Houston Area Survey is likely to remain the institute's signature product.

Klineberg said he doesn't know of any other city that has been studied as much. The same questions are asked each year, allowing researchers to track changes. Few cities have changed as much as Houston during the past 29 years, he said. From demographic shifts to the economy, Klineberg said that Houston foreshadows the rest of the country.

 “This is the city where the American future is going to be worked out,” he said. “Just as Chicago was the city of the 20th century in America, we believe Houston is the … city of the future.”