Houston, Texas
Houston redirects here. For other meanings of the word, please see Houston (disambiguation).
Located in southeast Texas, Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and one of the two largest economic areas in Texas. The city is the county seat of Harris County, the third most populous county in the country. The far west portion of Houston also extends into Fort Bend County.
As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,953,631, but a July 1, 2002 Census estimate placed the city's population at 2,009,834. Houston is one of the newest and fastest growing major cities in the United States. In 1900, the population in Houston was about 45,000, and it was the 85th largest town in the U.S. Now, quoted as the "Fastest Growing City in America" and "the Most Popular City to Relocate," there are as many as 5 million people living in the Houston Metropolitan Area. The city limits cover about 600 square miles in area, and it's also the largest city in the United States which does not have zoning laws.
Houston is world renowned for its energy industry (particularly oil), aeronautics industry and ship channel. The Port of Houston is the busiest port in the United States, second in the world as far as foreign tonnage. Because of the economic trades, many residents have moved in from other U.S. states, as well as hundreds of countries worldwide.
Officially, Houston has been nicknamed the Space City. "Houston" was the first word uttered on the moon, as Neil Armstrong reported back to NASA. It is known by the locals, however, as the Bayou City. (Other nicknames include "Clutch City", and "Magnolia City".)
Houston's Rice Stadium was home to the Super Bowl VIII, and Super Bowl XXXVIII was played at Houston's Reliant Stadium in February 2004. Because of the incredible turnout, the NFL says the city is almost guaranteed to host the 2009 or 2010 game as well.
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 Location in the state of Texas | |||||
| City nickname: "Space City" | |||||
| County | Harris County, Texas | ||||
| Area - Total - Water | 1,558.4 km² (601.7 mi²) 57.7 km² (22.3 mi²) 3.70% | ||||
| Population
- Total (2000) - Density |
1,953,631 1,301.8/km² | ||||
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6 | ||||
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Latitude
Longitude |
29°40' N 95°18' W | ||||
| External link: City web page | |||||
History
Main article: History of Houston
Historical Events:
Murders and disasters
Geography and Climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1,558.4 km² (601.7 mi²). 1,500.7 km² (579.4 mi²) of it is land and 57.7 km² (22.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 3.70% water.
Houston's climate is classified as being humid subtropical. The city is located in the gulf coastal plains biome, and the vegetation is classified as a temperate grassland. It has a hot and humid climate because the winds from the Gulf of Mexico pick up a lot of moisture and deposit it in the area. Average precipitation levels range from 36 to 48 inches. The air tends to feel still, especially in the summertime. The humidity tends to make the air feel hotter than it really is. It is not uncommon for afternoon rains to occur in the city, and many Houston meteorologists almost never give out a zero percent chance of rain. The winters are cool and temperate, but are not as cold as in North Texas. Thunderstorms occur quite a bit during the summertime.
Houston has three bayous passing through the city. The Buffalo Bayou, which runs into downtown, the Brays Bayou, which runs along the Texas Medical Center, and the Sims Bayou in the south of Houston merge in downtown Houston into the Houston Ship Channel. The Ship Channel goes past Galveston, Texas into the Gulf of Mexico.
Most of Houston is very flat and is about fifty feet above sea level in elevation; the Houston Heights area has the highest elevation in the city. The city once relied on groundwater for its water needs. Land subsidence forced the city to turn to ground-level water sources.
Hurricanes have slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast on numerous occasions. Several hurricanes have passed through Houston, causing death and destruction. Ironically, a hurricane prevented Galveston from becoming the economic power in southeast Texas; Houston now has the economic prowess in the region. A recent example on how the hurricane can affect the way of life was actually a tropical storm. Tropical Storm Allison passed through the city in June 2001. Many neighborhoods had changed because of the storm; older houses in some afflicted neighborhoods have been torn down and replaced with larger houses with larger foundations.
Houston's climate is often compared to that of Dallas, Texas. Dallas has a hot and dry climate while Houston has a hot and humid climate. While Dallas gets hotter temperatures, Houston's heat index is often higher.
A simulated-color satellite image of Houston, Texas, taken on NASA's Landsat 7 satellite. In the very center is Downtown Houston. Galveston is also clearly visible in the picture.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 1,953,631 people, 717,945 households, and 457,330 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,301.8/km² (3,371.7/mi²). There are 782,009 housing units at an average density of 521.1/km² (1,349.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 49.27% White, 25.31% African American, 0.44% Native American, 5.31% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 16.46% from other races, and 3.15% from two or more races. 37.41% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 717,945 households out of which 33.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% are married couples living together, 15.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% are non-families. 29.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.67 and the average family size is 3.39.
In the city the population is spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $36,616, and the median income for a family is $40,443. Males have a median income of $32,084 versus $27,371 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,101. 19.2% of the population and 16.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 26.1% are under the age of 18 and 14.3% are 65 or older.
The Hispanic population in Houston is increasing as more and more from Latin countries try to find work in Houston. Hispanics make up a significant amount of the population. Houston has the third largest Hispanic population in the United States. People from Asian countries such as China, Korea, Japan, India, and Pakistan are also flocking to Houston. Houston has two Chinatowns, as well as the second largest Vietnamese population in the United States. Recent redevlopment of Midtown from run-down to upscale has increased property values and property taxes thus forcing the Vietnamese out of their current neigborhood into other areas. Houston has the second highest South African population in the United States, after Miami, Florida. Houston also boasts of having a population with a younger age than the national average.
Houston, being America's largest city without zoning laws, has grown in an unusual manner. Rather than a single “downtown” as the center of the city's employment, various other business districts have sprung up throughout the inner-city. Note that if these business districts were considered one, they would form the third largest in the United States. The city also has the third largest skyline, but because they are spread out between a few miles, most footage of the city only shows, for the most part, the Downtown area.
The following are areas of the inner-city:
Zip codes in Houston range from 77002 to 77598.
Locations in Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside Interstate 610, known as the 610 Loop which include the Central business district and the cities of West University, Bellaire and Southside Place. The outerlying areas of Houston, as well as the airports and the suburbs and exurbs are outside the loop. Another ring road, Beltway 8 (also known as the Sam Houston Parkway), encircles the city another 5 miles further out. Yet a third - the "Grand Parkway", has begun construction roughly 10 miles beyond that around the outer suburbs and currently extends from Katy to Sugar Land.
Locations within the Houston city limits that are inside the Beltway 8 traditionally used the 713 area code. Those outside the Beltway that are within the city limits normally receive the 281 or 832 area code. However, the geographic division between 713, 281, and 832 has been eliminated, and newly issued phone numbers (especially for cellphones and FAXs) within that zone may be assigned any of the three codes. Areas far north, west, east and south of the inner-city also use 936 and/or 409.
The towns of Kingwood, Alief and Clear Lake City have recently been annexed by the city of Houston, increasing the city limit's population.
For a full list of the cities in the Houston area, see:
The first line of the light rail system has been opened. In this picture, a MetroRail train is approaching a station in Downtown Houston, Texas
Houston has a Los Angeles-style road network, complete with HOV lanes, which often get filled with vans and carpools.
The dependence on cars causes various pollution problems, including ozone warnings. The ozone problems can get very bad if a temperature inversion occurs. Houston ranked as the most polluted city in the United States one year and is a perennial contender for that dubious prize with Los Angeles. Fortunately the worst of the pollution is around the refinery-laden ship channel on the east side and most of the residential neighborhoods are on the west side with prevailing winds leading pollution away from the port and refinery concentration.
The 610 Loop circles the city of Houston and helps people go to work or school. 610 is quartered into the "North Loop", "South Loop", "West Loop", and "East Loop" by the locals.
Going north on Interstate 45 leads to Dallas, Texas and Fort Worth.
Interstate 10 westbound leads to San Antonio, Texas, and eastbound leads to New Orleans, Louisiana and Baton Rouge. Highway 290 provides a direct route to Austin, Texas. The Southwest Freeway (US-59) is a major freeway leading to the southwest suburbs in Fort Bend Co. of Sugarland, Mo. City, Richmond, and Rosenberg and ultimately to the Mexican border about 300 miles beyond. U.S. 59 runs north of downtown as the EastTex freeway into the Piney Woods and into Arkansas at Texarkana.
The Hardy Toll Road is popular on the commute between I-610 and Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Residents tend to refer to Freeways and Tollways by their names instead of their numbers.
The Portmanteau word "Eastex" comes from the words "East" and "Texas".
For a road map of Houston, click here
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, provides public transportation in the form of buses, trolleys, and lift vans. Uptown, METRO provides free service on the Uptown Shuttle. The city got the METRORail, a light rail service, on January 1, 2004. It runs primarily along Main Sreet from central Downtown Houston to the Texas Medical Center and Reliant Park. A 27-mile expansion has been approved to run the service all along the central Houston area, including Uptown. METRO hopes to expand the Light Rail to the 2 major airports, as well as the Bay Area, Katy, Spring and along the Southwest Freeway. This is Texas' second major light rail service, after DART's light rail service in Dallas, Texas. Although now only about 8 miles long a long term plan is being developed for several more much longer line segments connecting diverse corners of the metropolitan area.
Bush Airport handles all of the city's international traffic. Hobby has a lot of the intra-United States traffic that is headed for downtown, South Houston, Galveston, and the southern suburbs. The only passenger traffic that Ellington handles consists of passengers in Galveston County flying to Bush Airport to reduce travel time to that said airport. Ellington Field is in danger of closing down, as of February 2004.
The city's second growth spurt occurred in the late 1970's, with the Arab Oil Embargo. Demand on Texas oil increased, and many people from the northeast came down to profit from the trade. When the embargo was lifted, the growth stopped. However, Pasadena still has its refineries, and the Port of Houston is among the busiest in the world.
Houston has attempted to build a banking industry in the city, but all of the companies which had been started in Houston were merged with other companies nationwide. It still is vital to the region, but most of the banks operating there are not based in Houston. Real Estate is also a large business in the Houston area.
Houston is unique in being the largest American city without zoning regulations.
The city has the second lowest cost of living in comparison to other major U.S. cities. The housing in Houston is also one of the most affordable in the Nation.
Areas of the city
The San Jacinto Battleground State Park, which commemmorates the Battle of San Jacinto, is located in the suburb of Deer ParkThe Inner City
Suburbs
Most Houstonians like to go to Galveston when they want to see Moody Gardens or when they feel like they want to go to a beach close to home. Before near destruction in 1900 Galveston was the larger and wealthier of the two cities and dubbed "The Wall Street of the Southwest", perhaps eclipsed only by New Orleans as the Gulf Coast's premier city. The city's vulnerablility on a narrow barrier bar island lead to the creation of the mainland Houston Ship Channel made by the dredging of the shallow Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay to form a protected port some 40 miles inland of the open Gulf and less than 10 miles from Houston's central business district. Beach houses owned by Houstonians have sprung up in other cities along the shoreline to the Gulf of Mexico. Houstonians also go to Kemah for the Kemah Boardwalk, which has many seafood restaurants and local tourist attractions. Kemah is surrounded by Galveston Bay to the east and Clear Lake (a brackish-water boater's paradise with open passthrough to Galvon Bay) to the west.Transportation
Airports
Houston is served by George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), and Ellington Field (EFD).List of Major Freeways
Economy
Houston had several growth spurts in relation to the Texas oil industry. Houston became a major port because of the downfall of Galveston and the Houston Ship Channel. The 1920's had Houston's first growth spurt.List of Major Companies
This is a list of major companies headquartered in Houston and the Houston Metropolitan Area. Compaq was headquartered in Houston before it was bought out by Hewlett-Packard.
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Imperial Sugar is based in nearby Sugar Land. Loch Energy is based in Humble.
Famous Events
Houston in also the home of NASA's Johnson Space Center, the Reliant Astrodome and the world-renowned Alley Theatre.
People and culture of Houston
Houstonians are seen as the down-to-earth types. They are said to look more at the face value of someone and are more open than Dallasites. Many people currently living in Houston have come from other U.S. states or other countries worldwide. If someone is seen to be skirting the norms, but no harm was truly done, then many Houstonians wouldn't care about what that person did.
Houston has a very international flavor seeping around the city due to different ethnic groups, including Hispanics, African-Americans, ethnic Europeans from Germany, Greece, and France, Jews, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Koreans, Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, and South Africans. Street signs are seen in Chinese and Vietnamese. About 90 languages are spoken in the area.
Because Houston and Dallas are both the major economic centers of the state, the two cities enjoy a friendly rivalry which causes many of the assets of one city to be compared to the assets of the other city. For example, although Dallas has more restaurants per person than even New York City, Houstonians eat out more often than residents of any other city in the United States.
Several Houston-based restaurants, such as Ninfa Laurenzo's Mama Ninfa's Mexican resturant chain, Johnny Carabba's Carabba's and Kim Su Tran La's Kim Sơn Vietnamese restaurant chain, have become well known in Texas and throughout the country.
List of famous and infamous people raised in Houston
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Phylicia Rashad
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Law and Government
Houston is the county seat of Harris County, and a far western portion of it extends into Fort Bend County.
The current mayor of Houston is Bill White, who is on his first term. A mayor, who is the executive branch of the city government, can be elected consecutively for three terms.
City council members, who make up the legislative branch, are elected from nine districts in the city.
List of Mayors
See: List of Houston Mayors
ABC-13 KTRK TV's Wayne Dolcefino released a controversial report that allegedly showed bad business practices of a charity called "Kid Care". Since then, the charity's donations dwindled, leaving the owner fuming.
Museums not located in the Museum District
Sports Facilities
Picture of the Reliant Stadium and the AstrodomeProfessional sports teams
Houston is home to several professional sports franchises. Here is a list of teams with the league they are a part of and the venue the play in:
Former teams
Media and Journalism
Houston has a variety of newspapers, with the Houston Chronicle being read all across the South-Central United States. Houston also is home to the TV stations and radio stations that serve the metro area.List of Newspapers
Education
The Houston Independent School District is considered to be one of the best urban school districts in the United States. Rod Paige, the former superintendent, elevated the district to that level.Colleges and Universities
Houston in film and TV
Part or all of these movies/shows take place in Houston and/or the Houston area
Though Houston and its suburbs are a prime spot for the filming of movies, the storylines do not include the story taking place in the city.Sister cities
| North: The Woodlands, Conroe | |||||
| West: Katy, Sugar Land | Houston, Bellaire, West University, Southside Place, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Hobby Airport | East: Baytown, Liberty | |||
| South: Galveston, Freeport, Brazoria |
External links
Sources