| Houston |
| — City — |
| City of Houston |
|
|
|
|
| Nickname(s): Space City (official), more. . . |
|
Houston's location and city limits in Harris County, Texas |
|
Location in the United States of America
|
| Coordinates: 29°45′46″N 95°22′59″W / 29.76278°N 95.38306°W / 29.76278; -95.38306Coordinates: 29°45′46″N 95°22′59″W / 29.76278°N 95.38306°W / 29.76278; -95.38306 |
| Country |
 United States |
| State |
 Texas |
| Counties |
Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery |
| Incorporated |
June 5, 1837 |
| Government |
| • Type |
Mayor–council |
| • Mayor |
Annise Parker |
| Area |
| • City |
1,699.81 km2 (656.3 sq mi) |
| • Land |
1,642.05 km2 (634.0 sq mi) |
| • Water |
57.7 km2 (22.3 sq mi) |
| Elevation |
13 m (43 ft) |
| Population (2010 US Census)[1][2] |
| • City |
2,099,451(4th U.S.) |
| • Density |
1,505/km2 (3,623/sq mi) |
| • Urban |
3,822,509 (10th U.S.) |
| • Metro |
5,946,800 (5th U.S.) |
| • Demonym |
Houstonian |
| Time zone |
CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) |
CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code(s) |
713, 281, 832 |
| FIPS code |
48-35000[3] |
| GNIS feature ID |
1380948[4] |
| Website |
houstontx.gov |
Houston (
/ˈhjuːstən/) (Alibamu: Yosti [5]) is the largest city in the state of Texas, and the fourth-largest city in the United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of 656.3 square miles (1,700 km2).[1][6] Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, which is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with 6.08 million people as of July 1st, 2011.[7]
Houston was founded in 1836 on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou.[8] It was incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837, and named after then-President of the Republic of Texas—former General Sam Houston—who had commanded at the Battle of San Jacinto, which took place 25 miles (40 km) east of where the city was established. The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the city's population. In the mid-twentieth century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where the Mission Control Center is located.[9]
Rated as a global city, Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation. It is also leading in health care sectors and building oilfield equipment; only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters.[10][11] The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled.[12] The city has a population from various ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community. It is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits, which attract more than 7 million visitors a year to the Museum District. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theatre District and offers year-round resident companies in all major performing arts.[13]
In August 1836, two real estate entrepreneurs—Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen—from New York, purchased 6,642 acres (26.88 km2) of land along Buffalo Bayou with the intent of founding a city.[14] The Allen brothers decided to name the city after Sam Houston, the popular general at the Battle of San Jacinto,[14] who was elected President of Texas in September 1836.
Houston was granted incorporation on June 5, 1837, with James S. Holman becoming its first mayor.[15] In the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County (now Harris County) and the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas.[16] In 1840, the community established a chamber of commerce in part to promote shipping and waterborne business at the newly created port on Buffalo Bayou.[17]
By 1860, Houston had emerged as a commercial and railroad hub for the export of cotton.[16] Railroad spurs from the Texas inland converged in Houston, where they met rail lines to the ports of Galveston and Beaumont. During the American Civil War, Houston served as a headquarters for General John Bankhead Magruder, who used the city as an organization point for the Battle of Galveston.[18] After the Civil War, Houston businessmen initiated efforts to widen the city's extensive system of bayous so the city could accept more commerce between downtown and the nearby port of Galveston. By 1890, Houston was the railroad center of Texas.
Union Station, Houston, Texas (postcard, circa 1911)
In 1900, after Galveston was struck by a devastating hurricane, efforts to make Houston into a viable deepwater port were accelerated.[19] The following year, oil discovered at the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont prompted the development of the Texas petroleum industry.[20] In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt approved a $1 million improvement project for the Houston Ship Channel. By 1910 the city's population had reached 78,800, almost doubling from a decade before. An integral part of the city were African Americans, who numbered 23,929 or nearly one-third of the residents.[21] They were developing a strong professional class based then in the Fourth Ward.
President Woodrow Wilson opened the deepwater Port of Houston in 1914, seven years after digging began. By 1930, Houston had become Texas's most populous city and Harris the most populous county.[22]
Downtown Houston, circa 1927
When World War II started, tonnage levels at the port decreased and shipping activities were suspended; however, the war did provide economic benefits for the city. Petrochemical refineries and manufacturing plants were constructed along the ship channel because of the demand for petroleum and synthetic rubber products during the war.[23] Ellington Field, initially built during World War I, was revitalized as an advanced training center for bombardiers and navigators.[24] The M.D. Anderson Foundation formed the Texas Medical Center in 1945. After the war, Houston's economy reverted to being primarily port-driven. In 1948, several unincorporated areas were annexed into the city limits, which more than doubled the city's size, and Houston proper began to spread across the region.[15][25]
In 1950, the availability of air conditioning provided impetus for many companies to relocate to Houston resulting in an economic boom and producing a key shift in the city's economy toward the energy sector.[26][27]
Ashburn's Houston City Map (circa 1956)
The increased production of the local shipbuilding industry during World War II spurred Houston's growth,[28] as did the establishment in 1961 of NASA's "Manned Spacecraft Center" (renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1973), which created the city's aerospace industry. The Astrodome, nicknamed the "Eighth Wonder of the World",[29] opened in 1965 as the world's first indoor domed sports stadium.
During the late 1970s, Houston experienced a population boom as people from Rust Belt states moved to Texas in large numbers.[30] The new residents came for the numerous employment opportunities in the petroleum industry, created as a result of the Arab Oil Embargo.
The population boom ended abruptly in the mid-1980s, as oil prices fell precipitously. The space industry also suffered in 1986 after the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated shortly after launch. The late 1980s saw a recession adversely affecting the city's economy.
Since the 1990s, as a result of the recession, Houston has made efforts to diversify its economy by focusing on aerospace and health care/biotechnology and by reducing its dependence on the petroleum industry. In 1997, Houstonians elected Lee P. Brown as the city's first African American mayor.[31]
In June 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dumped up to 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain on parts of Houston, causing the worst flooding in the city's history; the storm cost billions of dollars in damage and killed 20 people in Texas.[32] By December of that same year, Houston-based energy company Enron collapsed into the third-largest ever U.S. bankruptcy during an investigation surrounding fabricated partnerships that were allegedly used to hide debt and inflate profits.
In August 2005, Houston became a shelter to more than 150,000 people from New Orleans who evacuated from Hurricane Katrina.[33] One month later, approximately 2.5 million Houston area residents evacuated when Hurricane Rita approached the Gulf Coast, leaving little damage to the Houston area. This was the largest urban evacuation in the history of the United States.[34][35]
A simulated-color image of Houston
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 656.3 square miles (1,700 km2); this comprises 634.0 square miles (1,642 km2) of land and 22.3 square miles (58 km2) of water.[36] Most of Houston is located on the gulf coastal plain, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland and forest. Much of the city was built on forested land, marshes, swamp, or prairie, which are all still visible in surrounding areas. Flatness of the local terrain, when combined with urban sprawl, has made flooding a recurring problem for the city.[37] Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above sea level,[38] and the highest point in far northwest Houston is about 125 feet (38 m) in elevation.[39][40] The city once relied on groundwater for its needs, but land subsidence forced the city to turn to ground-level water sources such as Lake Houston, Lake Conroe and Lake Livingston.[15][41] The city owns surface water rights for 1.2 billion gallons of water a day in addition to 150 million gallons a day worth of groundwater.[42]
Houston has four major bayous passing through the city. Buffalo Bayou runs through downtown and the Houston Ship Channel, and has three tributaries: White Oak Bayou, which runs through the Houston Heights community northwest of Downtown and then towards Downtown; Braes Bayou, which runs along the Texas Medical Center; and Sims Bayou, which runs through the south of Houston and downtown Houston. The ship channel continues past Galveston and then into the Gulf of Mexico.
Underpinning Houston's land surface are unconsolidated clays, clay shales, and poorly cemented sands up to several miles deep. The region's geology developed from river deposits formed from the erosion of the Rocky Mountains. These sediments consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic marine matter, that over time, transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath the layers of sediment is a water-deposited layer of halite, a rock salt. The porous layers were compressed over time and forced upward. As it pushed upward, the salt dragged surrounding sediments into salt dome formations, often trapping oil and gas that seeped from the surrounding porous sands. The thick, rich, sometimes black, surface soil is suitable for rice farming in suburban outskirts where the city continues to grow.[43][44]
The Houston area has over 150 active faults (estimated to be 300 active faults) with an aggregate length of up to 310 miles (500 km),[45][46][47] including the Long Point–Eureka Heights fault system which runs through the center of the city. There have been no significant historically recorded earthquakes in Houston, but researchers do not discount the possibility of such quakes having occurred in the deeper past, nor occurring in the future. Land in some communities southeast of Houston is sinking because water has been pumped out from the ground for many years. It may be associated with slip along the faults; however, the slippage is slow and not considered an earthquake, where stationary faults must slip suddenly enough to create seismic waves.[48] These faults also tend to move at a smooth rate in what is termed "fault creep",[41] which further reduces the risk of an earthquake.
Houston's climate is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa in Köppen climate classification system). While not necessarily part of "Tornado Alley" like much of the rest of Texas, Spring supercell thunderstorms do sometimes bring tornadoes to the area. Prevailing winds are from the south and southeast during most of the year, bringing heat across the continent from the deserts of Mexico and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.[49]
During the summer months, it is common for the temperature to reach over 90 °F (32 °C), with an average of 99 days per year above 90 °F (32 °C).[50] However, the humidity results in a heat index higher than the actual temperature. Summer mornings average over 90 percent relative humidity and approximately 60 percent in the afternoon.[51] Winds are often light in the summer and offer little relief, except near the immediate coast.[52] To cope with the heat, people use air conditioning in nearly every vehicle and building in the city; in 1980 Houston was described as the "most air-conditioned place on earth".[53] Scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms are common in the summer. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Houston was 109 °F (43 °C) on September 4, 2000[2] and August 28, 2011.[3]
Winters in Houston are mild. The average high in January, the coldest month, is 63 °F (17 °C), while the average low is 43 °F (6 °C). Snowfall is very rare. Recent snow events in Houston include a storm on December 24, 2004 when one inch (2.5 cm) fell and more recent snowfalls on December 10, 2008. This was the earliest snowfall ever recorded in Houston. In addition, it set another milestone marking the first time in recorded history that snowfall has occurred in two consecutive years, and was the third accumulating snowfall occurring in the decade of 2000–2010. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Houston was 5 °F (−15 °C) on January 23, 1940.[54] Houston receives a high amount of rainfall annually, averaging about 50 inches a year. These rains tend to cause floods over portions of the city.
Houston has excessive ozone levels and is ranked among the most ozone-polluted cities in the United States.[55] Ground-level ozone, or smog, is Houston's predominant air pollution problem, with the American Lung Association rating the metropolitan area's ozone level as the 8th worst in the United States in 2011.[56] The industries located along the ship channel are a major cause of the city's air pollution.[57] Houston's air quality has been compared by the Citizens League for Environmental Action Now to Beijing and Los Angeles.[58]
| Climate data for Houston (George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH)), 1981-2010 normals |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Record high °F (°C) |
84
(29) |
91
(33) |
96
(36) |
95
(35) |
99
(37) |
105
(41) |
105
(41) |
109
(43) |
109
(43) |
99
(37) |
89
(32) |
85
(29) |
109
(43) |
| Average high °F (°C) |
62.9
(17.2) |
66.3
(19.1) |
73.0
(22.8) |
79.6
(26.4) |
86.3
(30.2) |
91.4
(33.0) |
93.7
(34.3) |
94.5
(34.7) |
89.7
(32.1) |
82.0
(27.8) |
72.5
(22.5) |
64.3
(17.9) |
79.68
(26.49) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
43.2
(6.2) |
46.5
(8.1) |
52.5
(11.4) |
59.4
(15.2) |
67.6
(19.8) |
73.5
(23.1) |
75.1
(23.9) |
74.8
(23.8) |
69.8
(21.0) |
60.9
(16.1) |
52.1
(11.2) |
44.6
(7.0) |
60.00
(15.56) |
| Record low °F (°C) |
5
(−15) |
6
(−14) |
21
(−6) |
31
(−1) |
44
(7) |
52
(11) |
62
(17) |
54
(12) |
45
(7) |
29
(−2) |
19
(−7) |
7
(−14) |
5
(−15) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) |
3.38
(85.9) |
3.20
(81.3) |
3.41
(86.6) |
3.31
(84.1) |
5.09
(129.3) |
5.93
(150.6) |
3.79
(96.3) |
3.76
(95.5) |
4.12
(104.6) |
5.70
(144.8) |
4.34
(110.2) |
3.74
(95) |
49.77
(1,264.2) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) |
10 |
8 |
9 |
7 |
8 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
9 |
104 |
| Percent possible sunshine |
45 |
50 |
54 |
58 |
62 |
68 |
70 |
68 |
66 |
64 |
52 |
51 |
59 |
| Source no. 1: NOAA [59] |
| Source no. 2: Average Precip Days [60] |
Houston was incorporated in 1837 under the ward system of representation. The ward designation is the progenitor of the nine current-day Houston City Council districts. Locations in Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside the Interstate 610 Loop. The inside encompasses the central business district and many residential neighborhoods that predate World War II. More recently, high-density residential areas have been developed within the loop. The city's outlying areas, suburbs and enclaves are located outside of the loop. Beltway 8 encircles the city another 5 miles (8.0 km) farther out.
Though Houston is the largest city in the United States without formal zoning regulations, it has developed similarly to other Sun Belt cities because the city's land use regulations and legal covenants have played a similar role.[61][62] Regulations include mandatory lot size for single-family houses and requirements that parking be available to tenants and customers. Such restrictions have had mixed results. Though some[62] have blamed the city's low density, urban sprawl, and lack of pedestrian-friendliness on these policies, the city's land use has also been credited with having significant affordable housing, sparing Houston the worst effects of the 2008 real estate crisis.[63] The city issued 42,697 building permits in 2008 and was ranked first in the list of healthiest housing markets for 2009.[64]
Voters rejected efforts to have separate residential and commercial land-use districts in 1948, 1962, and 1993. Consequently, rather than a single central business district as the center of the city's employment, multiple districts have grown throughout the city in addition to downtown which include Uptown, Texas Medical Center, Midtown, Greenway Plaza, Memorial City, Energy Corridor, Westchase, and Greenspoint.
The city of Houston has a strong mayoral form of municipal government.[65] Houston is a home rule city and all municipal elections in the state of Texas are nonpartisan.[65][66] The City's elected officials are the mayor, city controller and 16 members of the city council.[67] The current mayor of Houston is Annise Parker, a Democrat elected on a nonpartisan ballot whose second term in office will expire at the end of 2013.[68] Houston's mayor serves as the city's chief administrator, executive officer, and official representative, and is responsible for the general management of the city and for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced.[68]
The original city council line-up of 14 members (nine district-based and five at-large positions) was based on a U.S. Justice Department mandate which took effect in 1979.[69] At-large council members represent the entire city.[67] Under the city charter, once the population in the city limits exceeded 2.1 million residents, two additional districts were to be added.[70] The City of Houston's official 2010 census count was 600 shy of the required number; however, as the city was expected to grow beyond 2.1 million shortly thereafter, the two additional districts were added and the positions filled during the August 2011 elections. The districts are labeled A through K while the at-large positions are numbered 1 through 5.
The city controller is elected independently of the mayor and council. The controller's duties are to certify available funds prior to committing such funds and processing disbursements. The city's fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. Ronald Green is the city controller, serving his first term as of January 2010.
As the result of a 1991 referendum in Houston, a mayor is elected for a two-year term, and can be elected to as many as three consecutive terms. The term limits were spearheaded by conservative political activist Clymer Wright.[71] The city controller and city council members are also subject to the same two-year, three-term limitations.
Houston is considered to be a politically divided city whose balance of power often sways between Republicans and Democrats. Much of the city's wealthier areas vote Republican, while the city's middle class, working class, and minority areas vote Democratic. According to the 2005 Houston Area Survey, 68 percent of non-Hispanic whites in Harris County are declared or favor Republicans while 89 percent of non-Hispanic blacks in the area are declared or favor Democrats. About 62 percent Hispanics (of any race) in the area are declared or favor Democrats.[72] The city has often been known to be the most politically diverse city in Texas, a state known for being generally conservative.[72] As a result the city is often a contested area in statewide elections.[72] In 2010, Houston became the first US city with a population over 1 million to elect a gay mayor, by appointing Annise Parker.
Houston is recognized worldwide for its energy industry—particularly for oil and natural gas—as well as for biomedical research and aeronautics. Renewable energy sources—wind and solar—are also growing economic bases in Houston.[74][75] The ship channel is also a large part of Houston's economic base. Because of these strengths, Houston is designated as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network and by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.[11]
The Houston area is a leading center for building oilfield equipment.[76] Much of Houston's success as a petrochemical complex is due to its busy man-made ship channel, the Port of Houston.[77] The port ranks first in the United States in international commerce, and is the tenth-largest port in the world.[12][78] Unlike most places, high oil and gasoline prices are beneficial for Houston's economy as many of its residents are employed in the energy industry.[79]
The Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 was $385 billion, larger than Austria's, Poland's or Saudi Arabia's GDP.[80] Only 21 countries other than the United States have a gross domestic product exceeding Houston's regional gross area product. Mining, which in Houston consists almost entirely of exploration and production of oil and gas, accounts for 26.3% of Houston's GAP, up sharply in response to high energy prices and a decreased worldwide surplus of oil production capacity; followed by engineering services, health services, and manufacturing.[81]
The University of Houston System's annual impact on the Houston-area's economy equates to that of a major corporation: $1.1 billion in new funds attracted annually to the Houston area, $3.13 billion in total economic benefit, and 24,000 local jobs generated.[83][84] This is in addition to the 12,500 new graduates the UH System produces every year who enter the workforce in Houston and throughout Texas. These degree-holders tend to stay in Houston. After five years, 80.5 percent of graduates are still living and working in the region.[84]
In 2006, the Houston metropolitan area ranked first in Texas and third in the U.S. within the Category of "Best Places for Business and Careers" by Forbes magazine.[85] Foreign governments have established 92 consular offices in metropolitan Houston, the third highest in the nation.[86] Forty foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices here and 23 active foreign chambers of commerce and trade associations.[87] Twenty-five foreign banks representing 13 nations operate in Houston, providing financial assistance to the international community.[88]
In 2008, Houston received top ranking on Kiplinger's Personal Finance Best Cities of 2008 list which ranks cities on their local economy, employment opportunities, reasonable living costs and quality of life.[89] The city ranked fourth for highest increase in the local technological innovation over the preceding 15 years, according to Forbes magazine.[90] In the same year, the city ranked second on the annual Fortune 500 list of company headquarters,[91] ranked first for Forbes Best Cities for College Graduates,[92] and ranked first on Forbes list of Best Cities to Buy a Home.[93] In 2010, the city was rated the best city for shopping, according to Forbes.[94]
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1850 |
2,396 |
|
—
|
| 1860 |
4,845 |
|
102.2% |
| 1870 |
9,332 |
|
92.6% |
| 1880 |
16,513 |
|
77.0% |
| 1890 |
27,557 |
|
66.9% |
| 1900 |
44,633 |
|
62.0% |
| 1910 |
78,800 |
|
76.6% |
| 1920 |
138,276 |
|
75.5% |
| 1930 |
292,352 |
|
111.4% |
| 1940 |
384,514 |
|
31.5% |
| 1950 |
596,163 |
|
55.0% |
| 1960 |
938,219 |
|
57.4% |
| 1970 |
1,232,802 |
|
31.4% |
| 1980 |
1,595,138 |
|
29.4% |
| 1990 |
1,630,553 |
|
2.2% |
| 2000 |
1,953,631 |
|
19.8% |
| 2010 |
2,099,451 |
|
7.5% |
Map of racial/ethnic distribution in the City of Houston, 2010 census - Each dot represents 25 people. Red dots represent White people, orange dots represent Hispanic people, blue dots represent Black people, green dots represent Asian people, and gray dots represent other people
Houston is a multicultural city, in part because of its many academic institutions and strong industries as well as being a major port city. Over 90 languages are spoken in the city.[95] The city has among the youngest populations in the nation,[96][97][98] partly due to an influx of immigrants into Texas.[99] An estimated 400,000 illegal aliens reside in the Houston area.[100]
According to the 2010 Census, Whites made up 51% of Houston's population; 26% of the total population were non-Hispanic whites. Blacks or African Americans made up 24% of Houston's population. American Indians made up 0.7% of Houston's population. Asians made up 6% of Houston's population (1.7% Vietnamese, 1.3% Chinese, 1.3% Indian, 0.9% Pakistani, 0.4% Filipino, 0.3% Korean, 0.1% Japanese), while Pacific Islanders made up 0.1%. Individuals from some other race made up 15.2% of the city's population, of which 0.2% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from two or more races made up 3.3% of the city's population. People of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 44% of Houston's population; 32% of Houston's population is of Mexican heritage; the next five Hispanic groups are those of Salvadoran, Honduran, Guatemalan, Colombian and Puerto Rican heritage, respectively.[101][102]
As of the 2000 Census, there were 1,953,631 people and the population density was 3,371.7 people per square mile (1,301.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 49.3% White, 25.3% African American, 5.3% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 16.5% from some other race, and 3.1% from two or more races. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos made up 37.4% of Houston's population while non-Hispanic whites made up 30.8%,[103] down from 62.4% in 1970.[104]
The median income for a household in the city was $37,000, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $32,000 versus $27,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,000. Nineteen percent of the population and 16 percent of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 26% of those under the age of 18 and 14% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Houston is a diverse city with a large and growing international community.[105] The metropolitan area is home to an estimated 1.1 million (21.4 percent) residents who were born outside the United States, with nearly two-thirds of the area's foreign-born population from south of the United States–Mexico border.[106] Additionally, more than one in five foreign-born residents are from Asia.[106] The city is home to the nation’s third-largest concentration of consular offices, representing 86 countries.[107]
Many annual events celebrate the diverse cultures of Houston. The largest and longest running is the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, held over 20 days from late February to early March, which happens to be the largest annual livestock show and rodeo anywhere in the world.[108] Another large celebration is the annual night-time Houston Pride Parade, held at the end of June.[109] Other annual events include the Houston Greek Festival,[110] Art Car Parade, the Houston Auto Show, the Houston International Festival,[111] and the Bayou City Art Festival, which is considered to be one of the top five art festivals in the United States.[112][113]
Houston received the official nickname of "Space City" in 1967 because it is the location of NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Other nicknames often used by locals include "Bayou City," "Magnolia City,", "New Houston" a 2005 Reference to The New Orleans natives who left New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe and help contribute to a rich black culture in Houston Texas and "H-Town."
The Houston Theater District, located downtown, is home to nine major performing arts organizations and six performance halls. It is the second-largest concentration of theater seats in a downtown area in the United States.[114][115][116] Houston is one of few United States cities with permanent, professional, resident companies in all major performing arts disciplines: opera (Houston Grand Opera), ballet (Houston Ballet), music (Houston Symphony Orchestra), and theater (The Alley Theatre).[13][117] Houston is also home to folk artists, art groups and various small progressive arts organizations.[118] Houston attracts many touring Broadway acts, concerts, shows, and exhibitions for a variety of interests.[119] Facilities in the Theater District include the Jones Hall—home of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Society for the Performing Arts—and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
The Museum District's cultural institutions and exhibits attract more than 7 million visitors a year.[120][121] Notable facilities the include The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Holocaust Museum Houston, and the Houston Zoo.[122][123][124] Located near the Museum District are The Menil Collection, Rothko Chapel, and the Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum.
Bayou Bend is a 14-acre (5.7 ha) facility of the Museum of Fine Arts that houses one of America's best collections of decorative art, paintings and furniture. Bayou Bend is the former home of Houston philanthropist Ima Hogg.[125]
The National Museum of Funeral History is located in Houston near the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The museum houses the original Popemobile used by Pope John Paul II in the 1980s along with numerous hearses, embalming displays and information on famous funerals.
Venues across Houston regularly host local and touring rock, blues, country, dubstep, and Tejano musical acts. While Houston has never been a widely renowned for its music scene,[126] Houston hip-hop has become a significant, independent music scene, producing some of most famed hip-hop artists and creating a sound which has become largely influential in the South as well as other hip-hop scenes.[127]
The Theater District is a 17-block area in the center of downtown Houston that is home to the Bayou Place entertainment complex, restaurants, movies, plazas, and parks. Bayou Place is a large multilevel building containing full-service restaurants, bars, live music, billiards and Sundance Cinema. The Houston Verizon Wireless Theater stages live concerts, stage plays, and stand-up comedy. Space Center Houston is the official visitors’ center of NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. The Space Center has many interactive exhibits including moon rocks, a shuttle simulator, and presentations about the history of NASA's manned space flight program. Other tourist attractions include the Galleria (Texas's largest shopping mall located in the Uptown District), Old Market Square, the Downtown Aquarium, and Sam Houston Race Park. SplashTown Waterpark Houston is a water park located north of Houston. Earth Quest Adventures is a theme park planned to open in 2013/2014.
Houston is home to 337 parks including Hermann Park, Terry Hershey Park, Lake Houston Park, Memorial Park, Tranquility Park, Sesquicentennial Park, Discovery Green, and Sam Houston Park. Within Hermann Park are the Houston Zoo and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Sam Houston Park contains restored and reconstructed homes which were originally built between 1823 and 1905.[128] There is a proposal to open the city's first botanic garden at Herman Brown Park.[129]
Of the 10 most populous U.S. cities, Houston has the most total area of parks and green space, 56,405 acres (228 km2)[130] The city also has over 200 additional green spaces—totaling over 19,600 acres (79 km2) that are managed by the city—including the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. The Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark is a public skatepark owned and operated by the city of Houston, and is one of the largest skateparks in Texas consisting of 30,000 (2,800 m2) square foot in-ground facility. The Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park—located in the Uptown District of the city—serves as a popular tourist attraction, weddings, and various celebrations. A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Houston the 23rd most walkable of the 50 largest cities in the United States.[131]
Houston Carnival (No-Tsu-Oh, postcard, 1899-1917)
Like the New Orleans Mardi Gras, No-Tsu-Oh, was a carnival that was celebrated in Houston from 1899 until World War I. Even in 1899, generating commerce was important and the carnival was a week long festival bringing people to Houston in November. No-Tsu-Oh featured parades and a football game between the University of Texas and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). No-Tsu-Oh is Houston spelled backwards. Backwards spelling was a character of No-Tsu-Oh, with the King of the festival being Nottoc (cotton) until King Nottoc was replaced by King Retaw (water) in 1914 in honor of the completion of the Houston Ship Channel. With the beginning of World War I, came the end of the carnival. [132]
The primary network-affiliated television stations are KPRC-TV (NBC), KHOU-TV (CBS), KTRK-TV (ABC), and KRIV-TV (Fox).
The Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area is served by one public television station and two public radio stations. KUHT (HoustonPBS) is a PBS member station and is the first public television station in the United States. Houston Public Radio is listener-funded and comprises two NPR member stations: KUHF (KUHF News) and KUHA (Classical 91.7). KUHF is news/talk radio and KUHA is a classical music station. The University of Houston System owns and holds broadcasting licenses to KUHT, KUHF, and KUHA. The stations broadcast from the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, located on the campus of the University of Houston.
Houston is served by the Houston Chronicle, its only major daily newspaper with wide distribution. The Hearst Corporation, which owns and operates the Houston Chronicle, bought the assets of the Houston Post—its long-time rival and main competition—when Houston Post ceased operations in 1995. The Houston Post was owned by the family of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby of Houston. The only other major publication to serve the city is the Houston Press—a free alternative weekly with a weekly readership of more than 300,000.[133]
Administrative headquarters of HISD
Houston High School (postcard, circa 1909)
Seventeen school districts exist within the city of Houston. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the seventh-largest school district in the United States.[134] HISD has 112 campuses that serve as magnet or vanguard schools—specializing in such disciplines as health professions, visual and performing arts, and the sciences. There are also many charter schools that are run separately from school districts. In addition, some public school districts also have their own charter schools.
The Houston area encompasses more than 300 private schools,[135][136][137] many of which are accredited by Texas Private School Accreditation Commission recognized agencies. The Houston Area Independent Schools offer education from a variety of different religious as well as secular viewpoints.[138] The Houston area Catholic schools are operated by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
Four distinct state universities are located in Houston. The University of Houston is a nationally recognized top-tier research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System.[139][140][141][142] The institution ranks among the Top 50 American Research Universities.[143] The third-largest university in Texas, UH has nearly 40,000 students on its 667 acre campus in southeast Houston.[144] The University of Houston–Clear Lake and the University of Houston–Downtown are stand-alone universities; they are not branch campuses of the University of Houston. Located in the historic community of Third Ward is Texas Southern University—one of the largest historically black colleges and universities in the United States.
Several private institutions of higher learning—ranging from liberal arts colleges to Rice University, the nationally recognized research university—are located within the city. Rice, with a total enrollment of slightly more than 6,000 students, is widely recognized as one of the top twenty universities in the nation, and it has a number of distinguished graduate programs and research institutes such as the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy. The university's undergraduates are among the most select in the nation.[145]
Three community college districts exist with campuses in and around Houston. The Houston Community College System serves most of Houston. The northwestern through northeastern parts of the city are served by various campuses of the Lone Star College System, while the southeastern portion of Houston is served by San Jacinto College. The Houston Community College and Lone Star College systems are within the 10 largest institutions of higher learning in the United States.
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Memorial Hermann Hospital
Houston is the seat of the internationally renowned Texas Medical Center, which contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions.[146] All 49 member institutions of the Texas Medical Center are non-profit organizations. They provide patient and preventive care, research, education, and local, national, and international community well-being. Employing more than 73,600 people, institutions at the medical center include 13 hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, pharmacy, and virtually all health-related careers. It is where one of the first—and still the largest—air emergency service, Life Flight, was created, and a very successful inter-institutional transplant program was developed. More heart surgeries are performed at the Texas Medical Center than anywhere else in the world.[147]
Some of the academic and research health institutions at the center include MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, UT Health Science Center, Memorial Hermann Hospital, The Methodist Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital, and University of Houston College of Pharmacy.
The Baylor College of Medicine has annually been considered within the top ten medical schools in the nation; likewise, the MD Anderson Cancer Center has consistently ranked as one of the top two U.S. hospitals specializing in cancer care by U.S. News & World Report since 1990.[148][149] The Menninger Clinic, a renowned psychiatric treatment center, is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital System.[150] With hospital locations nationwide and headquarters in Houston, the Triumph Healthcare hospital system is the third largest long term acute care provider nationally.[151]
The predominant form of transportation in Houston is the automobile with 71.7 percent of residents driving alone to work[152] This is facilitated through Houston's freeway system, comprising 739.3 miles (1,189.8 km) of freeways and expressways in a ten-county metropolitan area.[153] However, the Texas Transportation Institute's annual Urban Mobility Report found that Houston had the fourth-worst congestion in the country with commuters spending an average of 58 hours in traffic in 2009.[154]
Houston's highway system has a hub-and-spoke freeway structure serviced by multiple loops. The innermost loop is Interstate 610, which encircles downtown, the medical center, and many core neighborhoods with around a 10-mile (16 km) diameter. Beltway 8 and its freeway core, the Sam Houston Tollway, form the middle loop at a diameter of roughly 25 miles (40 km). A proposed highway project, State Highway 99 (Grand Parkway), would form a third loop outside of Houston. As of 2010, only two out of eleven segments of State Highway 99 have been completed. Houston is located along the route of the proposed Interstate 69 NAFTA superhighway that would link Canada, the U.S. industrial Midwest, Texas, and Mexico. Other spoke freeways either planned or under construction include the Fort Bend Parkway, Hardy Toll Road, Crosby Freeway, and the future Alvin Freeway.
Houston's freeway system is monitored by Houston TranStar—a partnership of four government agencies that are responsible for providing transportation and emergency management services to the region.[155]
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) provides public transportation in the form of buses, light rail, and lift vans. METRO's various forms of public transportation still do not connect many of the suburbs to the greater city.
METRO began light rail service on January 1, 2004 with the inaugural track ("Red Line") running about 8 miles (13 km) from the University of Houston–Downtown (UHD), which traverses through the Texas Medical Center and terminates at Reliant Park. METRO is currently in the design phase of a 10-year expansion plan that will add five more lines to the existing system.[156]
Amtrak, the national rail passenger system, provides service to Houston via the Sunset Limited (Los Angeles–New Orleans), which stops at a train station on the north side of the downtown area. The station saw 14,891 boardings and alightings in fiscal year 2008.[157]
Houston is served by three airports, two of which are commercial that served 52 million passengers in 2007 and managed by the Houston Airport System.[158] The Federal Aviation Administration and the state of Texas selected the "Houston Airport System as Airport of the Year" for 2005,[159] largely because of its multi-year, $3.1 billion airport improvement program for both major airports in Houston.
The primary city airport is George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), the sixth-busiest in the United States for total passengers, and fourteenth-busiest worldwide.[160] Bush Intercontinental currently ranks third in the United States for non-stop domestic and international service with 182 destinations.[161] In 2006, the United States Department of Transportation named George Bush Intercontinental Airport the fastest-growing of the top ten airports in the United States.[162] The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center stands on the George Bush Intercontinental Airport grounds.
Houston was the headquarters of Continental Airlines until its 2010 merger with United Airlines with headquarters in Chicago; regulatory approval for the merger was granted in October of that year. Bush Intercontinental became United Airline's largest airline hub.[163] The airline retained a significant operational presence in Houston while offering more than 700 daily departures from the city.[164][165] In early 2007, Bush Intercontinental Airport was named a model "port of entry" for international travelers by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.[166]
The second-largest commercial airport is William P. Hobby Airport (named Houston International Airport until 1967) which operates primarily small to medium-haul domestic flights. Houston's aviation history is showcased in the 1940 Air Terminal Museum located in the old terminal building on the west side of the airport. Hobby Airport has been recognized with two awards for being one of the top five performing airports in the world and for customer service by Airports Council International.[167]
Houston's third municipal airport is Ellington Airport (a former U.S. Air Force base) used by military, government, NASA, and general aviation sectors.[168]
The northern side of
Downtown Houston at night, revealing buildings of various styles and eras.
Houston has the third tallest skyline in North America and one of the top 10 in the world.[169][170] A seven-mile (11 km) system of tunnels and skywalks link downtown buildings containing shops and restaurants, enabling pedestrians to avoid summer heat and rain while walking between buildings.
In the 1960s, Downtown Houston consisted of a collection of mid-rise office structures. Downtown was on the threshold of an energy industry led boom in 1970. A succession of skyscrapers were built throughout the 1970s—many by real estate developer Gerald D. Hines—culminating with Houston's tallest skyscraper, the 75-floor, 1,002-foot (305 m)-tall JPMorgan Chase Tower (formerly the Texas Commerce Tower), completed in 1982. It is the tallest structure in Texas, 10th tallest building in the United States and the 30th tallest skyscraper in the world, based on height to roof. In 1983, the 71-floor, 992-foot (302 m)-tall Wells Fargo Plaza (formerly Allied Bank Plaza) was completed, becoming the second-tallest building in Houston and Texas. Based on height to roof, it is the 13th tallest in the United States and the 36th tallest in the world. As of 2007, downtown Houston had over 43 million square feet (4,000,000 m²) of office space.[171]
Centered on Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road, the Uptown District boomed during the 1970s and early 1980s when a collection of mid-rise office buildings, hotels, and retail developments appeared along Interstate 610 west. Uptown became one of the most prominent instances of an edge city. The tallest building in Uptown is the 64-floor, 901-foot (275 m)-tall, Philip Johnson and John Burgee designed landmark Williams Tower (known as the Transco Tower until 1999). At the time of construction, it was believed to the be the world's tallest skyscraper outside of a central business district. The Uptown District is also home to buildings designed by noted architects I. M. Pei, César Pelli, and Philip Johnson. In the late 1990s and early 2000s decade, there was a mini-boom of mid-rise and high-rise residential tower construction, with several over 30 stories tall.[172][173][174] In 2002, Uptown had more than 23 million square feet (2,100,000 m²) of office space with 16 million square feet (1,500,000 m²) of Class A office space.[175]
-
The Niels Esperson Building stood as the tallest building in Houston from 1927 to 1929.
-
The JP Morgan Chase Tower is the tallest building in Texas and the tallest 5-sided building in the world.
-
-
Houston has sports teams for every major professional league, except the National Hockey League.
Minute Maid Park (home of the Astros) and Toyota Center (home of the Rockets and Aeros), are located in Downtown. Houston has the NFL's first retractable-roof stadium, Reliant Stadium (home of the Texans). BBVA Compass Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium for the Dynamo, located in East Downtown (EaDo) and is the first soccer specific stadium in a downtown area in MLS. In addition, Reliant Astrodome, the first domed stadium in the world. Other sports facilities include Robertson Stadium (home of the Houston Cougars football team), Hofheinz Pavilion (Houston Cougars basketball), Rice Stadium (Rice Owls football), and Reliant Arena.
Houston was home to the now defunct WNBA Comets from 1997-2008. The Comets won 4 WNBA Championships which is still the most championships of any sports team in Houston. The AFL/NFL Oilers called Houston home from 1960-1998 when the team moved to Tennessee and became the NFL Titans.
The city has hosted several major professional and college sporting events, including the annual Shell Houston Open golf tournament. Houston hosts the annual NCAA College Baseball Minute Maid Classic every February and NCAA football's Texas Bowl in December.
Houston Police Department Memorial
Houston's murder rate ranked 46th of U.S. cities with a population over 250,000 in 2005 (per capita rate of 16.3 murders per 100,000 population).[176] In 2010, the city's murder rate (per capita rate of 11.8 murders per 100,000 population) was ranked sixth among U.S. cities with a population of over 750,000 (behind New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles)[177] according to the FBI.
Murders fell by 37 percent from January to June 2011, compared with the same period in 2010. Houston's total crime rate including violent and nonviolent crimes decreased by 11 percent.[178]
Houston—due to its size and proximity to major illegal drug exporting nations—is a significant hub for trafficking of cocaine, marijuana, heroin, MDMA, and methamphetamine.[179] In the early 1970s, Houston, Pasadena and several coastal towns were the site of the 'Houston Mass Murders' which at the time were the deadliest case of serial killing in American history.[180][181]
Houston has 17 sister cities[182] designated by Sister Cities International—a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between U.S. and international communities in an effort to increase global cooperation at the municipal level, to promote cultural understanding, and to stimulate economic development. Many of Houston's sister cities, including Abu Dhabi, Baku, Luanda, Stavanger, Tampico, and Tyumen are, like Houston, important cities in the oil industry.
|
|
|
 Luanda, Angola (2003) Nice, France (1973) Perth, Western Australia, Australia (1983) Shenzhen, People's Republic of China (1986) Stavanger, Norway (1980) Taipei, Taiwan (ROC) (1963) Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico (2003) Tyumen, Russia (1995)
|
- ^ a b "Houston city, Texas, US Census". US Census. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US4835000&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US48%7C16000US4835000&_street=&_county=Houston%2C+Tx&_cityTown=Houston2C+Tx&_state=&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=link. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
- ^ "Texas by Place - GCT-T1-R. Census". US Census. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?-ds_name=PEP_2008_EST&-mt_name=PEP_2008_EST_GCTT1R_ST9S&-geo_id=04000US48&-format=ST-9&-tree_id=806&-context=gct. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Alabama Dictionary". http://www.ling.unt.edu/~montler/Alabama/Dictionary/. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
- ^ "Population Finder". American Fact Finder. U.S. Census Bureau. 2009. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US4835000&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US48%7C16000US4835000&_street=&_county=Houston%2C+Tx&_cityTown=Houston2C+Tx&_state=&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=link. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas.
- ^ McComb, David G. (January 19, 2008). "Houston, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Archived from the original on 2008-04-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20080414054125/http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/HH/hdh3.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Texas Medical Center. (2006). In 'A Vision for Strategic Growth'. September 14, 2010 from http://www.texasmedicalcenter.org/NR/rdonlyres/2C814975-2A2B-4AC1-B898-0C424A311C28/0/50YearMasterPlanLowRes2006UpdateV2.pdf
- ^ Fortune 500 2010: Cities as retrieved on May 25, 2011
- ^ a b "A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index 2010". A.T. Kearney. http://www.atkearney.com/images/global/pdf/Urban_Elite-GCI_2010.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
- ^ a b U.S. Port Ranking by Cargo Volume 2004. Port Industry Information, American Association of Port Authorities. 2004. Retrieved on 2007-01-15. Archived at Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b "Museums and Cultural ArtsPDF (31.8 KB)", Greater Houston Partnership. Retrieved on 2009-03-21.
- ^ a b Coutinho, Juliana (2000-09-13). "Brief history of Houston". The Daily Cougar. http://www.stp.uh.edu/vol66/13/news/news-index.html. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ a b c Houston, Texas. Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ a b Looscan, Adele B. (1916). "Harris County, 1822–1845". Southwestern Historical Quarterly 19: 37–64. http://www.tshaonline.org/publications/journals/shq/online/v019/n1/article_4.html. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- ^ Born on the Bayou: city's murky start. John Perry, City Savvy Online Edition. Published Summer 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ Cotham, Edward T. (2004). Sabine Pass: The Confederacy's Thermopylae. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70594-8.
- ^ J.H.W. Stele to Sayers, September 11–12, 1900. Texas State Library & Archives Commission, Retrieved on August 31, 2007
- ^ Olien, Diana Davids; Olien, Roger M. (2002). Oil in Texas: The Gusher Age, 1895–1945. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-76056-6.
- ^ "Marvin Hurley, 1910–1920, Houston History". http://www.houstonhistory.com/decades/history5h.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ Gibson, Campbell (June 1998). "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990". Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau (U.S. Census Bureau). http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ "Houston Ship Channel". TSHA Handbook of Texas. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/HH/rhh11.html. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
- ^ Carlson, Erik (February 1999). "Ellington Field: A Short History, 1917–1963" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ellington/Ellington.pdf. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
- ^ Streetman, Ashley. "Houston Timeline". Houston Institute for Culture. http://www.houstonculture.org/resources/houstontime.html. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ How Air Conditioning Changed America. The Old House Web, Retrieved on April 4, 2007
- ^ A Short History. Houston Geological Auxiliary, Retrieved on April 4, 2007
- ^ "Shipbuilding". TSHA Handbook of Texas. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ets03. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
- ^ Barks, Joseph V. (November 2001). "Powering the (New and Improved) "Eighth Wonder of the World"". Electrical Apparatus.
- ^ "Polish-Texans". Texas Almanac 2004–2005. http://www.texasalmanac.com/culture/groups/polish.html. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ "Lee P. Brown - Biography". TheHistoryMakers.com. http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=937&category=politicalMakers. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
- ^ Ward, Christina (2001-06-18). "Allison's Death Toll Hits 43". RedCross.org. Archived from the original on December 4, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061204040810/http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/floods/010618houston.html. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
- ^ "Katrina's Human Legacy". Houston Chronicle. 2006-08-27. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4178618. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
- ^ Flakus, Greg (2005-09-25). "Recovery Beginning in Areas Affected by Hurricane Rita". Voice of America News. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-09/2005-09-25-voa33.cfm. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
- ^ 8th Congressional District of Texas 2007 Appropriations Project Requests. Congressman Kevin Brady, 8th District of Texas. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Houston (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2009-02-28.
- ^ Flood Forecasting for the Buffalo Bayou Using CRWR-PrePro and HEC-HMS. Center for Research in Water Resources, The University of Texas at Austin Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Downtown Houston, Texas. TopoQuest.com Retrieved on 2008-07-05.
- ^ USGS Satsuma (TX) Topo Map. TopoQuest.com. 2008. Retrieved on 2008-07-05. Note: The boundaries of the City of Houston are shown as "HOUSTON CORP BDY" along the dotted line.
- ^ Super Neighborhood# 1-Willowbrook. City of Houston. Retrieved on 2012-05-15.
- ^ a b HOUSTON-GALVESTON, TEXAS Managing Coastal SubsidencePDF (5.89 MB). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ Drinking Water Operations
- ^ Harris County. Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ RICE CULTURE. Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ R. Engelkemeir. "Mapping Active Faults in the Houston Area using LIDAR Data, #50034 (2006)". Online Journal for E&P Geoscientists. http://www.searchanddiscovery.net/documents/2006/06078engelkemeir/index.htm?q=%2Btext%3A%22active+faults+houston+area%22+-isMeetingAbstract%3Amtgabsyes. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Earl R. Verbeek, Karl W. Ratzlaff, Uel S. Clanton. "Faults in Parts of North-Central and Western Houston Metropolitan Area, Texas", United States Geological Survey, 2005-09-16. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
- ^ Sachin D. Shah and Jennifer Lanning-Rush. Principal Faults in the Houston, Texas, Metropolitan Area, U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2012-02-23.
- ^ Texas Earthquakes, University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, July 2001. Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
- ^ "Weather Stats". Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. http://www.visithoustontexas.com/media/statistics/Houston_Stats_Weather. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
- ^ "National Climatic Data Center", National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce, 2004-06-23. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
- ^ "Average Relative Humidity (%)", National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on 2012-02-23.
- ^ Wind - Average Speed (mph). Department of Meteorology, University of Utah. 1993. Retrieved on 2007-01-10
- ^ A MOMENT IN BUILDING. BLUEPRINTS, Volume X, Number 3, Summer 1992. National Building Museum. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ Houston Extremes Data and Annual Summaries. National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Published 2007-01-05. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ "State of the Air 2005, National and Regional Analysis", American Lung Association, page 26, 2005-03-25. Retrieved on 2006-02-17.
- ^ "25 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities", American Lung Association. Retrieved on 2011-06-06.
- ^ "Summary of the Issues", Citizens League for Environmental Action Now , 2004-08-01. Retrieved on 2006-02-17.
- ^ "Summary of the Issues", Citizens League for Environmental Action Now, 2004-08-01. Retrieved on 2006-02-17.
- ^ "Houston (Intercontinental Airport) Climate Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/?n=climate_iah. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ^ "Mean Number of Days with Precipitation .01 inch or More". National Climatic Data Center. http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/prcpdays.html. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ^ Reinhold, Robert. "FOCUS: Houston; A Fresh Approach To Zoning". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/17/realestate/focus-houston-a-fresh-approach-to-zoning.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b "Zoning Without Zoning". planetizen.com. http://www.planetizen.com/node/109. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Lack of zoning has paid off for Houston". chron.com, Houston Chronicle. 2008-05-27. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/steffy/5804649.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "The Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009 - Local Markets, Construction, Home Priceses". Builder Magazine. 2009-02-27. http://www.builderonline.com/local-markets/the-healthiest-housing-markets-for-2009.aspx?page=15. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ a b "Office of the Controller, City of Houston". Summary of Significant Accounting Policies. http://www.houstontx.gov/controller/cafr/cafr2.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Thomas R. Dye. "Local Government in Texas: Cities, Towns, Counties, and Special Districts". Politics in America, Sixth Edition. http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_dye_politics_6/27/7116/1821883.cw/index.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b "City Council". City of Houston eGovernment Center. http://www.houstontx.gov/council/index.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b "Mayor's Office". City of Houston eGovernment Center. http://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/index.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Strong Currents of Change". TIME Magazine. 1979-11-19. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948775,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Matt Stiles (2006-08-10). "City Council may grow by two seats, Houston Chronicle". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4168311. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Aimee Buras, "Clymer Wright, force for Houston term limits, found dead," January 25, 2011". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7397637.html. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ a b c Klineberg, Stephen. Houston Area Survey 1982–2005, Page 40.
- ^ Fortune 500 web site (state: Texas) as retrieved on May 25, 2011
- ^ "Alternative Energy in the Houston Region" (PDF). Greater Houston Partnership. http://www.houston.org/pdf/16BW035.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Alternative Energy in the Houston Region". Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. http://www.visithoustontexas.com/visitors/green/Alternative_Energy_Industry_in_Houston. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ^ "Energy Industry OverviewPDF (24.8 KB)", Greater Houston Partnership. Retrieved on 2009-03-21.
- ^ "Port of Houston FirstsPDF (18.2 KB)", The Port of Houston Authority, 2007-05-15. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
- ^ "General Information", The Port of Houston Authority, 2007-05-15. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
- ^ Bustillo, Miguel (2006-12-28). "Houston is Feeling Energized". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080621065935/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/columnone/la-na-houston28dec28,1,6780480.story?page=1&coll=la-headlines-columnone. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ "Gross Metropolitan Product". Greyhill Advisors. http://greyhill.com/gross-metropolitan-product/. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
- ^ "Gross Area Product by IndustryPDF (28.3 KB)", Greater Houston Partnership. Retrieved on 2009-03-21.
- ^ "Houston: Economy". Advameg Inc.. http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Houston-Economy.html. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
- ^ TRESAUGUE, Matthew (2006-05-17). "Study suggests UH degrees are crucial economic factor". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/3868657.html. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- ^ a b "The Economic Impact of Higher Education on Houston: A Case Study of the University of Houston System" (PDF). University of Houston System. http://www.advancement.uh.edu/impact/download/PDF/EconomicImpactStudy.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
- ^ Badenhausen, Kurt. "2006 Best Places for Business and Careers", Forbes, 2006-05-04. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
- ^ "Houston Facts and Figures". Houstontx.gov. http://www.houstontx.gov/abouthouston/houstonfacts.html. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ^ "Houston Foreign Consulate RepresentationPDF (30.2 KB)", Greater Houston Partnership. Retrieved on 2009-03-21.
- ^ "International Banks in the Houston Area" (PDF). Greater Houston Partnership. http://www.houston.org/pdf/research/18HW010_001.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ Jane Bennett Clark (2008-07-01). "2008 Best Cities, Houston, Texas". Kiplinger.com. http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/2008/05/2008-best-city-houston.html. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "Top 10 Up-And-Coming Tech Cities". Forbes. March 10, 2008. http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/10/columbus-milwaukee-houston-ent-tech-cx_wp_0310smallbizoutlooktechcity.html. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "Fortune 500 2008: Cities". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/cities/. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ Andrew Egan (2008-06-28). "Best Cities For Recent College Grads". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2008/06/26/cities-grads-best-forbeslife-cx_ae_0626realestate.html. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
- ^ "Best Cities To Buy A Home". Forbes,com. July 14, 2008. http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/14/housing-buyers-list-forbeslife-cx_md_0714bestbuy.html. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ Goldwert, Lindsay (2010-12-14). "Houston is top U.S. shopping city, per Forbes; New York comes in 23rd due to sales tax, retail space". Daily News (New York). http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-12-14/entertainment/27084334_1_sales-tax-shopping-centers-shopping-city.
- ^ "Houston Facts and Figures", City of Houston. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
- ^ The Strategic Assessment of the St. Louis Region, 5th editionPDF (4.35 MB). East-West Gateway Council of Governments. 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-11. Page 25 in PDF File, labeled as page 21.
- ^ Houston city, Texas. 2005 American Community Survey Data Profile Highlights, United States Census Bureau. 2005. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
- ^ United States and States R0101. Median Age of the Total Population: 2005. 2005 American Community Survey, United States Census Bureau. 2005. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
- ^ The Face of Texas Jobs, People, Business, Change. D'Ann Petersen and Laila Assanie, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. October 2005. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ Hegstrom, Edward (2006-02-21). "Shadows Cloaking Immigrants Prevent Accurate Count". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3500074.html. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ "Houston, TX 2010 Census Profile". census.gov. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/profile/tx. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "American Factfinder". census.gov. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml?refresh=t#none. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
- ^ "Houston city, Texas - DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000". census.gov. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=16000US4835000&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_DP1&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-_lang=en&-_sse=on. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ^ "Texas - Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990". U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
- ^ "Components of Population Change" (PDF). houston.org. http://www.houston.org/pdf/research/09AW001.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ a b "Foreign Born Population" (PDF). houston.org. http://www.houston.org/pdf/research/09GW025.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ "International Representation in Houston" (PDF). houston.org. http://www.houston.org/pdf/research/18AW001.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ "About the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo" (PDF). hlsr.com. http://www.hlsr.com/m/downloads/08PurposeBrochure.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-28. [dead link]
- ^ "Houston Pride Parade". PrideHouston.com. https://www.pridehouston.org/about/. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ The Original Greek Festival, Houston, Texas. 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-10. Warning: Automatic sound file.
- ^ The Houston International Festival. 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ "The 2004 Top 25 Fairs & Festivals". AmericanStyle Magazine. http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/Buffalo/Top_25_Fairs_Festivals.cfm.html. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ "AmericanStyle Magazine Readers Name 2005 Top 10 Art Fairs and Festivals" (PDF). AmericanStyle Magazine. October 25, 2005. http://www.paradisecityarts.com/public/pdfs/2005top10.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ Ramsey, Cody. "In a state of big, Houston is at the top", Texas Monthly, September 2002. Retrieved December 10, 2002.
- ^ "Houston Arts and Museums". City of Houston eGovernment Center. http://www.houstontx.gov/abouthouston/artsandmuseums.html. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- ^ "About Houston Theater District", Houston Theater District. Retrieved on 2006-12-16. Archived at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Performing Arts Venues", Houston Theater District. Retrieved on 2006-12-16. Archived at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
- ^ "A Brief History of the Art Car Museum", ArtCar Museum of Houston. Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
- ^ 2006 fall edition of International Quilt Festival attracts 53,546 to Houston. Quilts., Inc. Press release published 2006-11-30. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
- ^ Houston Museum District. Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
- ^ Jeanne Claire van Ryzin (April 1, 2006). "Central Austin has the makings of a museum district". Austin360.com. http://www.austin360.com/arts/content/arts/stories/2006/04/1austin.html. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ Houston Museum District Day. Texas Monthly. 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Home Page. Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Houston Museum District. Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ "Bayou Bend Collections and Gardens, Houston, Texas". http://www.museumsusa.org/museums/info/1167540. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ Lomax, John Nova (2007-02-01). "Nobody Gets Out of Here Alive - The Houston Rock Scene and the Cultural Cringe". The Houston Press.
- ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (2005-11-14). "A Place In the Sun - Houston Hip-Hop Takes Over". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/11/14/051114crmu_music. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ The Heritage Society: Walk into Houston's Past. The Heritage Society. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Huber, Kathy. "Houston botanic garden slowly becoming reality." Houston Chronicle. Monday October 30, 2006. Retrieved on November 14, 2011.
- ^ Continental Magazine, March 2008. p.67.
- ^ "2011 City and Neighborhood Rankings". Walk Score. 2011. http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/cities/. Retrieved Aug 28, 2011.
- ^ Marilyn M. Sibley, "NO-TSU-OH," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lln01), accessed March 22, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
- ^ "Houston Press: About Us". Houston Press. http://www.houstonpress.com/about/. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
- ^ "Houston ISD automates lunch", eSchool News online, 2006-02-21. Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
- ^ Private Schools. Houston-Texas-Online. 2004. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Houston Private Schools. HoustonAreaWeb.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ School Art Participation. Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Retrieved on 2007-01-10. Archived at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
- ^ About HAIS. Houston Area Independent Schools. 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ Bonnin, Richard. "Carnegie Foundation Gives University of Houston its Highest Classification for Research Success, Elevating UH to Tier One Status". University of Houston. http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2011articles/Jan2011/011811CarnegieTierOne.php. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
- ^ "UH achieves Tier One status in research". Houston Business Journal. January 21, 2011. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2011/01/21/uh-achieves-tier-one-status-in-research.html. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
- ^ "UH takes big step up to Tier One status". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7386162.html. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
- ^ "University of Houston named Tier One school for research activity". KHOU.com. http://www.khou.com/news/local/University-of-Houston-named-Tier-One-school-for-research-activity-114137594.html. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
- ^ "2010 Top American Research Universities Report". The Center for Measuring University Performance. http://mup.asu.edu/research2010.pdf. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ Khator, Renu (October 4, 2011). "State of the University: Fall 2011". University of Houston. http://www.uh.edu/president/communications/university-community/fall-address-highlights/Fall_Address_Slides_10-3-2011.pdf. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
- ^ "Rice University, Best Colleges 2009". U.S. News & World Report. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/items/3604. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Texas Medical Center - Largest Medical Center (Video HD (English))". Texas Medical Center. http://www.texmedctr.tmc.edu/root/en/GetToKnow/TMCVideo/Largest+Medical+Center+Video+%28HD-English%29.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "Texas Medical Center". www.visithoustontexas.com. http://www.visithoustontexas.com/media/statistics/Houston_Stats_Texas_Medical_Center. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ "Institutional Profile". www.mdanderson.org. http://www.mdanderson.org/About_MDA/Who_We_Are/display.cfm?id=29E3FCE1-2828-11D5-811100508B603A14&method=displayFull. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- ^ "Rice and Baylor College of Medicine extend MOU". Rice University, News & Media. http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=13117. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
- ^ "Quick Facts About The Menninger Clinic". menningerclinic.com, The Menninger Clinic. http://www.menningerclinic.com/about/facts.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "TA Associates - News". Ta.com. 2005-09-01. http://www.ta.com/news/news_detail.asp?id=102. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
- ^ "Census and You" (PDF). US Census Bureau. January 1996. p. 12. http://www.census.gov/prod/1/gen/pio/cay961a2.pdf. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ "Highway SystemPDF (153 KB)", Greater Houston Partnership. Retrieved on 2009-03-21.
- ^ "Which cities have the worst traffic?". CNN. January 20, 2011. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/20/which-cities-have-the-worst-traffic/. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
- ^ About Houston TranStar. Houston TranStar. 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
- ^ "Metro Solutions, Phase 1 and Phase 2" (PDF). Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County. Archived from the original on 2009-02-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20090216085852/http://metrosolutions.org/posted/1068/5_CORR_Brd_Aprvd_w_stat_30x40_v09100web_252126.252126.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2008, State of Texas" (PDF). amtrak.com, Amtrak. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/TEXAS08.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "52 Million Travelers and Over 387,000 Metric Tons of Air Cargo Passed through Houston’s Airports in 2007". fly2houston.com, Houston Airport System. 2008-01-28. http://www.fly2houston.com/0/685923/0/1906D1940/. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "FAA selects the HAS as 2005 Airport of the Year" (Press release). Houston Airport System. 2006-03-24. http://www.fly2houston.com/0/8343/0/1906D1940/. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
- ^ "Statistics: Top 30 World Airports by Passengers" (PDF). Airports Council International. http://www.aci.aero/aci/aci/file/Press%20Releases/2008/TOP30_Passengers_2007.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ About George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Houston Airport System. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ "2005 Total Airline System Passenger Traffic Up 4.6% From 2004" (Press release). Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2006-04-27. http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2006/bts020_06/html/bts020_06.html. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
- ^ "United Continental Holdings, Inc. - Investor Relations - News". http://ir.united.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=83680&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1566843&highlight=. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
- ^ Facts and Figures. Houston Airport System. 2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ "United And Continental Announce Merger Of Equals To Create World-Class Global Airline". http://www.united.com/press/detail/0,7056,62956,00.html. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ Bill Hensel, Jr. (2007-04-05). "Airport designated `model port of entry', Houston Chronicle". chron. com. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2007_4319002. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "William P. Hobby Airport Rated Among Top Five Performing Airports Worldwide". Houston Airport System. 2009-03-10. http://www.fly2houston.com/0/1650213/0/1906/. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "About Ellington Airport". Houston Airport System. http://www.fly2houston.com/EllingtonAbout. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "World's Ten Tallest Cities". Ultrapolis Project. http://www.ultrapolisproject.com/ultrapolis_world_tallest_skylines_cities.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ "Calculated Average Height of the Ten Tallest (CAHTT)", UltrapolisProject.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
- ^ Fast Facts, Downtown Houston[dead link]. Houstondowntown.com 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Residential Real Estate[dead link]. Uptown-houston.com Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ Sarnoff, Nancy (2001-12-14). "Genesis Laying Down Plans for Newest Uptown Condo Highrise". Houston Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2001/12/17/newscolumn3.html. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- ^ Apte, Angela (2001-10-26). "Rising Land Costs Boost Houston's Mid-Rise Market". Houston Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2001/10/29/focus1.html. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
- ^ Commercial Real Estate[dead link]. Uptown-houston.com Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ "Murder Rate in 2005PDF (30.4 KB)," Morgan Quitno. Retrieved on November 29, 2006.
- ^ FBI Uniform 2010 (prov.) Crime Report Table 4 "[1]. Retrieved on July 6, 2011.
- ^ Lee, Renee C.. "Murder, other crimes drop in Hoston", Houston Chronicle, July 26, 2011, p. B2. Retrieved 2006-07-26.
- ^ "Distribution - Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009." U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved on August 11, 2009.
- ^ "CRIME: The Houston Horrors". TIME Magazine. 1973-08-20. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907718-1,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "Beaver Country Times". http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D4MkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ANoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4597,220911&dq. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "Sister cities". City of Houston eGovernment Center. http://www.houstontx.gov/abouthouston/sistercities.html. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
- ^ "About the Formation Of HGA". Houston Grampian Association. 2007. http://www.houstongrampian.com/hga2.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
- ^ "Karachi and Houston declared sister cities". Pakistan Daily, daily.pk. Archived from the original on 2008-06-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20080612091431/http://www.daily.pk/pakistan/international-level/42-international-level/3462-karachi-and-houston-declared-sister-cities.html. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
- ^ "Many US investors soon to visit Karachi". topix.com. http://www.topix.com/forum/world/pakistan/TE18D9UGSS1E6LRA4. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- Houston, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Houston, New York Has a Problem, City Journal, Summer 2008
- 174 Years of Historic Houston Houstonhistory.com. 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-13.
- A thumb-nail history of the city of Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1836 to the year 1912, published 1912, hosted by the Portal to Texas History, republished 2007 by Copano Bay Press.
- True stories of old Houston and Houstonians: historical and personal sketches / by S. O. Young., published 1913, hosted by the Portal to Texas History, republished 2007 by Copano Bay Press.
- Allen, O. Fisher (1936). City of Houston from Wilderness to Wonder. Self Published. NA. .
- Johnston, Marguerite (1991). Houston, The Unknown City, 1836–1946. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0-89096-476-9.
- Miller, Ray (1984). Ray Miller's Houston. Gulf Publishing Company. ISBN 0-88415-081-X.
- Slotboom, Oscar F. "Erik" (2003). Houston Freeways. Oscar F. Slotboom. ISBN 0-9741605-3-9. [4]
- Wilson, Ann Quin (1982). Native Houstonian – A Collective Portrait. The Donning Company – Houston Baptist University Press. 80-27644.
 City of Houston |
|
|
Nickname: Space City
|
|
| Topics |
|
|
| Attractions |
|
|
| Business Districts |
|
|
| Communities |
|
|
| Neighborhoods |
|
|
| Education |
|
|
| Other |
|
|
|
|
|
| Counties |
|
|
|
| "Principal" cities |
|
|
| Other cities |
|
|
Unincorporated
areas |
|
|
| Bodies of water |
|
|
|
Other articles related to Houston
|
|
|
|
|
| A |
|
|
| B |
|
|
| C |
|
|
| D |
|
|
| E |
|
|
| F |
|
|
| G |
|
|
| H |
|
|
| J |
|
|
| K |
|
|
| L |
|
|
| M |
|
|
| N |
|
|
| O |
|
|
| P |
|
|
| Q |
|
|
| R |
|
|
| S |
|
|
| T, U |
|
|
| V, W, Z |
|
|
|
|
![Houston Ship Channel Greater Houston is a leading center for building oilfield equipment.[82] Much of Houston's success as a petrochemical complex is due to its busy man-made ship channel, the Port of Houston.](http://web.archive.org./web/20121029185508/http://cdn1.wn.com/pd/fa/7e/92b5f4efc2b02613bb0f30b47c6e_medium.jpg "Houston Ship Channel Greater Houston is a leading center for building oilfield equipment.[82] Much of Houston's success as a petrochemical complex is due to its busy man-made ship channel, the Port of Houston.")
.JPG)
State of 
){kind=link}
