Houston ( (listen) HEW-stən) is the most
populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and
the fourth most populous city in the United
States, with a census-estimated population
of 2.312 million in 2017. It is the most populous
city in the Southern United States and on
the Gulf Coast of the United States. Located
in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and
the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris
County and the principal city of the Greater
Houston metropolitan area, which is the fifth
most populous metropolitan statistical area
(MSA) in the United States and the second
most populous in Texas after the Dallas-Fort
Worth MSA. With a total area of 627 square
miles (1,620 km2), Houston is the eighth most
expansive city in the United States (including
consolidated city-counties; it is the largest
city in the United States by total area, whose
government is similarly not consolidated with
that of a county or borough).
Houston was founded by land speculators on
August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo
Bayou and White Oak Bayou (a point now known
as Allen's Landing) and incorporated as a
city on June 5, 1837. The city is named after
former General Sam Houston, who was president
of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas'
independence from Mexico at the Battle of
San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of Allen's
Landing. After briefly serving as the capital
of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston
grew steadily into a regional trading center
for the remainder of the 19th century.The
arrival of the 20th century saw a convergence
of economic factors which fueled rapid growth
in Houston, including a burgeoning port and
railroad industry, the decline of Galveston
as Texas' primary port following a devastating
1900 hurricane, the subsequent construction
of the Houston Ship Channel, and the Texas
oil boom. In the mid-20th century, Houston's
economy diversified as it became home to 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.
Houston's economy has a broad industrial base
in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and
transportation. Leading in healthcare sectors
and building oilfield equipment, Houston has
the second most Fortune 500 headquarters of
any U.S. municipality within its city limits
(after New York City). The Port of Houston
ranks first in the United States in international
waterborne tonnage handled and second in total
cargo tonnage handled. Nicknamed the "Space
City", Houston is a global city, with strengths
in culture, medicine, and research. The city
has a population from various ethnic and religious
backgrounds and a large and growing international
community. Houston is the most diverse metropolitan
area in Texas and has been described as the
most racially and ethnically diverse major
metropolis in the U.S. 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 Theater
District and offers year-round resident companies
in all major performing arts.
== History ==
The Allen brothers—Augustus Chapman and
John Kirby—explored town sites on Buffalo
Bayou and Galveston Bay. According to historian
David McComb, "[T]he brothers, on August 26,
1836, bought from Elizabeth E. Parrott, wife
of T.F.L. Parrott and widow of John Austin,
the south half of the lower league [2,214-acre
(896 ha) tract] granted to her by her late
husband. They paid $5,000 total, but only
$1,000 of this in cash; notes made up the
remainder."The Allen brothers ran their first
advertisement for Houston just four days later
in the Telegraph and Texas Register, naming
the notional town in honor of President Sam
Houston. They successfully lobbied the Republic
of Texas Congress to designate Houston as
the temporary capital, agreeing to provide
the new government with a capital building.
About a dozen persons resided in the town
at the beginning of 1837, but that number
grew to about 1,500 by the time the Texas
Congress convened in Houston for the first
time that May.
Houston was granted incorporation on June
5, 1837, with James S. Holman becoming its
first mayor. In the same year, Houston became
the county seat of Harrisburg County (now
Harris County, Texas).In 1839, the Republic
of Texas relocated its capital to Austin.
The town suffered another setback that year
when a yellow fever epidemic claimed about
one life out of every eight residents. Yet
it persisted as a commercial center, forming
a symbiosis with its Gulf Coast port, Galveston.
Landlocked farmers brought their produce to
Houston, using Buffalo Bayou to gain access
to Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico. Houston
merchants profited from selling staples to
farmers and shipping the farmers' produce
to Galveston.The great majority of slaves
in Texas came with their owners from the older
slave states. Sizable numbers, however, came
through the domestic slave trade. New Orleans
was the center of this trade in the Deep South,
but slave dealers were in Houston. Thousands
of enslaved blacks lived near the city before
the Civil War. Many of them near the city
worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while
most of those in the city limits had domestic
and artisan jobs.
In 1840, the community established a chamber
of commerce in part to promote shipping and
navigation at the newly created port on Buffalo
Bayou.
By 1860, Houston had emerged as a commercial
and railroad hub for the export of cotton.
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 Magruder, who used the city
as an organization point for the Battle of
Galveston. 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.
In 1900, after Galveston was struck by a devastating
hurricane, efforts to make Houston into a
viable deep-water port were accelerated. The
following year, the discovery of oil at the
Spindletop oil field near Beaumont prompted
the development of the Texas petroleum industry.
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. African Americans formed a
large part of the city's population, numbering
23,929 people, which was nearly one-third
of the residents.President Woodrow Wilson
opened the deep-water Port of Houston in 1914,
seven years after digging began. By 1930,
Houston had become Texas' most populous city
and Harris County the most populous county.
In 1940, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Houston's
population as 77.5% white and 22.4% black.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
by the defense industry during the war. Ellington
Field, initially built during World War I,
was revitalized as an advanced training center
for bombardiers and navigators. The Brown
Shipbuilding Company was founded in 1942 to
build ships for the U.S. Navy during World
War II. Due to the boom in defense jobs, thousands
of new workers migrated to the city, both
blacks and whites competing for the higher-paying
jobs. President Roosevelt had established
a policy of nondiscrimination for defense
contractors, and blacks gained some opportunities,
especially in shipbuilding, although not without
resistance from whites and increasing social
tensions that erupted into occasional violence.
Economic gains of blacks who entered defense
industries continued in the postwar years.In
1945, the M.D. Anderson Foundation formed
the Texas Medical Center. After the war, Houston's
economy reverted to being primarily port-driven.
In 1948, the city annexed several unincorporated
areas, more than doubling its size. Houston
proper began to spread across the region.In
1950, the availability of air conditioning
provided impetus for many companies to relocate
to Houston, where wages were lower than those
in the North; this resulted in an economic
boom and produced a key shift in the city's
economy toward the energy sector.The increased
production of the expanded shipbuilding industry
during World War II spurred Houston's growth,
as did the establishment in 1961 of NASA's
"Manned Spacecraft Center" (renamed the Lyndon
B. Johnson Space Center in 1973). This was
the stimulus for the development of the city's
aerospace industry. The Astrodome, nicknamed
the "Eighth Wonder of the World", opened in
1965 as the world's first indoor domed sports
stadium.
During the late 1970s, Houston had a population
boom as people from the Rust Belt states moved
to Texas in large numbers. The new residents
came for numerous employment opportunities
in the petroleum industry, created as a result
of the Arab oil embargo. With the increase
in professional jobs, Houston has become a
destination for many college-educated persons,
including African Americans in a reverse Great
Migration from northern areas.
In 1997, Houstonians elected Lee P. Brown
as the city's first African American mayor.In
June 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dumped up
to 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain on parts of
Houston, causing what was then the worst flooding
in the city's history. The storm cost billions
of dollars in damage and killed 20 people
in Texas. By December of the same year, Houston-based
energy company Enron collapsed into the largest
U.S. bankruptcy (at that time), a result of
being investigated for off-the-books partnerships
which were allegedly used to hide debt and
inflate profits. The company lost no less
than $70 billion.In August 2005, Houston became
a shelter to more than 150,000 people from
New Orleans, who evacuated from Hurricane
Katrina. One month later, about 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. In September 2008, Houston was hit
by Hurricane Ike. As many as 40% of residents
refused to leave Galveston Island because
they feared the type of traffic problems that
had happened after Hurricane Rita.
During its recent history, Houston has flooded
several times from heavy rainfall, which has
been becoming increasingly common. This has
been exacerbated by a lack of zoning laws,
which allowed unregulated building of residential
homes and other structures in flood-prone
areas. During the floods in 2015 and 2016,
each of which dropped at least a foot of rain,
parts of the city were covered in several
inches of water. Even worse flooding happened
in late August 2017, when Hurricane Harvey
stalled over southeastern Texas, much like
Tropical Storm Allison did seventeen years
earlier, causing severe flooding in the Houston
area, with some areas receiving over 50 inches
(1,300 mm) of rain. The rainfall exceeded
50 inches in several areas locally, breaking
the national record for rainfall. The damage
for the Houston area is estimated at up to
$125 billion U.S. dollars, and it is considered
to be one of the worst natural disasters in
the history of the United States, with the
death toll exceeding 70 people. On January
31, 2018, the Houston City Council agreed
to forgive large water bills thousands of
households faced in the aftermath of Hurricane
Harvey, as Houston Public Works found 6,362
homeowners' water utility bills had at least
doubled.
== Geography ==
Houston is located 165 miles (266 km) east
of Austin, 88 miles (142 km) west of the Louisiana
border, and 250 miles (400 km) south of Dallas.
The city has a total area of 627 square miles
(1,620 km2); this comprises 599.59 square
miles (1,552.9 km2) of land and 22.3 square
miles (58 km2) covered by water. The Piney
Woods are north of Houston. 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 and are all still visible in surrounding
areas. Flat terrain and extensive greenfield
development have combined to worsen flooding.
Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above
sea level, and the highest point in far northwest
Houston is about 125 feet (38 m) in elevation.
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.
The city owns surface water rights for 1.20
billion gallons of water a day in addition
to 150 million gallons a day of groundwater.Houston
has four major bayous passing through the
city that accept water from the extensive
drainage system. 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;
Brays 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.
=== Geology ===
Houston is a flat marshy area where an extensive
drainage system has been built. The adjoining
prairie land drains into the city which is
prone to flooding. 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.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), including the
Long Point–Eureka Heights fault system which
runs through the center of the city. No significant
historically recorded earthquakes have occurred
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 areas southeast of Houston is
sinking because water has been pumped out
of 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. These faults
also tend to move at a smooth rate in what
is termed "fault creep", which further reduces
the risk of an earthquake.
=== Climate ===
Houston's climate is classified as humid subtropical
(Cfa in the Köppen climate classification
system), typical of the Southern United States.
The city experiences hot, long, and humid
summers, and mild winters. While not located
in Tornado Alley, like much of northern Texas,
spring supercell thunderstorms sometimes bring
tornadoes to the area.Prevailing winds are
from the south and southeast during most of
the year, which bring heat and moisture from
the nearby Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay.During
the summer, temperatures in Houston commonly
reach over 90 °F (32 °C). The city reaches
or surpasses this temperature on an average
of 106.5 days per year, including a majority
of days from June to September; additionally,
an average of 4.6 days per year exceed 100
°F (38 °C). Houston's characteristic subtropical
humidity often results in a higher apparent
temperature, and summer mornings average over
90% relative humidity. Air conditioning is
ubiquitous in Houston; in 1981, annual spending
on electricity for interior cooling exceeded
$600 million (equivalent to $1.62 billion
in 2017), and by the late 1990s, approximately
90% of Houston homes featured air conditioning
systems. The record highest temperature recorded
in Houston is 109 °F (43 °C) at Bush Intercontinental
Airport, during September 4, 2000, and again
on August 28, 2011.Houston has mild winters.
In January, the normal mean temperature at
George Bush Intercontinental Airport is 53.1
°F (12 °C), with an average of 13 days per
year with a low at or below 32 °F (0 °C).
Twenty-first century snow events in Houston
include a storm on December 24, 2004, which
saw 1 inch (3 cm) of snow accumulate in parts
of the metro area, and an event on December
7, 2017, which precipitated 0.7 inches (2
cm) of snowfall. Snowfalls of at least 1.0
inch (2.5 cm) on both December 10, 2008, and
December 4, 2009, marked the first time measurable
snowfall had occurred in two consecutive years
in the city's recorded history. Overall, Houston
has seen measurable snowfall 38 times between
1895 and 2018. On February 14 and 15, 1895,
Houston received 20 inches (51 cm) of snow,
its largest snowfall from one storm on record.
The coldest temperature officially recorded
in Houston was 5 °F (−15 °C) on January
18, 1930.Houston generally receives ample
rainfall, averaging about 49.8 in (1,260 mm)
annually based on records between 1981 and
2010. Many parts of the city have a high risk
of localized flooding due to flat topography,
ubiquitous low-permeability clay-silt prairie
soils, and inadequate infrastructure. During
the mid-2010s, Greater Houston experienced
consecutive major flood events in 2015 ("Memorial
Day"), 2016 ("Tax Day"), and 2017 (Hurricane
Harvey). Overall, there have been more casualties
and property loss from floods in Houston than
in any other locality in the United States.Houston
has excessive ozone levels and is routinely
ranked among the most ozone-polluted cities
in the United States. Ground-level ozone,
or smog, is Houston's predominant air pollution
problem, with the American Lung Association
rating the metropolitan area's ozone level
twelfth on the "Most Polluted Cities by Ozone"
in 2017, after major cities such as Los Angeles,
Phoenix, New York City and Denver. The industries
located along the ship channel are a major
cause of the city's air pollution. The rankings
are in terms of peak-based standards, focusing
strictly on the worst days of the year; the
average ozone levels in Houston are lower
than what is seen in most other areas of the
country, as dominant winds ensure clean, marine
air from the Gulf.
=== Cityscape ===
Houston was incorporated in 1837 and adopted
a ward system of representation shortly afterward
in 1840. The six original wards of Houston
are the progenitors of the 11 modern-day geographically-oriented
Houston City Council districts, though the
city abandoned the ward system in 1905 in
favor of a commission government, and, later,
the existing mayor–council government.
Locations in Houston are generally classified
as either being inside or outside the Interstate
610 loop. The "Inner Loop" encompasses a 97-square-mile
(250 km2) area which includes Downtown, pre–World
War II residential neighborhoods and streetcar
suburbs, and newer high-density apartment
and townhouse developments. Outside the loop,
the city's typology is more suburban, though
many major business districts—such as Uptown,
Westchase, and the Energy Corridor—lie well
outside the urban core. In addition to Interstate
610, two additional loop highways encircle
the city: Beltway 8, with a radius of approximately
10 miles (16 km) from Downtown, and State
Highway 99 (the Grand Parkway), with a radius
of 25 miles (40 km). Approximately 470,000
people live within the Interstate 610 loop,
while 1.65 million live between Interstate
610 and Beltway 8 and 2.25 million live within
Harris County outside Beltway 8.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. 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 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. The city issued 42,697
building permits in 2008 and was ranked first
in the list of healthiest housing markets
for 2009.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.
=== Architecture ===
Houston has the fifth-tallest skyline in North
America (after New York City, Chicago, Toronto
and Miami) and 36th-tallest in the world as
of 2015. A seven-mile (11 km) system of tunnels
and skywalks links 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 midrise office structures.
Downtown was on the threshold of an energy
industry–led boom in 1970. A succession
of skyscrapers was 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,
15th tallest building in the United States,
and the 85th-tallest skyscraper in the world,
based on highest architectural feature. 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 highest
architectural feature, it is the 17th-tallest
in the United States and the 95th-tallest
in the world. In 2007, Downtown had over 43
million square feet (4,000,000 m²) of office
space.Centered on Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer
Road, the Uptown District boomed during the
1970s and early 1980s when a collection of
midrise 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 be the world's tallest
skyscraper outside a central business district.
The new 20-story Skanska building and BBVA
Compass Plaza are the newest office buildings
built in Uptown after 30 years. 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, a mini-boom of midrise and highrise
residential tower construction occurred, with
several over 30 stories tall. Since 2000 over
30 skyscrapers grown up in Houston; all told,
72 high-rises tower over the city, which adds
up to about 8,300 units. 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.
== Demographics ==
The Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban
Research, a think tank, has described Greater
Houston as "one of the most ethnically and
culturally diverse metropolitan areas in the
country". A 2012 Kinder Institute report found
that, based on the evenness of population
distribution between the four major racial
groups in the United States (non-Hispanic
white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, and Asian),
Greater Houston was the most ethnically diverse
metropolitan area in the United States, ahead
of New York City. In 2017, non-Hispanic whites
made up 38% of the population of the Houston
metropolitan area, Hispanics 36%, African-Americans
17%, and Asians 9%.Houston's multiculturalism,
fueled by large waves of immigrants, has been
attributed to its relatively low cost of living,
strong job market, proximity to Latin America,
and role as a hub for refugee resettlement.
At least 145 languages are spoken by city
residents. Greater Houston is one of the youngest
metropolitan areas in the nation, with an
estimated average age of 33.5 in 2014, compared
with the national average of 37.4; the city's
youthfulness has been attributed to an influx
of Hispanic and Asian immigrants into Texas.
As of 2017, an estimated 600,000 undocumented
immigrants reside in the Houston area, comprising
nearly 9% of the metropolitan population.Compared
with its metropolitan area, the city of Houston's
population has a higher proportion of minorities.
According to the 2010 Census, whites made
up 51% of the city of Houston's population;
26% of the total population was non-Hispanic
whites. Blacks or African Americans made up
25% of Houston's population, American Indians
made up 0.7% of the population, Asians made
up 6% (1.7% Vietnamese, 1.3% Chinese, 1.3%
Indian, 0.9% Pakistani, 0.4% Filipino, 0.3%
Korean, 0.1% Japanese) and 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.At the 2000 Census, 1,953,631 people
inhabited the city, and the population density
was 3,371.7 people per square mile (1,301.8/km²).
The racial makeup of the city in 2000 was
49.3% White, 25.3% African American, 6.3%
Asian, 0.7% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific
Islander, 16.5% from some other race, and
3.1% from two or more races. In addition,
Hispanics made up 37.4% of Houston's population
in 2000, while non-Hispanic Whites made up
30.8%. The proportion of non-Hispanic whites
in Houston has decreased significantly since
1970, when it was 62.4%.The median income
for a household in the city was $37,000, and
for a family was $40,000. Males had a median
income of $32,000 versus $27,000 for females.
The per capita income was $20,000. About 19%
of the population and 16% of families were
below the poverty line. 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.
According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research
Center, 73% of the population of the Houston
area identified themselves as Christians,
about 50% of whom claimed Protestant affiliations
and about 19% claimed Roman Catholic affiliations.
Nationwide, about 71% of respondents identified
as Christians. About 20% of Houston-area residents
claimed no religious affiliation, compared
to about 23% nationwide. The same study says
that area residents identifying with other
religions (including Judaism, Buddhism, Islam,
and Hinduism) collectively make up about 7%
of the area population.
== Economy ==
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 the city. The Houston 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 global
management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. The
Houston area is the top U.S. market for exports,
surpassing New York City in 2013, according
to data released by the U.S. Department of
Commerce's International Trade Administration.
In 2012, the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar
Land area recorded $110.3 billion in merchandise
exports. Petroleum products, chemicals, and
oil and gas extraction equipment accounted
for roughly two-thirds of the metropolitan
area's exports last year. The top three destinations
for exports were Mexico, Canada, and Brazil.The
Houston area is a leading center for building
oilfield equipment. Much of its success as
a petrochemical complex is due to its busy
ship channel, the Port of Houston. In the
United States, the port ranks first in international
commerce and 10th among the largest ports
in the world. 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. Houston is the beginning
or end point of numerous oil, gas, and products
pipelines.The Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar
Land MSA's gross domestic product (GDP) in
2016 was $478 billion, making it the sixth-largest
of any metropolitan area in the United States
and larger than Iran's, Colombia's, or the
United Arab Emirates' GDP. Only 27 countries
other than the United States have a gross
domestic product exceeding Houston's regional
gross area product (GAP). In 2010, mining
(which consists almost entirely of exploration
and production of oil and gas in Houston)
accounted 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.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.
This is in addition to the 12,500 new graduates
the U.H. System produces every year who enter
the workforce in Houston and throughout the
state of Texas. These degree-holders tend
to stay in Houston. After five years, 80.5%
of graduates are still living and working
in the region.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.
Ninety-one foreign governments have established
consular offices in Houston's metropolitan
area, the third-highest in the nation. Forty
foreign governments maintain trade and commercial
offices here with 23 active foreign chambers
of commerce and trade associations. Twenty-five
foreign banks representing 13 nations operate
in Houston, providing financial assistance
to the international community.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. The city ranked fourth for
highest increase in the local technological
innovation over the preceding 15 years, according
to Forbes magazine. In the same year, the
city ranked second on the annual Fortune 500
list of company headquarters, first for Forbes
magazine's Best Cities for College Graduates,
and first on their list of Best Cities to
Buy a Home. In 2010, the city was rated the
best city for shopping, according to Forbes.In
2012, the city was ranked number one for paycheck
worth by Forbes and in late May 2013, Houston
was identified as America's top city for employment
creation.
In 2013, Houston was identified as the number
one U.S. city for job creation by the U.S.
Bureau of Statistics after it was not only
the first major city to regain all the jobs
lost in the preceding economic downturn, but
also after the crash, more than two jobs were
added for every one lost. Economist and vice
president of research at the Greater Houston
Partnership Patrick Jankowski attributed Houston's
success to the ability of the region's real
estate and energy industries to learn from
historical mistakes. Furthermore, Jankowski
stated that "more than 100 foreign-owned companies
relocated, expanded or started new businesses
in Houston" between 2008 and 2010, and this
openness to external business boosted job
creation during a period when domestic demand
was problematically low. Also in 2013, Houston
again appeared on Forbes' list of Best Places
for Business and Careers.
== Culture ==
Located in the American South, Houston is
a diverse city with a large and growing international
community. The Houston 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. Additionally,
more than one in five foreign-born residents
are from Asia. The city is home to the nation's
third-largest concentration of consular offices,
representing 86 countries.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 early to late March, and is the
largest annual livestock show and rodeo in
the world. Another large celebration is the
annual night-time Houston Gay Pride Parade,
held at the end of June. Other notable annual
events include the Houston Greek Festival,
Art Car Parade, the Houston Auto Show, the
Houston International Festival, and the Bayou
City Art Festival, which is considered to
be one of the top five art festivals in the
United States.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", "Clutch City",
"Crush City", "Magnolia City", and "H-Town".
=== Arts and theater ===
The Houston Theater District, located in 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. 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, Theatre Under the Stars).
Houston is also home to folk artists, art
groups and various small progressive arts
organizations. Houston attracts many touring
Broadway acts, concerts, shows, and exhibitions
for a variety of interests. 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. Notable facilities 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. 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 most prominent collections of
decorative art, paintings, and furniture.
Bayou Bend is the former home of Houston philanthropist
Ima Hogg.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 widely known for its music scene,
Houston hip-hop has become a significant,
independent music scene that is influential
nationwide.
=== Tourism and recreation ===
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 Bayou
Music Center 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' largest
shopping mall, located in the Uptown District),
Old Market Square, the Downtown Aquarium,
and Sam Houston Race Park.
Houston's current Chinatown and the Mahatma
Gandhi District are two major ethnic enclaves,
reflecting Houston's multicultural makeup.
Restaurants, bakeries, traditional-clothing
boutiques, and specialty shops can be found
in both areas.
Houston is home to 337 parks, including Hermann
Park, Terry Hershey Park, Lake Houston Park,
Memorial Park, Tranquility Park, Sesquicentennial
Park, Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou Park
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. A
proposal has been made to open the city's
first botanic garden at Herman Brown Park.Of
the 10 most populous U.S. cities, Houston
has the most total area of parks and green
space, 56,405 acres (228 km2). 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 a 30,000-ft2 (2,800 m2)in-ground facility.
The Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park—located
in the Uptown District of the city—serves
as a popular tourist attraction and for 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.
Wet'n'Wild SplashTown is a water park located
north of Houston.
The Bayport Cruise Terminal on the Houston
Ship Channel is port of call for both Princess
Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line.
== Sports ==
Houston has sports teams for every major professional
league except the National Hockey League.
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball
expansion team formed in 1962 (known as the
"Colt .45s" until 1965) that won the World
Series in 2017 and previously appeared in
2005. It is the only MLB team to have won
pennants in both modern leagues. The Houston
Rockets are a National Basketball Association
franchise based in the city since 1971. They
have won two NBA Championships: in 1994 and
1995 under star players Hakeem Olajuwon, Otis
Thorpe, Clyde Drexler, Vernon Maxwell, and
Kenny Smith. The Houston Texans are a National
Football League expansion team formed in 2002.
The Houston Dynamo is a Major League Soccer
franchise that has been based in Houston since
2006, winning two MLS Cup titles in 2006 and
2007. The Houston Dash team plays in the National
Women's Soccer League. The Houston SaberCats
are a Rugby team that plays in the Major League
Rugby. Minute Maid Park (home of the Astros)
and Toyota Center (home of the Rockets), are
located in downtown Houston. Houston has the
NFL's first retractable-roof stadium with
natural grass, NRG Stadium (home of the Texans).
Minute Maid Park is also a retractable-roof
stadium. Toyota Center also has the largest
screen for an indoor arena in the United States
built to coincide with the arena's hosting
of the 2013 NBA All-Star Game. BBVA Compass
Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium for the
Houston Dynamo, the Texas Southern Tigers
football team, and Houston Dash, located in
East Downtown. Aveva Stadium (home of the
SaberCats) is located in south Houston. In
addition, NRG Astrodome was the first indoor
stadium in the world, built in 1965. Other
sports facilities include Hofheinz Pavilion
(Houston Cougars basketball), Rice Stadium
(Rice Owls football), and Reliant Arena. TDECU
Stadium is where the University of Houston
Houston Cougars football team plays.
Houston has hosted several major sports events:
the 1968, 1986 and 2004 Major League Baseball
All-Star Games; the 1989, 2006 and 2013 NBA
All-Star Games; Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl
XXXVIII, and Super Bowl LI, as well as hosting
the 1981, 1986, 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals,
winning the latter two, and co-hosting the
2005 World Series and 2017 World Series, winning
the latter. NRG Stadium hosted Super Bowl
LI on February 5, 2017.The city has hosted
several major professional and college sporting
events, including the annual Houston Open
golf tournament. Houston hosts the annual
Houston College Classic baseball tournament
every February and the Texas Bowl in December.The
Grand Prix of Houston, an annual auto race
on the IndyCar Series circuit is held on a
1.7-mile temporary street circuit in Reliant
Park. The October 2013 event was held using
a tweaked version of the 2006–2007 course.
The event has a 5-year race contract through
2017 with IndyCar. In motorcycling, the Astrodome
hosted an AMA Supercross Championship round
from 1974 to 2003 and the NRG Stadium since
2003.
== Government and politics ==
The city of Houston has a strong mayoral form
of municipal government. Houston is a home
rule city and all municipal elections in the
state of Texas are nonpartisan. The city's
elected officials are the mayor, city controller
and 16 members of the Houston City Council.
The current mayor of Houston is Sylvester
Turner, a Democrat elected on a nonpartisan
ballot. 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.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.
At-large council members represent the entire
city. Under the city charter, once the population
in the city limits exceeded 2.1 million residents,
two additional districts were to be added.
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 for, and
the positions filled during, the August 2011
elections.
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. Chris Brown is the city controller,
serving his first term as of January 2016.
As the result of a 2015 referendum in Houston,
a mayor is elected for a four-year term, and
can be elected to as many as two consecutive
terms. The term limits were spearheaded in
1991 by conservative political activist Clymer
Wright. During 1991–2015, the city controller
and city council members were subjected to
a two-year, three-term limitation – the
2015 referendum amended term limits to two
four-year terms. As of 2017 some councilmembers
who served two terms and won a final term
will have served eight years in office, whereas
a freshman councilmember who won a position
in 2013 can serve up to two additional terms
under the previous term limit law – a select
few will have at least 10 years of incumbency
once their term expires.
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 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 of Hispanics (of any race)
in the area are declared or favor Democrats.
The city has often been known to be the most
politically diverse city in Texas, a state
known for being generally conservative. As
a result, the city is often a contested area
in statewide elections. In 2009, Houston became
the first US city with a population over 1
million citizens to elect a gay mayor, by
electing Annise Parker.
=== Crime ===
Houston had 303 homicides in 2015 and 302
homicides in 2016. Officials predicted there
would be 323 homicides in 2016. Instead, there
was no increase in Houston's homicide rate
between 2015 and 2016.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). 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, Dallas, and Philadelphia) according
to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (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. The FBI's Uniform Crime Report
(UCR) indicates a downward trend of violent
crime in Houston over the ten- and twenty-year
periods ending in 2016, which is consistent
with national trends. This trend toward lower
rates of violent crime in Houston includes
the murder rate, though it had seen a four-year
uptick that lasted through 2015. Houston's
violent crime rate is 8.6% percent higher
in 2016 from the previous year. However, from
2006 to 2016, violent crime is still down
12 percent in Houston.Houston is a significant
hub for trafficking of cocaine, cannabis,
heroin, MDMA, and methamphetamine due to its
size and proximity to major illegal drug exporting
nations. Houston is one of the country's largest
hubs for human trafficking.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.
== Education ==
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 and the largest
in Texas. 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, 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.
The Houston area Catholic schools are operated
by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
=== Colleges and universities ===
Four distinct state universities are located
in Houston. The University of Houston (UH)
is a nationally recognized tier one research
university and is the flagship institution
of the University of Houston System. The third-largest
university in Texas, the University of Houston
has nearly 44,000 students on its 667-acre
(270-hectare) campus in the Third Ward. The
University of Houston–Clear Lake and the
University of Houston–Downtown are stand-alone
universities within the University of Houston
System; they are not branch campuses of the
University of Houston. Slightly west of the
University of Houston is Texas Southern University
(TSU), one of the largest and most comprehensive
historically black universities in the United
States with approximately 10,000 students.
Texas Southern University was the first state
university in Houston, founded in 1927.Several
private institutions of higher learning are
located within the city. Rice University,
the most selective university in Texas and
one of the most selective in the United States,
is a private, secular institution with a high
level of research activity. Founded in 1912,
Rice's historic, heavily wooded 300-acre (120-hectare)
campus, located adjacent to Hermann Park and
the Texas Medical Center, hosts approximately
4,000 undergraduate and 3,000 post-graduate
students. To the north in Neartown, the University
of St. Thomas, founded in 1947, is Houston's
only Catholic university. St. Thomas provides
a liberal arts curriculum for roughly 3,000
students at its historic 19-block campus along
Montrose Boulevard. In southwest Houston,
Houston Baptist University (HBU), founded
in 1960, offers bachelor's and graduate degrees
at its Sharpstown campus. The school is affiliated
with the Baptist General Convention of Texas
and has a student population of approximately
3,000.
Three community college districts have campuses
in and around Houston. The Houston Community
College System (HCC) serves most of Houston
proper; its main campus and headquarters are
located in Midtown. Suburban northern and
western parts of the metropolitan area are
served by various campuses of the Lone Star
College System, while the southeastern portion
of Houston is served by San Jacinto College,
and a northeastern portion is served by Lee
College. The Houston Community College and
Lone Star College systems are among the 10
largest institutions of higher learning in
the United States.
Houston also hosts a number of graduate schools
in law and healthcare. The University of Houston
Law Center and Thurgood Marshall School of
Law at Texas Southern University are public,
ABA-accredited law schools, while the South
Texas College of Law, located in Downtown,
serves as a private, independent alternative.
The Texas Medical Center is home to a high
density of health professions schools, including
two medical schools: McGovern Medical School,
part of The University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston, and Baylor College of Medicine,
a highly selective private institution. Prairie
View A&M University's nursing school is located
in the Texas Medical Center. Additionally,
both Texas Southern University and the University
of Houston have pharmacy schools, and the
University of Houston hosts a college of optometry.
== Media ==
The primary network-affiliated television
stations are KPRC-TV (NBC), KHOU (CBS), KTRK-TV
(ABC), KRIV (Fox), KIAH (The CW), and KTXH
(MyNetworkTV). KTRK-TV, KRIV and KTXH operate
as owned-and-operated stations of their networks.
The Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan
area is served by one public television station
and one public radio station. KUHT (Houston
Public Media) is a PBS member station and
is the first public television station in
the United States. Houston Public Radio is
listener-funded and comprises one NPR member
station, KUHF (News 88.7). The University
of Houston System owns and holds broadcasting
licenses to KUHT and KUHF. 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—which was a free alternative weekly
newspaper before the destruction caused by
Hurricane Harvey resulted in the publication
switching to an online-only format on November
2, 2017.
== Infrastructure ==
=== Healthcare ===
Houston is the seat of the internationally
renowned Texas Medical Center, which contains
the world's largest concentration of research
and healthcare institutions. 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.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, Houston
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. The Menninger Clinic, a renowned
psychiatric treatment center, is affiliated
with Baylor College of Medicine and the Houston
Methodist Hospital System. With hospital locations
nationwide and headquarters in Houston, the
Triumph Healthcare hospital system is the
third largest long term acute care provider
nationally. Legacy Community Health has opened
over 10 locations in Houston, and has been
continually expanding in recent years.
== Transportation ==
Houston is considered an automobile-dependent
city, with an estimated 77.2% of commuters
driving alone to work in 2016, up from 71.7%
in 1990 and 75.6% in 2009. In 2016, another
11.4% of Houstonians carpooled to work, while
3.6% used public transit, 2.1% walked, and
0.5% bicycled. A commuting study estimated
that the median length of commute in the region
was 12.2 miles (19.6 km) in 2012. According
to the 2013 American Community Survey, the
average work commute in Houston (city) takes
26.3 minutes. A 1999 Murdoch University study
found that Houston had both the lengthiest
commute and lowest urban density of 13 large
American cities surveyed, and a 2017 Arcadis
study ranked Houston 22nd out of 23 American
cities in transportation sustainability. Harris
County is one of the largest consumers of
gasoline in the United States, ranking second
(behind Los Angeles County) in 2013.Despite
the region's high rate of automobile usage,
attitudes towards transportation among Houstonians
indicate a growing preference for walkability.
A 2017 study by the Rice University Kinder
Institute for Urban Research found that 56%
of Harris County residents have a preference
for dense housing in a mixed-use, walkable
setting as opposed to single-family housing
in a low-density area. A plurality of survey
respondents also indicated that traffic congestion
was the most significant problem facing the
metropolitan area. In addition, many households
in the City of Houston have no car. In 2015,
8.3 percent of Houston households lacked a
car, which was virtually unchanged in 2016
(8.1 percent). The national average was 8.7
percent in 2016. Houston averaged 1.59 cars
per household in 2016, compared to a national
average of 1.8.
=== Roadways ===
The eight-county Greater Houston metropolitan
area contains over 25,000 miles (40,000 km)
of roadway, of which 10%, or approximately
2,500 miles (4,000 km), is limited-access
highway. The Houston region's extensive freeway
system handles over 40% of the regional daily
vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Arterial roads
handle an additional 40% of daily VMT, while
toll roads, of which Greater Houston has 180
miles (290 km), handle nearly 10%.Greater
Houston possesses a hub-and-spoke limited-access
highway system, in which a number of freeways
radiate outward from Downtown, with ring roads
providing connections between these radial
highways at intermediate distances from the
city center. The city is crossed by three
Interstate highways, Interstate 10, Interstate
45, and Interstate 69 (commonly known as U.S.
Route 59), as well as a number of other United
States routes and state highways. Major freeways
in Greater Houston are often referred to by
either the cardinal direction or geographic
location they travel towards. Highways that
follow the cardinal convention include U.S.
Route 290 (Northwest Freeway), Interstate
45 north of Downtown (North Freeway), Interstate
10 east of Downtown (East Freeway), Texas
State Highway 288 (South Freeway), and Interstate
69 south of Downtown (Southwest Freeway).
Highways that follow the location convention
include Interstate 10 west of Downtown (Katy
Freeway), Interstate 69 north of Downtown
(Eastex Freeway), Interstate 45 south of Downtown
(Gulf Freeway), and Texas State Highway 225
(La Porte or Pasadena Freeway).
Three loop freeways provide north-south and
east-west connectivity between Greater Houston's
radial highways. The innermost loop is Interstate
610, commonly known as the Inner Loop, which
encircles Downtown, the Texas Medical Center,
Greenway Plaza, the cities of West University
Place and Southside Place, and many core neighborhoods.
The 88-mile (142 km) State Highway Beltway
8, often referred to as the Beltway, forms
the middle loop at a radius of roughly 10
miles (16 km). A third, 180-mile (290 km)
loop with a radius of approximately 25 miles
(40 km), State Highway 99 (the Grand Parkway),
is currently under construction, with six
of eleven segments completed as of 2018. Completed
segments D through G provide a continuous
70.4-mile (113.3 km) limited-access tollway
connection between Sugar Land, Katy, Cypress,
Spring, and Porter.A system of toll roads,
operated by the Harris County Toll Road Authority
(HCTRA) and Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority
(FBCTRA), provides additional options for
regional commuters. The Sam Houston Tollway,
which encompasses the mainlanes of Beltway
8 (as opposed to the frontage roads, which
are untolled), is the longest tollway in the
system, covering the entirety of the Beltway
with the exception of a free section between
Interstate 45 and Interstate 69 near George
Bush Intercontinental Airport. The region
is serviced by four spoke tollways: a set
of managed lanes on the Katy Freeway; the
Hardy Toll Road, which parallels Interstate
45 north of Downtown up to Spring; the Westpark
Tollway, which services Houston's western
suburbs out to Fulshear; and Fort Bend Parkway,
which connects to Sienna Plantation. Westpark
Tollway and Fort Bend Parkway are operated
conjunctly with the Fort Bend County Toll
Road Authority.
Greater Houston's freeway system is monitored
by Houston TranStar, a partnership of four
government agencies which is responsible for
providing transportation and emergency management
services to the region.Greater Houston's arterial
road network is established at the municipal
level, with the City of Houston exercising
planning control over both its incorporated
area and extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
Therefore, Houston exercises transportation
planning authority over a 2,000-square-mile
(5,200 km2) area over five counties, many
times larger than its corporate area. The
Major Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan, updated
annually, establishes the city's street hierarchy,
identifies roadways in need of widening, and
proposes new roadways in unserved areas. Arterial
roads are organized into four categories,
in decreasing order of intensity: major thoroughfares,
transit corridor streets, collector streets,
and local streets. Roadway classification
affects anticipated traffic volumes, roadway
design, and right of way breadth. Ultimately,
the system is designed to ferry traffic from
neighborhood streets to major thoroughfares,
which connect into the limited-access highway
system. Notable arterial roads in the region
include Westheimer Road, Memorial Drive, Texas
State Highway 6, Farm to Market Road 1960,
Bellaire Boulevard, and Telephone Road.
=== Transit ===
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris
County (METRO) provides public transportation
in the form of buses, light rail, high-occupancy
vehicle (HOV) lanes, and paratransit to fifteen
municipalities throughout the Greater Houston
area and parts of unincorporated Harris County.
METRO's service area covers 1,303 square miles
(3,370 km2) containing a population of 3.6
million.METRO's local bus network services
approximately 275,000 riders daily with a
fleet of over 1,200 buses. The agency's 75
local routes contain nearly 8,900 stops and
saw nearly 67 million boardings during the
2016 fiscal year. A park and ride system provides
commuter bus service from 34 transit centers
scattered throughout the region's suburban
areas; these express buses operate independently
of the local bus network and utilize the region's
extensive system of HOV lanes. Downtown and
the Texas Medical Center have the highest
rates of transit use in the region, largely
due to the park and ride system, with nearly
60% of commuters in each district utilizing
public transit to get to work.METRO began
light rail service in 2004 with the opening
of the 8-mile (13 km) north-south Red Line
connecting Downtown, Midtown, the Museum District,
the Texas Medical Center, and NRG Park. In
the early 2010s, two additional lines—the
Green Line, servicing the East End, and the
Purple Line, servicing the Third Ward—opened,
and the Red Line was extended northward to
Northline, bringing the total length of the
system to 22.7 miles (36.5 km). Two light
rail lines outlined in a five-line system
approved by voters in a 2003 referendum have
yet to be constructed. The Uptown Line, which
would run along Post Oak Boulevard in Uptown,
is currently under construction as a bus rapid
transit line—the city's first—while the
University Line has been postponed indefinitely.
The light rail system saw approximately 16.8
million boardings in fiscal year 2016.Amtrak,
the national passenger rail system, provides
service three times a week to Houston via
the Sunset Limited (Los Angeles–New Orleans),
which stops at the Houston Amtrak Station
northwest of Downtown. The station saw 14,891
boardings and alightings in fiscal year 2008.
In 2012, there was a 25 percent increase in
ridership to 20,327 passengers embarking from
the Houston Amtrak Station.
=== Cycling ===
Houston City Council approved the Houston
Bike Plan in March 2017, at that time entering
the plan into the Houston Code of Ordinances.Houston
has the largest number of bike commuters in
Texas with over 160 miles of dedicated bikeways.
The city is currently in the process of expanding
its on and off street bikeway network. In
2015, downtown Houston added a cycle track
on Lamar Street, running from Sam Houston
Park to Discovery Green. In August 2017, Houston
City Council approved spending for construction
of 13 additional miles of bike trails.Houston's
bicycle sharing system started service with
nineteen stations in May 2012. Houston Bcycle
(also known as B-Cycle), a local non-profit,
runs the subscription program, supplying bicycles
and docking stations, while partnering with
other companies to maintain the system. The
network expanded to 29 stations and 225 bicycles
in 2014, registering over 43,000 checkouts
of equipment during the first half of the
same year. In 2017, Bcycle logged over 142,000
check outs while expanding to 56 docking stations.
=== Airports ===
The Houston Airport System, a branch of the
municipal government, oversees the operation
of three major public airports in the city.
Two of these airports, George Bush Intercontinental
Airport and William P. Hobby Airport, offer
commercial aviation service to a variety of
domestic and international destinations and
served 55 million passengers in 2016. The
third, Ellington Airport, is home to the Ellington
Field Joint Reserve Base. The Federal Aviation
Administration and the state of Texas selected
the Houston Airport System as "Airport of
the Year" in 2005, largely due to the implementation
of a $3.1 billion airport improvement program
for both major airports in Houston.George
Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), located
23 miles (37 km) north of Downtown Houston
between Interstates 45 and 69, is the eighth-busiest
commercial airport in the United States (by
total passengers and aircraft movements) and
forty third-busiest globally. The five-terminal,
five-runway, 11,000-acre (4,500-hectare) airport
served 40 million passengers in 2016, including
10 million international travelers. In 2006,
the United States Department of Transportation
named IAH the fastest-growing of the top ten
airports in the United States. The Houston
Air Route Traffic Control Center is located
at Bush Intercontinental.
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 is currently
United Airlines' second-largest hub, behind
O'Hare International Airport. United Airlines'
share of the Houston Airport System's commercial
aviation market was nearly 60% in 2017 with
16 million enplaned passengers. In early 2007,
Bush Intercontinental Airport was named a
model "port of entry" for international travelers
by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.William
P. Hobby Airport (HOU), known as Houston International
Airport until 1967, operates primarily short-
to medium-haul domestic and international
flights to 60 destinations. The four-runway,
1,304-acre (528-hectare) facility is located
approximately 7 miles (11 km) southeast of
Downtown Houston. In 2015, Southwest Airlines
launched service from a new international
terminal at Hobby to several destinations
in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
These were the first international flights
flown from Hobby since the opening of Bush
Intercontinental in 1969. 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.Houston's third municipal
airport is Ellington Airport, used by the
military, government (including NASA) and
general aviation sectors.
== Sister cities ==
The Houston Office of Protocol and International
Affairs is the city's liaison to Houston's
sister cities and to the national governing
organization, Sister Cities International.
Through their official city-to-city relationships,
these volunteer associations promote people-to-people
diplomacy and encourage citizens to develop
mutual trust and understanding through commercial,
cultural, educational, and humanitarian exchanges.
== See also ==
List of people from Houston
== Notes
