Arterial roads are organized into four categories, in decreasing order of intensity: major thoroughfares, transit corridor streets, collector streets, and local streets. The city of Houston was founded by land investors on August 30, 1836,[9] 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. [188] 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. People. The Bayou Music Center stages live concerts, stage plays, and stand-up comedy. There were 14,891 boardings and alightings in FY2008,[328] 20,327 in FY2012,[329] and 20,205 in FY2018. [323], Amtrak's thrice-weekly Los AngelesNew Orleans Sunset Limited serves Houston at a station northwest of Downtown. 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. In 2000 there were over 41 mosques and storefront religious centers, with the largest being the Al-Noor Mosque (Mosque of Light) of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. A succession of skyscrapers was built throughout the 1970smany by real estate developer Gerald D. Hinesculminating with Houston's tallest skyscraper, the 75-floor, 1,002-foot (305m)-tall JPMorgan Chase Tower (formerly the Texas Commerce Tower), completed in 1982. [144], At the 2000 U.S. census, the racial makeup of the city in was 49.3% White, 25.3% Black or African American, 5.3% Asian, 0.7% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 16.5% from some other race, and 3.1% from two or more races. The Grand Prix of Houston, an annual auto race on the IndyCar Series circuit was held on a 1.7-mile temporary street circuit in NRG Park. Had these floodplain development rules had been in place all along, it is estimated that 84% of homes in the 100-year and 500-year floodplains would have been spared damage. During the American Civil War, Houston served as a headquarters for Confederate Major General John B. Magruder, who used the city as an organization point for the Battle of Galveston. [200] The city ranked fourth for highest increase in the local technological innovation over the preceding 15 years, according to Forbes magazine. Based on highest architectural feature, it is the 21st-tallest in the United States. Nationwide, about 71% of respondents identified as Christians. Consequently, rather than a single central business district as the center of the city's employment, multiple districts and skylines have grown throughout the city in addition to Downtown, which include Uptown, the Texas Medical Center, Midtown, Greenway Plaza, Memorial City, the Energy Corridor, Westchase, and Greenspoint. 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 hosting the 2005 World Series, 2017 World Series, 2019 World Series, 2021 World Series and 2022 World Series. 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. NRG Stadium hosted Super Bowl LI on February 5, 2017. [245] The Houston Texans are a National Football League expansion team formed in 2002. [11][65] The city owns surface water rights for 1.20billion US gallons (4.5Gl) of water a day in addition to 150million US gallons (570Ml) a day of groundwater. [45], Houston has continued to grow into the 21st century, with the population increasing 17% from 2000 to 2019.[46]. [312] According to the 2013 American Community Survey, the average work commute in Houston (city) takes 26.3 minutes. [180][181] The city has also been a growing hub for technology startup firms. By 1910, the city's population had reached 78,800, almost doubling from a decade before. [156][157] Historically, Houston has been a center of Protestant Christianity, being part of the Bible Belt. [10][11] The city is named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas's independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40km) east of Allen's Landing. KTRK-TV, KTXH, KRIV, KTXH, KIAH, KXLN-DT, KTMD-TV, KPXB-TV, KYAZ and KFTH-DT operate as owned-and-operated stations of their networks.[295]. WebIn 1850, Houston had 115 males for every hundred females, and this ratio increased to 136 per hundred by 1860. [246] The Houston SaberCats are a rugby team that plays in Major League Rugby. [64] 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 of Houston Health Department also operates four clinics. [60] Most of Houston is on the gulf coastal plain, and its vegetation is classified as Western Gulf coastal grasslands while further north, it transitions into a subtropical jungle, the Big Thicket. [162] According to the list, Houston and Dallas were tied as the second-most popular city for megachurches. [186] Much of its success as a petrochemical complex is due to its busy ship channel, the Port of Houston. [82], Houston had the fifth-tallest skyline in North America (after New York City, Chicago, Toronto and Miami) and 36th-tallest in the world in 2015. [35], Houston is home to one of the largest LGBT communities and pride parades in the United States. Houston's total crime rate including violent and nonviolent crimes decreased by 11 percent. QuickFacts provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more. [211], Many annual events celebrate the diverse cultures of Houston. Across Houstons three-county area, the population has grown by 124% since 1980, from 2.7 million to almost 6 million in 2017. [24] 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. [331], Houston has the largest number of bike commuters in Texas with over 160 miles of dedicated bikeways. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the seventh-largest school district in the UnitedStates and the largest in Texas. 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. This article is about the city in the U.S. state of Texas. Before Hurricane Harvey, the city had bought $10.7 million in houses in this area specifically to take them out of danger. [13][14] The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. Eric Boerwinkle, PhD, dean of the School of Public Health, said a strategic vision for improving population health that includes the implementation and scale-up of [196] Ninety-one foreign governments have established consular offices in Houston's metropolitan area, the third-highest in the nation. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District, and offers year-round resident companies in all major performing arts. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Houston is recognized worldwide for its energy industryparticularly for oil and natural gasas well as for biomedical research and aeronautics. The 88-mile (142km) State Highway Beltway8, often referred to as the Beltway, forms the middle loop at a radius of roughly 10 miles (16km). Anglo Population by Metro Area Among the nations 50 most populous metros, Houston has the 12th largest Anglo population. [30], In 1900, after Galveston was struck by a devastating hurricane, efforts to make Houston into a viable deep-water port were accelerated. Flooding has been a recurring problem in the Houston area, exacerbated by a lack of zoning laws, which allowed unregulated building of residential homes and other structures in flood-prone areas. In the 1960s, Downtown Houston consisted of a collection of mid-rise office structures. [349], Houston's third municipal airport is Ellington Airport, used by the military, government (including NASA) and general aviation sectors. The city controller is elected independently of the mayor and council. Bayou Bend is the former home of Houston philanthropist Ima Hogg.[237]. Therefore, Houston exercises transportation planning authority over a 2,000-square-mile (5,200km2) area over five counties, many times larger than its corporate area. These degree-holders tend to stay in Houston. In addition to Interstate 610, two additional loop highways encircle the city: Beltway 8, with a radius of approximately 10 miles (16km) from Downtown, and State Highway 99 (the Grand Parkway), with a radius of 25 miles (40km). [119] Under Texas law Harris County, like other more rural Texas counties, cannot direct developers where to build or not build via land use controls such as a zoning ordinance, and instead can only impose general floodplain regulations for enforcement during subdivision approvals and building permit approvals.[119]. Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. 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. The Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Parkin the Uptown District of the cityserves as a popular tourist attraction and for weddings and various celebrations. [182] Major technology and software companies within Greater Houston include Crown Castle, KBR, Cybersoft, Houston Wire & Cable, and HostGator. NA. The city's fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. [102], Houston generally receives ample rainfall, averaging about 49.8in (1,260mm) annually based on records between 1981 and 2010. The Houston Post was owned by the family of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby of Houston. [124] The median age was 33.1, up from 32.9 in 2017 and down from 33.5 in 2014; the city's youthfulness has been attributed to an influx of an African American New Great Migration, Hispanic and Latino American, and Asian immigrants into Texas. Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle.[7]. [210] The city is home to the nation's third-largest concentration of consular offices, representing 92 countries. [341] In 2006, the United States Department of Transportation named IAH the fastest-growing of the top ten airports in the United States. 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. In 2015, 8.3 percent of Houston households lacked a car, which was virtually unchanged in 2016 (8.1 percent). The U.S. incarcerates 530 people for every 100,000 in its population, making it one of the worlds biggest jailers just below El Salvador, Rwanda and Turkmenistan. At least 11 other states have, too", "U.S. Cities Prepare For Planned ICE Raids", "Houston homicide rate changes little in 2016", New FBI stats suggest crime's in decline in Houston, "FBI report: Houston's murder rate down, violent crime increases", "Distribution Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009", "Residents of Houston Curbing Murder Talk", "Two Worlds a Mile Apart: A Brief History of the Fourth Ward", "Carnegie Foundation Gives University of Houston its Highest Classification for Research Success, Elevating UH to Tier One Status", "UH achieves Tier One status in research", "UH takes big step up to Tier One status", "Histories of TSU and UH marked by segregation", "Rice tops the list of 25 hardest colleges to get into in Texas", "Largest HBCU In The Nation: Top 10 Black Colleges By Enrollment", "4 Texas Southern University graduates turned black history trailblazers", "Telemundo Station Group, part of the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations division", "Houston Press Shutters Its Print Operation", "Best Local Magazine: OutSmart | Best of Houston 2008: Your Key to the City", "Texas Medical Center, largest medical complex in the world, reaches 98 percent ICU capacity", "Texas Medical Center Largest Medical Center (Video HD (English))", "Rice and Baylor College of Medicine extend MOU", "Fort Bend County lacks hospital district", "2016 American Community Survey, 1-year estimates: Commuting Characteristics by Sex", "Transit Mode Share Trends Looking Steady; Rail Appears to Encourage Non-Automobile Commutes", "The growing distance between people and jobs in metropolitan America", "Commuting to Work in the Largest 30 U.S. Cities", "Patterns of automobile dependence in cities: an international overview of key physical and economic dimensions with some implications for urban policy", "Study: Houston among cities with poor sustainable transit systems", "Four Texas counties rank among nation's top ten for gasoline consumption", "The Kinder Houston Area Survey: Thirty-Six Years of Measuring Responses to a Changing America", "Car Ownership in U.S. Cities Data and Map", "Major Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan Policy Statement", "Gulf Coast Regionally Coordinated Transportation Plan 2016 Transportation Resource Inventory Update", "2040 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP)", "Vote against Metro referendum could mean more rail", "Metro's Silver Line starts, first of many bus rapid transit planned in region in lieu of rail", "Federal funding pulled for light rail line construction along Richmond Avenue", "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2008, State of Texas", "Amtrak ridership up in Houston area, Brookings Institution reports", "Texas Eagle Thruway Motorcoach Schedules", "Hike and bike trail extensions coming to four bayous", "Houston saddles up for downtown bike share program", "Houston bikesharing program enjoys robust growth", "Houston Bike Share names new executive director", "FAA selects the HAS as 2005 Airport of the Year", "George Bush Intercontinental Airport Fact Sheet", "2005 Total Airline System Passenger Traffic Up 4.6% From 2004", "United Continental Planning Houston Flight Resumption", "Houston Airport System Statistical Report: 2017 Fiscal Year Summary", "Airport designated 'model port of entry', "Southwest launches new international service at Houston Hobby Airport today", "William P. Hobby Airport Rated Among Top Five Performing Airports Worldwide", "Houston William P. Hobby Airport is the first 5-Star Airport in North America", "Houston City Council unanimously approves Sister City Agreement between Houston, Texas and Basrah, Iraq", Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) Houston Chamber, Greater Houston Transportation and Emergency Management Center, San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, list of cities and towns in HoustonThe WoodlandsSugar Land MSA, National Register of Historic Places Sites, cities with populations exceeding 100,000, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Houston&oldid=1141408310, 1836 establishments in the Republic of Texas, Former state capitals in the United States, Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments, Articles with dead external links from April 2020, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Pages using infobox settlement with possible nickname list, Articles with disputed statements from January 2020, Articles containing potentially dated statements from January 2016, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2019, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2011, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2018, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Articles needing additional references from December 2020, All articles needing additional references, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Pages using Sister project links with default search, Articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Source: NOAA (relative humidity and dew point 19691990, sun 19611990), This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 22:48.