Houston

Houston, Texas 

Houston, an inland port city in the Texas counties of Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery, serves as the county seat for Harris since 1836. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway at Galveston, which is located 50 miles (80 km) to the southeast via the Houston Ship Channel. The fourth-largest city in the United States and the most populated city in the state is Houston. The Gulf Coastal Plain, which at Houston is located at a height of about 55 feet (17 meters) above sea level and is divided by a number of bayous, is where its skyscrapers rise. The city is known for its sweltering summers, and the area has a warm and humid environment. Other significant cities in the Houston metro area, in addition to Galveston, are Baytown, League City, Missouri City, Pasadena, Sugar Land, and Texas City. Inc. 1837. 601 square miles in size (1,559 square km). Pop. (2020) 2,304,580; Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metro Area, 7,122,240; (2010) 2,099,451; Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metro Area, 5,946,800. 

Architecture 

In 2015, Houston's skyline ranked 36th in the world and sixth in North America (after New York City, Chicago, Toronto, and Miami). In order to avoid the summer heat and rain when traveling between buildings, a seven-mile (11-km) network of tunnels and skywalks connects Downtown buildings housing stores and restaurants. Downtown Houston in the 1960s was made up of a variety of mid-rise office buildings. In 1970, downtown was on the verge of a boom driven by the energy sector. A series of skyscrapers were constructed throughout the 1970s, many of which were the work of real estate developer Gerald D. Hines. The tallest skyscraper in Houston is the 75-floor, 1,002-foot (305 m) JPMorgan Chase Tower (formerly the Texas Commerce Tower), which was finished in 1982. Based on highest architectural feature, it is the tallest building in Texas, the 19th tallest building in the United States, and it was formerly the 85th tallest skyscraper in the entire globe. The second-tallest structure in Houston and Texas, the 992-foot (302 m)-tall Wells Fargo Plaza (formerly known as Allied Bank Plaza), was finished in 1983. It has 71 floors. It ranks as the 21st tallest building in the country based on its highest architectural element. Office space in Downtown was more over 43 million square feet (4,000,000 m2) in 2007.

The Uptown District, which is centered on Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road, experienced a boom in the 1970s and early 1980s when a number of midrise office buildings, hotels, and retail projects popped up beside Interstate 610 West. One of the most notable examples of an edge city was Uptown. Williams Tower, a 901-foot (275 m) tall monument constructed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, is the tallest structure in Uptown (known as the Transco Tower until 1999). It was thought to be the tallest skyscraper outside of a major business area at the time it was being built. After 30 years, the newest office buildings in Uptown are the 20-story Skanska building and BBVA Compass Plaza. Additional structures created by renowned architects I can be found in the Uptown District. Philip Johnson, César Pelli, and M. Pei. The development of midrise and highrise residential towers, some of which were over 30 floors tall, had a minor boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In Houston, more than 30 skyscrapers have been built since 2000; altogether, 72 high-rises tower over the city, housing a total of around 8,300 units. More than 23 million square feet (2,100,000 m2) of office space, including 16 million square feet (1,500,000 m2) of class A office space, were present in Uptown in 2002. 

Climate 

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Houston's climate is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa), which is typical of the South. Although the region is not in Tornado Alley, like most of Northern Texas, spring supercell thunderstorms can occasionally produce tornadoes. Most of the year, the predominant winds come from the south and southeast, which bring heat and moisture from the adjacent Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay. Average summertime highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher occur on 106.5 days a year, with the majority of those days falling between June and September. In addition, 100 °F (37.8 °C) or above is reached on 4.6 days on average per year. Houston's typical subtropical humidity causes higher apparent temperatures frequently, and summer morning relative humidity averages over 90%. In 1981, power costs for interior cooling in Houston exceeded $600 million annually (equivalent to $1.79 billion in 2021), and by the late 1990s, about 90% of residences in the city had air conditioning systems. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, saw temperatures of 109 °F (43 °C) on September 4, 2000, and again on August 27, 2011. 

Winters in Houston are generally pleasant with sporadic cold snaps. At George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the average monthly high is 53 °F (12 °C), and the average monthly low is 32 °F (0 °C).

These average low temperatures typically occur between December 3 and February 20, giving plants 286 days to grow. Two snowfalls that occurred in Houston in the twenty-first century are the storm on December 24, 2004, which dumped 1 inch (3 cm) of snow in some areas of the metro area, and the storm on December 7, 2017. In the city's documented history, snowfalls of at least one inch (2.5 cm) occurred on December 10, 2008, and December 4, 2009, making this the first instance of consecutive years with measurable snowstorm. Between 1895 and 2018, there were 38 occasions when appreciable snowfall was recorded in Houston. Houston recorded its biggest single-storm snowfall of 20 inches (51 cm) on February 14 and 15, 1895. On January 18, 1930, Houston officially recorded its coldest temperature of 5 °F (about 15 °C). On December 23, 1989, Houston last saw temperatures below zero. Bush Airport experienced its coldest temperature ever when the outside temperature fell to 7 °F (14 °C). At George Bush Intercontinental Airport, 1.7 inches of snow fell the day before.

On average, Houston receives 49.8 inches (1,260 mm) of rain year, according to records from 1981 to 2010. Due to the city's flat topography, the prevalence of low-permeability clay-silt prairie soils, and inadequate infrastructure, many areas of the city are at risk of localized flooding. Greater Houston experienced three consecutive major flood events in 2015 (Memorial Day), 2016 (Tax Day), and 2017 during the middle of the 2010s (Hurricane Harvey). In general, Houston has seen more flood-related fatalities and property losses than any other city in the country. The majority of rainfall falls between April and October, during Southeast Texas' rainy season, as a result of the city's substantial evaporation of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. 

Houston consistently ranks among the most ozone-polluted cities in the US due to its high ozone levels. Houston's main source of air pollution is ground-level ozone, also known as smog. In 2017, the American Lung Association ranked Houston's metropolitan area as the tenth most polluted city by ozone, behind well-known cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York City, and Denver. The ship channel's industries are a significant contributor to the city's air pollution. The typical ozone levels in Houston are lower than what are observed in most other parts of the country, as dominant breezes assure clean, marine air from the Gulf. The rankings are in terms of peak-based standards, focusing only on the worst days of the year. The Houston region experienced a sustained rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide as a result of excessive human-made emissions. This spike, which is frequently referred to as the "CO2 urban dome," is caused by a confluence of high emissions and stale air conditions. Additionally, Houston is the only metro area with fewer than 10 million residents where a CO2 dome of this kind can be seen by satellites. 

Demographics 

A total of 2,304,280 people were counted in Houston according to the 2020 U.S. census. The population was projected by the census to be 2,312,717 in 2017 and 2,325,502 in 2018. In 2017, the Houston metro area's estimated 600,000 illegal residents—or close to 9% of the city's metropolitan population—lived there. Houston's population increased from 2,396 in the 1850 census to 2,100,263 in the 2010 United States census. The age distribution in Houston was as follows: 482,402 under the age of 15, 144,196 between the ages of 15 and 19, 594,477 between the ages of 20 and 34, 591,561 between the ages of 35 and 54, 402,804 between the ages of 55 and 74, and 101,357 between the ages of 75 and older.

The city's median age was 33.4. The age distribution in Houston was estimated to be 486,083 people under the age of 15, 147,710 people in the 15 to 19 age range, 603,586 people in the 20 to 34 age range, 726,877 people in the 35 to 59 age range, and 357,834 people in the 60+ age range. The city's youthfulness has been ascribed to an inflow of African American New Great Migration, Hispanic and Latino American, and Asian immigrants into Texas; the median age was 33.1, up from 32.9 in 2017 and down from 33.5 in 2014. There were 98.5 men for every 100 females. In 2019, there were 876,504 households and 987,158 housing units. Averaging 2.65 individuals per household and owning an estimated 42.3% of their homes were Houstonians. With a mortgage, the typical monthly owner costs were $1,646 and without one, $536. From 2015 to 2019, Houston's median gross rent was $1,041. In 2019, the median family income in Houston was $52,338 and 20.1% of residents were considered poor. 

Economy 

Houston is renowned all over the world for its biomedical research, aviation, and energy business, particularly for oil and natural gas. The city's economy is expanding alongside the use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar, and the city government buys 90% of its 1 TWh of electricity annually, primarily from wind and some from solar. Additionally, the city has become a developing hub for startup technology companies. The Greater Houston area is home to several significant technology and software firms, including Crown Castle, KBR, Cybersoft, Houston Wire & Cable, and HostGator. Hewlett Packard Enterprise moved its corporate headquarters from California to the Greater Houston area on April 4, 2022. Another important component of Houston's economy is the Houston Ship Channel.

Houston is recognized as a global metropolis by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network and the international management consulting firm A.T. due to these advantages. Kearney. According to data made public by the U.S., the Houston area has surpassed New York City as the largest U.S. export market. International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce. The Houston, The Woodlands, and Sugar Land metropolitan area exported goods worth $110.3 billion in 2012. About two thirds of the metropolitan area's exports last year were petroleum products, chemicals, and tools for oil and gas extraction. Mexico, Canada, and Brazil were the top three countries for exports.

One of the top locations for manufacturing oilfield equipment is the Houston area. The Port of Houston, which has a busy shipping route, is largely responsible for the petrochemical complex's success. The port is the largest port in the world and ranks first in international trade in the United States. In contrast to other areas, Houston's economy benefits from high oil and gasoline prices because a large portion of its population work in the energy sector. Numerous pipelines carrying oils, gas, and products start or stop in Houston.

Only 27 nations other than the United States have a gross domestic product greater than the regional gross area product of the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area, which was $478 billion in 2016. This made the metro area the sixth largest metropolitan area in the United States and larger than Iran's, Colombia's, or the United Arab Emirates' GDP (GAP). Following engineering services, health services, and manufacturing, mining accounted for 26.3% of Houston's GAP in 2010, a significant increase in response to high energy prices and a declining global surplus of oil production capacity. Houston's mining sector is almost entirely comprised of exploration and production of oil and gas.

The University of Houston System has a yearly economic impact on the Houston region comparable to that of a large firm, bringing in $1.1 billion in new investment, $3.13 billion in overall economic benefits, and 24,000 new jobs. Along with the 12,500 new graduates from U.H., this is also true. Each year, System graduates from Texas's entire workforce, including Houston. These graduates frequently remain in Houston. 80.5% of graduates are still residing and working in the area after five years. In the Forbes magazine category of "Best Places for Business and Careers" in 2006, the Houston metropolitan area came in first in Texas and third nationally. Houston's metropolitan region is home to 91 consulate offices from foreign countries, which is the third-highest number in the US. There are 23 active foreign chambers of commerce and trade groups, and forty foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices here. Houston is home to 25 foreign banks from 13 different countries that offer financial support to the global community.

On Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "Best Cities of 2008" list, which assesses cities on their local economies, employment prospects, affordable living costs, and quality of life, Houston came in first place in 2008. According to Forbes magazine, the city has the fourth-highest gain in local technology innovation during the previous 15 years. The city was named first for Forbes magazine's "Best Cities for College Graduates" list, second on the annual Fortune 500 list of corporate headquarters, and first on their list of "Best Cities to Buy a Home" in the same year. According to Forbes, the city was named the greatest city for shopping in 2010. Houston was named America's top city for job development in late May 2013, and in 2012, Forbes ranked the city first for paycheck value.

The U.S. ranked Houston as the top American city for job growth in 2013. According to the Bureau of Statistics, after the crash, more than two jobs were added for every one that was lost, making it not only the first big city to regain all the employment lost during the previous economic downturn. The Greater Houston Partnership's vice president of research, economist Patrick Jankowski, attributed Houston's success to the real estate and oil sectors' capacity to draw lessons from the past. Additionally, according to Jankowski, between 2008 and 2010, "more than 100 foreign-owned companies relocated, expanded, or launched new enterprises in Houston," and this opening to outside business helped employment creation at a time when local demand was problematically low. Houston once more made Forbes' list of the "Best Places for Business and Careers" in 2013. 

Sports 

Every major professional league with the exception of the National Hockey League has a club in Houston. The 1962-formed Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (referred to as the "Colt.45s" until 1965) have won the World Series twice, in 2017 and 2022, and have participated in it three more times, in 2005, 2019, and 2021. The only MLB team to have won championships in both current leagues is this one. Since 1971, Houston has been home to a National Basketball Association team known as the Rockets. Under the leadership of top players Hakeem Olajuwon, Otis Thorpe, Clyde Drexler, Vernon Maxwell, and Kenny Smith, they have won two NBA Championships, one in 1994 and the other in 1995. In 2002, the National Football League added the Houston Texans as an expansion franchise. Since moving to Houston in 2006, the Houston Dynamo, a Major League Soccer team, has won two MLS Cup championships in 2006 and 2007. The National Women's Soccer League is where the Houston Dash team competes. The Houston SaberCats are a Major League Rugby rugby team.

The Houston Texans play their home games at NRG Stadium. 

Both Toyota Center and Minute Maid Park, the Astros' and Rockets' respective ballparks, are located in Downtown Houston. NRG Stadium, located in Houston, is the NFL's first retractable-roof stadium featuring natural grass (home of the Texans). Another stadium with a retractable roof is Minute Maid Park. To coincide with the arena's hosting of the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, Toyota Center also has the largest screen for an indoor arena in the United States. East Downtown's PNC Stadium is a soccer-specific venue used by the Houston Dynamo, Texas Southern Tigers football team, and Houston Dash. South Houston is home to Aveva Stadium, the SaberCats' stadium. In addition, the NRG Astrodome, which opened in 1965, was the world's first indoor stadium. Rice Stadium (home of the Rice Owls football team), Hofheinz Pavilion (home of the Houston Cougars basketball), and NRG Arena are more sports venues. The University of Houston Cougars football team plays its home games at TDECU Stadium.

The 1968, 1986, and 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Games, the 1989, 2006, and 2013 NBA All-Star Games, the Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and Super Bowl LI, as well as the 1981, 1986, 1994, and 1995 NBA Finals, which Houston hosted and won the latter two, and the 2005 World Series, 2017 World Series, 2019 World Series, 2021 World Series, and 2022 World Series are just a few of the major sporting events that Houston has hosted. During the 2017 competition, the city won its first baseball championship, and five years later, it did it again. On February 5, 2017, Super Bowl LI was played at NRG Stadium. Houston will host a number of matches at the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

The annual Houston Open golf tournament is only one of the significant professional and collegiate athletic events that have taken place in the city. Houston hosts the Texas Kickoff and Bowl in September and December, as well as the annual Houston College Classic baseball tournament, each year. Annual IndyCar Series race, the Grand Prix of Houston, was run on a 1.7-mile temporary street circuit at NRG Park. The event has a five-year race contract with IndyCar through 2017. The October 2013 race was staged on a modified version of the 2006–2007 course. In the world of motorcycles, the Astrodome hosted an AMA Supercross Championship round from 1974 to 2003 and the NRG Stadium since 2003. 

The Houston Outlaws, a prominent esports team, represent Houston as one of the first cities in the world to have such a squad. One of two Texan teams in the Overwatch League, along with the Dallas Fuel, is the Outlaws. The Houston Roughnecks, one of eight cities with an XFL team, are located in Houston. 

Top 2 News Websites 

#1 ABC 13 

For breaking news from Houston and the nearby communities, turn to ABC13. Watch streaming video in real time to stay informed about news in Houston. 

#2 Click2Houston 

The most recent Houston, Texas, local news. On this website, you can find headlines, top stories, national news, videos, and much more. 

Current City Mayor 

Sylvester Turner is in his second four-year term after being elected in December 2015 and being soundly re-elected in December 2019. He is the 62nd mayor of Houston. The fourth-largest city in the US has faced several difficulties since Mayor Turner took office, including fiscal shortages, homelessness, and natural catastrophes like Hurricane Harvey. He is in charge of Houston's current COVID-19 global pandemic response. The mayor issued an executive order limiting the use of force and established a Task Force on Policing Reforms amid widespread protests and calls for better community and police ties.

Mayor Turner has passed five balanced budgets while operating within the city's financial limits. He also launched Houston's first Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, meet the Paris Agreement goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, and lead the global energy transition. He also oversaw Houston's remarkable recovery from Hurricane Harvey, championed historic pension reform, supported the 2017 and 2019 World Series Houston Astros, and hosted a successful Super Bowl LI.

In order to counteract the rise in violence brought on by the pandemic, domestic violence, mental illness, and the abundance of guns on the streets, Mayor Turner unveiled his One Safe Houston project in February 2022. 

One of Mayor Turner's top goals is Complete Communities, a program that aims to repair and revive Houston's underserved communities by collaborating with local stakeholders and utilizing resources to build a more prosperous and equitable city for all residents. Additionally, he established the Hire Houston Youth program to offer thousands of young people each year chances for employment and internships. He established public-private collaborations to upgrade local parks and broaden Houston's influence in technology and innovation.

Mayor Turner, the head of the world's energy capital, approaches his work with a performance-driven philosophy that improves the responsiveness, efficiency, and effectiveness of city services while strengthening Houston's financial future. The pension reform package that decreased the city's liabilities by billions of dollars and provided a "fix" that had eluded the city for 17 years was passed by the Texas Legislature and local voters as a result of his efforts.

Mayor Turner, a prominent figure in the country, serves as a trustee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and is a member of the Audit and Finance Committee. In addition, he chairs Climate Mayors, is a member of the C40 and the Global Covenant for Mayors for Climate and Energy, the African American Mayors Association's immediate past president, a member of the Local Government Advisory Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the chairman of the Resilient Cities Network.

Turner represented Texas House District 139 for 27 years prior to taking office as mayor of Houston. He spent 21 years on the House Appropriations Committee and three terms as Speaker Pro Tem. In order to balance the state budget and work on the Legislative Budget Board, he was named to a number of Budget Conference Committees. The Ohtli Award, the highest accolade bestowed by the Mexican government, was also given to him. Many periodicals and news organizations have acknowledged Mayor Turner as a thought leader, including 60 Minutes, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, and FOX News. The leadership and accomplishments of Mayor Turner have also been highlighted in the Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise Magazine, Cuba Today Magazine, Ebony, New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today.

Mayor Turner was presented with the Pioneer of Public Service Award by the University of Houston's Master of Public Administration program in March 2020. Mayor Turner has lived in Houston all of his life and is devoted to it. He still resides in the Acres Homes neighborhood where he was raised. He holds a law degree from Harvard University and a University of Houston diploma. Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. was where he started his legal career before starting Barnes & Turner Law Firm.