is a 10-county
Metropolitan Area defined by the
Office Of Management And Budget . It is located along the
Gulf Coast region in the
U.S. State of
Texas . The metropolitan area is colloquially referred to as "Greater Houston" and is situated in
East Texas , west of the
Golden Triangle .
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is the —the largest economic and cultural center of the
American South with a population of more than 2 million.http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2005-01.csv
Houston is among the nation’s fastest-growing metropolitan areas. The area grew 25.2 percent between the 1990 and 2000 censuses—adding more than 950,000
people—while the nation's population increased 13.2 percent over the same period. From 2000 to 2030, the metropolitan area is projected by Woods & Poole Economics to rank sixth in the nation in population growth—adding 2.66 million people.http://www.houston.org/blackfenders/09AW005.pdf
's
Landsat 7 satellite with
Galveston Bay and
Galveston Island visible towards the bottom of the picture.]]
According to the
United States Census Bureau , the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area has a total area of 10,062 square miles (26,060 km&
2); slightly smaller than
Massachusetts and slightly larger than
New Jersey .http://www.houstontx.gov/abouthouston/houstonfacts.html
The metropolitan area is located in the gulf coastal plains
Biome , and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland. Much of the metro area was built on
Forested Land ,
Marsh es,
Swamp , or
Prairie —all of which can still be seen in surrounding areas. Scenic
Rolling Hills can be seen in the far northern suburbs (Conroe, Magnolia, Willis, etc.).
Much of the Houston area is very flat, making flooding a recurring problem for its residents.
Underpinning Houston's land surface are unconsolidated
Clay s, clay
Shale s, and poorly-cemented
Sand s up to several miles deep. The region's
Geology developed from stream deposits formed from the erosion of the
Rocky Mountains . These
Sediment s consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic matter that, over time, transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath these tiers 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 dome shapes, often trapping oil and gas that seeped from the surrounding porous sands. This thick rich soil also provides a good environment for rice farming in suburban outskirts that the city continues to grow into near
Katy . Evidence of past rice farming is even still evident in developed areas as there is an abundance of rich dark loamy top soil.
The Houston region is generally
Earthquake -free. While the city of Houston contains over 150 active surface
Faults (some have estimated as many as 300 active faults
Mapping Active Faults in the Houston area Using LIDAR . ''Richard Engelkeimer, Shuhab Khan, Carl Norman. University of Houston.) with an aggregate length of up to 310 miles (500 km),
Faults in Parts of North-Central and Western Houston Metropolitan Area, Texas . ''Earl R. Verbeek, Karl W. Ratzlaff, Uel S. Clanton. U.S. Geological Survey.''
Principal Active Faults. Houston Area, Texas . ''U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1984.'' the clay below the surface precludes the buildup of friction that produces ground shaking in earthquakes. These faults generally move at a smooth rate in what is termed "fault creep."
There are 10 counties in the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown
Metropolitan statistical area (MSA) defined by the U.S. Census as of 2003.http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/metro_general/List4.txt They are listed below with population figures as of the 2006 U.S. Census estimates.http://http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2006-01-48.xls
- Harris County — 3,886,207
- Fort Bend County — 493,187
- Montgomery County — 398,290
- Brazoria County — 287,898
- Galveston County — 283,551
- Liberty County — 75,685
- Waller County — 35,185
- Chambers County — 28,779
- Austin County — 26,407
- San Jacinto County — 24,760
See Also: List of cities and towns in Greater Houston
List of cities and towns in Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA
There are four "principal" cities defined by the U.S. Census as of 2003.http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/metro_general/List2.txt Population figures are within the
City Limits as of the 2005 U.S. Census estimates.http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2005-04-48.xls
Listing of sports teams in the Greater Houston area:
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Houston is home to three
NCAA Division I programs. The
University Of Houston and
Rice University play in Division I-A and both belong to
Conference USA . Both schools were also once part of the
Southwest Conference .
Texas Southern University , which is a member of the
Southwestern Athletic Conference , plays in Division I-AA.
Houston Baptist University currently plays in
National Association Of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I and is a member of the
Red River Athletic Conference , but is reportedly applying for readmission to the NCAA as a Division I member. Rice and Houston Baptist are widely noted for their student-athlete graduation rates, which number at 91% for Rice (tied for highest in the nation courtesy of a 2002 Sports Illustrated issue on best college sports programs) and 80% for HBU.
Greater Houston plays home to various sporting events. The most notable is the
Houston Livestock Show And Rodeo , which is the world's largest
Livestock Exhibition and
Rodeo event. Other events of importance to Greater Houston include the
Shell Houston Open (
PGA Tour ), the
Houston Marathon , and the
Texas Bowl college football bowl game. Houston has also played host to two
Super Bowl s (
VIII ) and (
XXXVIII ), the
2005 World Series , the
2004 MLB All-Star Game , and the
2006 NBA All-Star Game . Houston has also played host to various high school and college sporting events, including the
Big 12 Championship Game and will host the
2011 NCAA Men's Final Four . Houston was also considered a candidate for the
2012 and
2016 Olympic Games .
Greater Houston is widely noted for its ethnic diversity and strong international community. The Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network ranks Houston as a Gamma World City (minor world city), and also one point shy of being a Beta World City (which would make Houston a major world city). Houston ranks with six points, the highest in the Gamma category along with
Washington, D.C. ,
Boston and its cross-state arch rival,
Dallas .
Houston's concentration of consular offices ranks third in the nation, with 86 countries represented. Many of these countries are in
Latin America and
South America , including
Mexico . Houston has a notable Hispanic population, boasting the third-largest Hispanic and third-largest Mexican-American population in the United States, including over 400,000 illegal immigrants. Hispanics also have large population bases in a number of suburbs, most notably
Pasadena and
Rosenberg , whose Hispanic populations make up the majority of these cities. Greater Houston is also home to a large and growing Asian-American population, boasting the largest Vietnamese-American community in Texas.
CNN/Money and Money magazine have recognized cities in the Greater Houston area the past three years as part of its 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. In 2005, (65th) in
Northern Galveston County and
The Woodlands (73rd) in
Southern Montgomery County . In 2007, another Houston suburb,
Friendswood made the list ranked 51st in the nation. It should be noted that the 2006 list only includes cities with at least 50,000 residents and that the 2007 list contains only cities with less than 50,000 residents.
looking north to
Downtown Houston ]]
Houston’s freeway system includes of freeways and expressways in the 10-county metro area.http://www.houston.org/blackfenders/11BW001.pdf The State of Texas plans to spend $5.06 billion on Houston area highways between 2002 and 2007. Houston freeways are heavily traveled and often under construction to meet the demands of continuing growth.
The Greater Houston area has a
Hub-and-spoke freeway structure with multiple loops. The innermost is
Interstate 610 , forming approximately a diameter loop around downtown. The roughly square "Loop-610" is quartered into "North Loop," "South Loop," "West Loop," and "East Loop." The roads of
Beltway 8 and their freeway core, the Sam Houston Tollway, are the next loop, at a diameter of roughly . A proposed highway project,
Texas Highway 99 (The Grand Parkway), would form a third loop outside of Houston. Currently, the completed portion of Texas Highway 99 runs from just north of
Interstate 10 , west of Houston, to
U.S. Highway 59 in
Sugar Land , southwest of Houston, and was completed in 1994. The next portion to be constructed is from the current terminus at U.S. Highway 59 to
State Highway 288 in
Brazoria County .
in
Downtown Houston ]]
The
Metropolitan Transit Authority Of Harris County, Texas , or METRO, provides public transportation in the form of buses, trolleys, and lift vans.
METRO began running light rail service (
METRORail ) on
January 1 ,
2004 . Currently the track is rather short—it runs about 8 miles (13 km) from Downtown Houston to the
Texas Medical Center and
Reliant Park . METRO's various forms of public transportation still do not connect many of the suburbs to the greater city, causing Houstonians to rely on the automobile as a primary source of transportation. Prior to the opening of METRORail, Houston was the largest city in the United States devoid of a rail transit system by a very large margin.
Following a successful
Referendum held locally in 2004, METRO is currently in the beginning design phases of a 10-year expansion plan to add five more sections to connect to the current rail system. An 8.3 mile (13.4 km) expansion has been approved to run the service from Uptown (the Galleria area) through
Texas Southern University , ending at the
University Of Houston campus.
Houston's largest airport (and Texas's second-largest),
George Bush Intercontinental Airport , is located in north Houston.
Continental Airlines is headquartered in
Downtown Houston . The southeast of Houston has
William P. Hobby Airport , the second-largest commercial passenger airport. Houston's third-largest airport is
Ellington Field , which houses several
National Guard and
Air National Guard units, as well as the
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center 's fleet of jets that are used to train astronauts.
Sugar Land , southwest of Houston, has the
Sugar Land Regional Airport . Sugar Land Regional is the fourth-largest airport in the metropolitan area and the only general reliever airport in the southwest sector.
]]
Among the 10 most populous ''.http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/03/06bestplaces_best-places-for-business_land.html
The Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA's Gross Area Product (GAP) in 2005 was $308.7 billion, up 5.4 percent from 2004 in constant dollars—slightly larger than , which in Houston is almost entirely oil and gas exploration and production, accounts for 11 percent of Houston's GAP—down from 21 percent as recently as 1985. The reduced role of oil and gas in Houston's GAP reflects the rapid growth of other sectors—such as
Engineering services, health services, and
Manufacturing .http://www.houston.org/blackfenders/15AW001.pdf
The area's economic activity is centered in
Houston , the county seat of
Harris County . Houston is second to New York City in
Fortune 500 headquarters. The city has attempted to build a
Bank ing industry, but the companies originally started in Houston have since merged with other companies nationwide. Banking, however, is still vital to the region.
Houston is a
Major Port and financial center for oil companies. Houston's energy industry is a world powerhouse (particularly
Oil ), but
Biomedical research, aeronautics, and the ship channel are also large parts of the city's
Industrial base. The Houston metropolitan area comprises the largest
Petrochemical manufacturing area in the world, including for
Synthetic Rubber ,
Insecticide s, and
Fertilizer s. The area is also the world's leading center for building
Oilfield equipment.
Much of metro area's success as a prices are seen as harmful to the economy, they are generally seen as beneficial for Houston as many are employed in the energy industry.
Baytown ,
Texas City ,
Clute , and
Galveston also have major ports and chemical plants. Galveston also has the largest cruise ship terminal in Texas (and the 12th-largest in the world) and is a recreational area for people in the region.
Sugar Land is home to the second-largest economic activities and third-largest city in the metropolitan area. Sugar Land has the most important and booming economic center in
Fort Bend County . The city holds the Nalco/Exxon and Western Airways headquarters. Engineering firms and other related industries have managed to take the place as an economic engine.
Historically, politics in the Greater Houston area are divided between the
Republican and
Democratic partieshttp://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/.
The city of Houston itself has historically voted Democratic except for its affluent western and west-central portions, including the and
African American population in the city, as well as its significant
LGBT community.
Houston's suburbs, while heavily Republican, are also politically divided. Such examples:
- Houston's largest incorporated suburb, Pasadena , which went for John Kerry , is heavily Hispanic and lower-middle class on its north side, which favors Democrats, and slightly more affluent on its south side, which favors Republicans. A northwestern section of the city is represented by Democrat Ana Hernandez (District 143), while the city's central core, which contains most of its population, is represented by Republican Robert Talton (District 144). A small, largely unincorporated southeastern section of the city is represented by Republican John Davis (District 129), who also represents the NASA Johnson Space Center . Hernandez's district is also home to Galena Park and Jacinto City , which also have large Hispanic populations that favor Democrats.
- In Fort Bend County , southwest of Houston, Democrats are strongest in northern Missouri City and older sections of Rosenberg , which boast large numbers of black and Hispanic voters, while more affluent areas of the county—such as Sugar Land and the Katy , Sienna Plantation, area are heavily Republican. While these areas boast sizeable Asian-American populations, many of them are largely pro-business and generally favor Republicans, though a sizeable community of Democratic business owners does exist among the area's Asian caucuses. Despite this divide, the county went for George W. Bush by a double-digit margin and boasts one of the state's most active county Republican bases. Republicans also control every countywide elected office here as well.
- Montgomery County , north of Houston, has emerged as a staunch Republican stronghold due to mostly high-end planned community developments along Lake Conroe and also along the southern edge of the county, most notably The Woodlands , a large master-planned community that is overwhelmingly Republican. However Conroe , the County Seat is a Democratic stronghold.
- The mainland areas of Galveston County , north of Galveston Island , has also become increasingly divided on political issues. Democrats have a presence in La Marque and Texas City —both of which home to large numbers of unionized refinery workers, a traditionally Democratic voting bloc. However, Democrats' strength in this area is increasingly being superseded by newer developments in the northern areas of the county around Friendswood and League City that favor Republicans.
- Brazoria County is heavily Republican, especially out in the countryside or in rural areas, also such as cities like Manvel , Alvin , and Angelton . Although such cities like Pearland is recently very Democratic due to its large Northern and Western born population, as well as its ethnic diversity. Also Lake Jackson , Clute , and Freeport are also heavily Democratic due to its large Hispanic population and union refinery workers.
Houston's two most notable congressional districts are the 7th congressional district, which includes much of west Houston, and the 18th congressional district, which includes downtown Houston.
- The 7th, one of the most heavily affluent and Republican in the state, was previously represented by George Bush , who would eventually go on to become the 41st President of the United States. Its current representative is John Culberson , a conservative Republican who has continued the conservative record of George Bush's successor, Bill Archer .
- The 18th is represented by Sheila Jackson Lee , a liberal African-American Democrat whose role model, Barbara Jordan , previously represented the same district. Jackson Lee's district is overwhelmingly African-American and poor, even though her 1994 victory in the primary (against the district's previous representative, Craig Washington ) was largely funded by Republican businessmen who opposed Washington's stances on NAFTA and NASA . Washington's predecessor, Mickey Leland , whom succeeded Jordan, was widely noted as a spokesperson for the poor.
