| Houston
is the largest city in Texas, the fourth largest
in the United States, and the second-largest economic
area of the U.S. Gulf Coast region. The city is
the county seat of Harris County, the third most
populous county in the country. A portion of southwest
Houston extends into Fort Bend County and a small
portion in the northeast extends into Montgomery
County.
Founded
in 1836 and incorporated in 1837, Houston is
one of the fastest growing major cities in the
United States and the largest without zoning
laws.
In
1900, Houston's population was about 45,000,
making it the 85th largest city in the United
States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city
had a total population of 1.9 million (though
a July 1, 2004 U.S. Census estimate placed the
city's population at more than 2 million). Houston
is the main cultural and economic center of
the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan
Area, which is the seventh largest metropolitan
area in the United States with a population
of about 5.2 million in ten counties.
Houston
is world renowned for its energy (particularly
oil) and aeronautics industries and for its
ship channel. The Port of Houston is the sixth
largest port in the world. It is the busiest
port in the United States in foreign tonnage
and second in overall tonnage. Second only to
New York City in Fortune 500 headquarters, Houston
is home to the Texas Medical Center - the world's
largest and most important concentration of
research and health care institutions. Houston
has much to offer, including the lowest cost
of living and the least-expensive housing among
27 major U.S. metropolitan areas with populations
of more than 1.7 million. Houston was named
a "Gamma World City" (Global City)
by the Globalization and World Cities Study
Group & Network (GaWC).
Officially,
Houston is nicknamed the Space City as it is
home to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center,
where Mission Control Center is located (because
of this, "Houston" was the first word
spoken on the moon). Many locals, however, prefer
to call it the Bayou City. Other nicknames include
H-Town, Clutch City, and Magnolia City.
The
city offers a wide range of business, entertainment
and cultural opportunities, including a respected
and thriving theater district. Less than an
hour from the Gulf of Mexico, Houston is close
to sunny beaches, one of the United States'
largest concentrations of pleasure boats and
tourist attractions such as the Kemah Boardwalk
and Galveston Island.
source:
Wikipedia entry for Houston
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