History UsefulNotes / Houston

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer_Park,_Texas Deer Park]] - Founded in 1892 and incorporated in 1948, Deer Park is located between La Porte and Pasadena, notable for its huge oil refineries, a primarily white, middle working class makeup. It was nearly wiped out by the Great Storm of 1900 which also ended Galveston's prominence; the town was revitalized in 1928 with Shell Oil breaking ground on a large refinery just outside of town (the first of the aforementioned huge oil refineries). The town bills itself as the "Birthplace of Texas" [[note]] one of several around the state[[/note]]; the validity of the claim is debatable, but the treaty ending the Texas Revolution against Mexico was drafted and signed on land that would eventually become the city. The name derives from a deer park that existed in the area prior to the city's founding, although deer are now a rare sight in town.

* Sugar Land - One of the largest cities in the Greater Houston Area, also one of the wealthiest and fastest growing as well, and at least important enough to get its own upscale mall (that's when you know your important, when you get a mall.) Used to be a company town run by Imperial Sugar, who had a huge sugar refining operation there, hence the name. This lasted until the 1950s, when the city finally established a municipal government instead of joining Houston, and the city lost what made it so unique in the first place. Nowadays, the city is the very definition of CutandPasteSuburb. Hell, more than half the current city is master planned communities (which its county, Fort Bend County, leads the nation in) and it's poised to annex even more. Pretty sure Houston regrets not annexing the little town earlier.
** Greatwood - Large Master-Planned Community (get used to hearing about these) to the south of Sugar Land. Was destined to join Sugar Land in the near future, and finally did in 2017 (notably, the vote for the annexation happened before the laws changed to allow annexed areas to vote on their annexations).
** New Territory - Is pretty much in the same rut as nearby Greatwood: large master - planned community that ended up being annexed by Sugar Land.

* Uptown - Also called the Galleria Area, if there is an area every visitor to Houston visits just once, it's Uptown. Uptown Houston is a large commercial district (so large in fact that it rivals and even surpasses many downtown areas in size; it rivals downtown Los Angeles and is the 17th largest business district in the United States) centered on Houston's premier shopping mall, the Galleria. The Houston Galleria is the largest shopping mall in Texas and eighth largest in the United States and is ritzy as all hell, but it is just one component in what is essentially the Beverly Hills of Texas ([[TakeThat except actually part of the city it is mostly associated with]]). High Class is the name of the game here and everything about this area caters to it. Oh, and did we mention the size of the skyline? Really, this is the most spread out component of Houston's skyline bar none, straddling almost the entirety of the 610 Loop from Southwest Freeway to Interstate 10, though it lacks the thick skyscraper buildup of downtown, at least, for now. The most recognizable structure, visible from almost anywhere in Greater Houston, is the Williams Tower, tallest building outside any Central Business district when it was built and a behemoth that literally towers over everything around it. All in all, this area has done pretty good for a neighborhood that, up to the 1960s, was nothing but farmland.[[note]]Westheimer Road is also known as FM - Farm to Market Road - 1093. Nobody thinks this is ironic.[[/note]]

** Old Braeswood - An offshoot east of Braeswood Place that is even more affluent; this is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and has a multitude of historic homes including large ranch-houses (by Houston standards, which is saying something).

* Glenbrook Valley - The neighborhood directly north of William P. Hobby Airport, you pass through the center of the neighborhood going to or from the airport via Broadway Ave (Hobby is west of Pasadena and outside the loop). Noteworthy for becoming the first designated "historic neighborhood" outside the loop, it has several nice houses, but is otherwise surrounded by yet another WretchedHive of falling apartments and other not-so-ok neighborhoods, causing quite a few problems for the area, which was once referred to as the "Little River Oaks". One of those not-so-good neighborhoods is...
* South Park - Between 288/Hiram Clarke and Hobby Airport, this is not that much different from "The Clarke"; this also has seen several rappers make note of it and the eastern border of Telephone Road, [[note]] which is the west border of Glenblook Valley and the airport, during which it's also designated as Texas Highway 35, which goes on without the Telephone Road signing once south of the Beltway and in Pearland [[/note]] one of the most infamous streets in the city. One of those rappers, South Park Mexican, named himself after the neighborhood; he is currently serving in prison.

* Midtown - Everything between the Gulf Freeway wrapping around downtown's southwest, the Southwest Freeway, and Spur 527 (along with a few buildings to the south of Southwest, and a small area of condos, townhouses and the like north of Bagby Street). Originally split between the Third and Fourth Wards, the area was once an upscale residential neighborhood, till businesses pushed them out. It later morphed into Little Saigon, as Vietnamese residents arrived and this lead to a transformation of the neighborhood. Now, the neighborhood is a middle- to upper-class majority white neighborhood, with some remainder of its former history as a Vietnamese community, with a lot of businesses thrown in for good measure. It has also recently become pretty much ground zero for the homeless, so it never hurts to keep some pocket change when traveling through.

* River Oaks - Another affluent community just affronting Buffalo Bayou and Memorial Park. This community is not only one of the richest in Houston, but one of the richest in the entire United States [[UpToEleven as well as the entire world]] and has been so for years. Homes here start at $1 million and go up in value. World renowned River Oaks Country Club is located in this community, but don't expect to become a member unless you're white. This community also includes the River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray St (east of Inwood Dr's east terminus and South Shepherd Dr) that features two notable landmarks. One is the River Oaks Theatre, one of the three central neighborhood movie palaces from the early to mid 20th century (the Alabama down Shepherd south and the Bellaire in Southside Place/West University Place were the others), and this theater is the only one of the three still open (Alabama closed in 1984, Bellaire closed in 1992). It is now an arthouse cinema. This center is also infamous for featuring two Starbucks across West Gray from each other; these coffeehouses were the direct inspiration for Creator/LewisBlack's "Starbucks" rant (there are now '''three''' Starbucks with a Barnes & Noble bookstore built a block over after the Alabama's bookstore closed (Barnes & Noble serves Starbucks coffees in their cafes).

* Magnolia Park - Another Hispanic neighborhood and one of the oldest in Houston. Was formerly a separate incorporated community (and white.)

* Southside Place - At 0.2 SQUARE MILES in size, all it contains is three strip malls, a bowling alley, a bakery, a few small office buildings, and the area's Whole Foods Market, which was formerly the Bellaire/Bel Air, the third of the classic movie palace trilogy in Houston (it's inside the West University city limits, but is mostly accessed from Southside Place); all of this is along Bellaire Boulevard, which extends east of Bellaire and drops the name when reentering Houston (it becomes West Holcombe, and has signs for both on opposite sides of the street for a few blocks); the residential neighborhood is on the east side above a former Shell building, and it's surrounded by West University in every direction except for south, where Braeswood Place borders it. Southside Place is one of the most notorious speed trap zones in Texas, which it uses to fund its tiny existence.

* Denver Harbor - East of the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens and north of the Houston Ship Channel. An almost entirely industrialized area, and not very scenic, though one can find the occasional Townhouse on the southern side. A majority Hispanic community, it contains a number of historical bungalow homes and cottages, and was originally settled by blue collar whites working in the nearby train yards and port facilities. Its name come from two of the original subdivisions that made up the community Denver and Harbor (the other two were Harbordale and Liberty Heights. In 1939, an unknown vagrant painted the word "Podunk" on the side of a water tower, referring to how "out of the way the neighborhood was. The city repeatedly tried to paint over the sign, only for it to be repainted on within days. Eventually, the entire community got in on the joke and started calling themselves "Podunkers". As the community transitioned from being working class White American to being working class Hispanic Americans, the name fell into disuse.

* Spring Branch - A major community north of IH-10 and west of the Addicks Reservoir.
* Garden Oaks - A major neighborhood north of the Loop, it has some expensive housing.
* Acres Homes - Sounds like a good name, but this is one of the [[WretchedHive worst parts of Houston]].

* Houston Ship Channel and Port of Houston - The economic engine of the city in many ways, the Port of Houston is the one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, covering an approximately 25 miles worth of facilities along the Houston Ship Channel. The Channel was dredged in the early 1900s, being opened by Woodrow Wilson himself in 1914, allowing ocean-going ships to travel miles further inland and turning Houston's port into Texas's premier seaport, surpassing the natural ports of Galveston and Texas City. The depth of the channel would be subsequently increased in the 1930s. The Port of Houston is the 16th busiest in the world and administered cooperatively by the Port of Houston Authority, and more than 150 private entities along the channel. The port's creation was a direct result of the Great Galveston Hurricane that utterly destroyed the city of Galveston, leading to local residents to support the creation of the port and channel, seeing it as a safer alternative to the more exposed Galveston. The Port Authority was created in 1911 as the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District. The channel itself and the port facilities alongside it are in Houston city limits, mostly limited annexation, but some areas are fully annexed. On both sides of the channel, the port is surrounded by factories, warehouses, and refineries (the refineries alone make up the second largest petrochemical complex in the world). Most of these are contained in various industrial districts, including Bayport Industrial District, Battleground Industrial District, and Jacintoport. The facilities north of the channel, namely Jacintoport, are in Houston's ETJ, while Battleground, Bayport, and others located south of Houston are either part of or in the ETJ of Pasadena, La Porte, or Deer Park. Industrial facilities can also be found in Baytown. The port, including its terminals, such as Barbours Cut Terminal and the newer Bayport Terminal, form one of the most important port facilities in the U.S., despite being among the youngest of the world's major ports (the port celebrated its centennial in 2014).
* Clinton Park - A small community located to the east of (and right alongside of) Loop 610, bounded to the north by Interstate 10, and to the east by the cities of Jacinto City and Galena Park, Clinton Park was one of the first communities developed for African Americans in Texas, being marketed to middle class black families. It grew and prospered at first, due to segregation preventing Blacks from living in white neighborhoods and its close proximity to the Port of Houston, located to the south of the neighborhood; following integration, blacks no longer saw a reason to patronize the area, and it subsequently declined. The community has been described as "rurban", a mix of urban and rural characteristics, due to its sparse population brought about by its isolation, both geographically and socially, from the rest of Houston, only made worse since the loop was built. Today, the community remains poor with a declining population.

* Huffman - Small unincorporated community located directly to the east of Lake Houston along FM 1960 in Houston's ETJ, being the last or first thing you see if you take 1960 into or out of Houston via Dayton. The community is named after David Huffman, a Louisiana native who fought for Texas during its war for independence. Huffman, and a group from Louisiana, settled the area in 1840 after being given land for his service to Texas. Huffman covers apparently 39 sq. miles, but it's almost entirely rural, with scattered farms, subdivisions, apartments and businesses, and no real town core to speak of.
* Crosby - Unincorporated, most white, relatively middle class community from which the Crosby Freeway got its name, located at the very edge of Houston's ETJ, it can be considered the eastern edge of Houston's influence. The community traces its origin all the way to Humphrey Jackson, a native of Louisiana who was one of the 300 original American colonists to settle in Texas, but the town itself was named for G.J. Crosby, a railroad engineer. Currently a small bedroom community of Houston of just over 2,000 people.
* Barret - Another unincorporated community, this one sits outside Houston's ETJ, but only just barely. Originally named Barret Station, and still sometimes called that, it is located to the south of Crosby Freeway, directly to the south of Crosby itself. The community was founded by and named after Harrison Barret, a former slave freed by the conclusion of the American Civil War, originally from Louisiana. After locating and gathering as much of his family as he could, Barret settled his family on land east of the San Jacinto River, beginning a community originally known as Barret's Settlement. As the community grew, Barret eventually built a church, cemetery, and school. When a post office was built, the community was renamed Barret Station. Till this day, this rural community remains majority African American, but it is also relatively poor.

** West Livingston - Town that is home to the Polunsky Unit Prison, which is home to the state's Death Row unit; Death Row inmates are shipped west on U.S. 190 to the Walls Unit in Huntsville for the final hours prior to execution.

The Eastern Shore is the least populated area, home to lakes, swamps, marshes. That's it. Cities and Communities on the Eastern Shore include:

* Chamillionaire

* Mike Jones

* Kingsland - Another wealthy white suburb. See a pattern?

Houston also has a very active sports scene with pro teams in almost every major American league (except hockey). Houston is home to the Houston Texans of the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague, the Houston Astros of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} Major League Baseball]], the Houston Rockets of the UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation, and the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. The Texans are the youngest team in the NFL, having been founded in 2002; for many decades, the city was home to the Houston Oilers, but the team left town for Tennessee (initially playing home games in Memphis before permanently settling in UsefulNotes/{{Nashville}}) in the late '90s (kind of a sore topic for native sports fans, so bring this up at your own risk), leading the Texans to develop a huge rivalry with the team now known as the Tennessee Titans (this is the only instance of an NFL division rivalry consisting of a city's current team and their former team; this also used to characterize the division rivalry between the UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Cardinals, previously based in [[UsefulNotes/StLouis St. Louis]] and now in the greater Phoenix area, and the St. Louis Rams, but the latter team moved back to [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles Los Angeles]] in 2016). Houston also has two major college athletic programs: the University of Houston Cougars and the Rice University Owls. Overall, major successes of Houston-based sports teams have been few and far between. While both the Rockets and the Dynamo won two championships each and the (now defunct) Houston Comets of the WNBA were that league's first dynasty, the Texans have never made it to the conference championship game, let alone the Super Bowl. The Astros have made the World Series thrice--first in 2005 (which saw them swept by the Chicago White Sox in four games), again in 2017 against the LA Dodgers (which saw them win in game 7), and a third time in 2019; they soon became embroiled in a cheating scandal that put a big asterisk on their last two appearances in the eyes of many baseball fans. The Rice baseball team at least has made the playoffs for over two consecutive decades, but it only won a championship in 2003. This has led some to characterize the city's teams as [[ButtMonkey hapless]], although it's not for the lack of trying. Houston has had a very impressive list of players play for its teams, like Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Tracy [=McGrady=], Yao Ming, and James Harden for the Rockets; Nolan Ryan, Craig Biggio (whose entire career was spent here), and Jeff Bagwell for the Astros; Andre Johnson, J.J. Watt, and Deshaun Watson for the Texans; Ken Stabler, Bruce Matthews, Earl Campbell, and Warren Moon for the Oilers; Brian Ching and Brad Davis for the Dynamo; and Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were the biggest-name members of the Phi Slama Jama Cougars era.

Houston also has a very active sports scene with pro teams in almost every major American league (except hockey). Houston is home to the Houston Texans of the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague, the Houston Astros of [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} Major League Baseball]], the Houston Rockets of the UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation, and the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. The Texans are the youngest team in the NFL, having been founded in 2002; for many decades, the city was home to the Houston Oilers, but the team left town for Tennessee in the late '90s (kind of a sore topic for native sports fans, so bring this up at your own risk). Houston also has two major college athletic programs: the University of Houston Cougars and the Rice University Owls. Overall, major successes of Houston-based sports teams have been few and far between. While both the Rockets and the Dynamo won two championships each and the (now defunct) Houston Comets of the WNBA were that league's first dynasty, the Texans have never made it to the conference championship game, let alone the Super Bowl. The Astros have made the World Series thrice--first in 2005 (which saw them swept by the Chicago White Sox in four games), again in 2017 against the LA Dodgers (which saw them win in game 7), and a third time in 2019; they soon became embroiled in a cheating scandal that put a big asterisk on their last two appearances in the eyes of many baseball fans. The Rice baseball team at least has made the playoffs for over two consecutive decades, but it only won a championship in 2003. This has led some to characterize the city's teams as [[ButtMonkey hapless]], although it's not for the lack of trying. Houston has had a very impressive list of players play for its teams, like Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Tracy [=McGrady=], Yao Ming, and James Harden for the Rockets; Nolan Ryan, Craig Biggio (whose entire career was spent here), and Jeff Bagwell for the Astros; Andre Johnson, J.J. Watt, and Deshaun Watson for the Texans; Ken Stabler, Bruce Matthews, Earl Campbell, and Warren Moon for the Oilers; Brian Ching and Brad Davis for the Dynamo; and Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were the biggest-name members of the Phi Slama Jama Cougars era.

* The Washington Avenue Area - Large area between the Bayou, Katy Freeway, Downtown, and the Loop, it also includes a small area just north of the Katy. Home to a number of neighborhoods, the area is named for its major thoroughfare, once a major economic arterial of the city. By the '90s, unfortunately, the area gained a reputation for being run down. Recently however, the area has experienced a revival, with a growing yuppie population. A few years ago, the area gained a reputation as a nightlife entertainment spot being home to many clubs, taking the title from Richmond Strip. However, it has evolved to something a little more sane: a place to dine out (because Houston needs more of those)

* Northside Village - Residential area east of The Heights and directly north of Downtown. One of Houston's many majority-Hispanic communities, it's something of a mixed-bag; the western side is moderately middle-class and looks like an extension of the Heights, but the farther east you go, the more run-down it gets. As of 2020, the main drag up Elysian looks a bit like the Heights after a ZombieApocalypse, and there don't appear to be any attempts at gentrification anytime soon[[note]]This might be starting to change, though; the Elysian Viaduct has been under construction since 2017, and changes are finally starting to come[[/note]]. Most of Northside's eastern third or so is occupied by a massive Industrial Park, contributing to the decidedly blue-collar feel of the neighborhood. Additionally, the Saint Arnold Brewing Company has a brewery here due north of Downtown.

* Pleasantville: [[{{Film/Pleasantville}} No connection to the film of the same name]], this neighborhood in Houston, located between Denver Harbor and 610 Loop was annexed in the 1940s and is predominantly African American today. Surrounded by industrial areas and rail lines, the entire neighborhood is declining and has been declining for decades, wracked by poverty and crime.

* Hyde Park - A neighborhood near Montrose.
* Cherryhurst - A neighborhood near Montrose.
* Westmoreland - Part of Montrose.
* Avondale - A neighborhood just south of the Fourth Ward.
* Courtland Place - A gated strip north of Montrose that has seen several movies shot there.

* Idylwood - A rather pleasant place to live.
* Eastwood - [[Webcomic/ExterminatusNow No, not that Eastwood.]] One of Houston's first master planned subdivisions, first designed in 1913. Went from being a professional's enclave, to poor and worthless, to a professional's enclave again.
* Harrisburg - The twice, former, former capital of Texas. This was the Allen Brothers first choice when they wanted to found a city. Originally belonging to John Richardson Harris, the brothers had wanted to found a city on his land, but when he died, they couldn't gain title to it, so they moved a little ways up Buffalo Bayou and founded Houston instead. During the Texas Revolution, Harrisburg was the provisional Texas government's capital, till Santa Anna burned it down. After the Republic of Texas was founded, it became capital again, but for only less than a year (the capital moved around a lot before settling on Columbia, Houston, and then finally Austin). After losing its role as capital, the city's population dwindled massively, as did its importance. It would be annexed by Houston in 1926. Harrisburg is now mostly a majority Latino inner city neighborhood now. Oh, and Harris County (formerly ''Harrisburg County'') got its name from this town.
* Manchester - Community adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel and the interchange of Loop 610 and Texas 225.

** Sylvania Courts - A neighborhood with large mansions that is on the east border of Bellaire, west of West University Place.
** Southdale - South of Sylvania Courts.
** Mulberry Manor - North of Sylvania Courts, with much smaller housing; this is the northernmost neighborhood of Bellaire inside the loop.
** Oakdale - Directly west of Mulberry Manor, more of the same.
** Twin Oaks - Can only be accessed from South Rice, which is the border between this neighborhood and east Gulfton. Not quite as nice, but it's Houston, so...
** Loveland Terrace - Sister neighborhood to Twin Oaks.
** Normanor - The "northwest" neighborhood of Bellaire, affluent (getting repetitive yet?)
** Braeburn Country Club Estates - The westernmost neighborhood of Bellaire, and filled with large and expensive mini-mansions.
** Richmond Plaza - Technically inside Gulfton, but really an extension of Bellaire that is not part of the city. North of Braeburn, ANOTHER affluent neighborhood.

** Pemberton - The southeast corner of the city, and with smaller housing than the area around it.
** Virginia Courts - The most affluent part of West University, it is in its southern part.
** Rice Court - The northeast corner.
** Colonial Terrace - The western end of West University, originally consisting of cottages before newer housing began being built.
* Southside Place - The single most pointless city in the Greater Houston Area. It is 0.2 SQUARE MILES in size. It is literally only a few city blocks. Really, why does it exist? All it contains is three strip malls, a bowling alley, a bakery, a few small office buildings, and the area's Whole Foods Market, which was formerly the Bellaire/Bel Air, the third of the classic movie palace trilogy in Houston (it's inside the West University city limits, but is mostly accessed from Southside Place); all of this is along Bellaire Boulevard, which extends east of Bellaire and drops the name when reentering Houston (it becomes West Holcombe, and has signs for both on opposite sides of the street for a few blocks); the residential neighborhood is on the east side above a former Shell building, and it's surrounded by West University in every direction except for south, where Braeswood Place borders it. Southside Place is one of the most notorious speed trap zones in Texas, which it uses to fund its tiny existence.

Houston's second major group of enclaves, and their existences are no more justified then that of the island cities. Originally a small town surrounded by farmland, the area now know as the Memorial Villages first attempted to escape annexation by Houston (because to suburban whites, that's the equivalent of selling your soul) via incorporating as one large city, called Spring Branch, in the 1950s. This failed, and thus, over the course of a decade, the Memorial Villages came into existence one by one, and have stayed ever since, despite being surrounded by Houston. Even though they are all independent cities, the cities collectively maintain a police department and fire department. The villages are:

** Brighton Place - A neighborhood inside Spring Valley Village.

** Warrenton - A neighborhood at the west of Bunker Hill.
** Whispering Oaks - A sister neighborhood of Warrenton.

** River Bend - A small neighborhood within the Hunters Creek Village city limits but cannot be directly accessed from the rest of the village (it's south of Buffalo Bayou and off of Voss Road).
** Longwoods - At the eastern end of Hunters Creek Village.

** Piney Point Estates - South of Piney Point Village, can only be accessed from Westheimer.
* Memorial City - Large business community in the northwest corner of the Memorial Villages that is inside Houston. It borders Spring Valley Village, Hedwig Village and Bunker Hill Village. Features a lot of shops, a medical center, and the Memorial City Mall, the Town & Country shopping center, and [=CityCentre=].
** Memorial Hollow - Neighborhood on the west of Memorial City Mall.
** Town & Country - Shopping center at the west end of Memorial City, bordering the Energy Corridor/Katy districts.
** [=CityCentre=] - Major business/shopping park inside Town & Country.

** Crestwood - On the east border of Memorial Park, yet another wealthy community.
** Arlington Court - Sister neighborhood of Crestwood.
** Stablewood - West of the park and an affluent gated community.
** Rice Military - A mixed use community east of Crestwood and south of Washington Ave.
* The Heights Area - A large area made up primarily of three neighborhoods: Houston Heights, Norhill, and Woodland Heights. When people around Houston say "the Heights" they are usually talking about Houston Heights, and are conflating Houston Heights with the other two neighborhoods. However, these are all very distinct neighborhoods. Houston Heights started as a Streetcar Suburb of Houston in 1891 and was even an incorporated city, till Houston annexed it in 1919. Norhill wasn't developed until 1923, and Woodland Heights was started in 1907. Norhill has kind of remained the same over the years, as a relatively closed in community where every House is a bungalow. Woodland Heights is very similar to Norhill in this way, and the modest style of the homes in these two areas helped them as Houston changed demographically to avoid the steady decline occurring in surrounding communities and also help them in gentrification. Houston Heights wasn't so lucky: Economic and social decline hit hard, and the community became decrepit after World War II. Currently, the community is bouncing back due to gentrification.
** Houston Heights - The major neighborhood that the area is known for.
** Norhill - One of the aforementioned neighborhoods.
** Woodland Heights - The other one.
** Lazybrook - Neighborhood west of the Heights.
** Timbergrove - Sister neighborhood to Lazybrook.
** Shady Acres - North of The Heights.
** Shepherd Forest - Just outside the Loop off of White Oak Bayou.

** Westview - One of the large subcommunities in Spring Branch.
** Shadow Oaks - A neighborhood on the west of Spring Branch, just inside the Beltway.
** Timber Oaks - A smaller sister neighborhood of Shadow Oaks.
** Spring Shadows - Major mini-community near Shadow Oaks.
** Kempwood - Another major community.
** Fairbanks - Sister community to Kempwood.
** Northwest Crossing - Another sister community to Kempwood.

** Oak Forest - A sister neighborhood to Garden Oaks.
** Shepherd Park Plaza - A more humble part of the area that contains Garden Oaks.

** Inwood Forest - A neighborhood that has had problems with Acres Homes.
* Independence Heights - Another WretchedHive.
* Northline - A rather poor part of North Houston.
* Eastex - Adjacent to Northline.
* Jensen - Adjacent to Eastex.
* Houston Gardens - Another not-so-cool part of Houston.
* Trinity - The sister community of Houston Gardens.
* East Houston - East of Trinity.

** Highland Timbers - A neighborhood in north Willowbrook.
** Champions Park - A neighborhood in northeast Willowbrook.
** Champions West- Sister neighborhood to Champions Park.
** Champions Place - Another sister neighborhood.
** Champions Park North - Another..
** Champions Court - Another...
** Champions Point - South of this area.
** Prestonwood Forest - Another neighborhood.
** Mandolin Forest - Another.
** Lakewood Forest - Another..
** Lakewood Grove - Another..
** Meadow Vista - Yet another...
** Woodedge Village - Another!

** Kohrville - Unincorporated community in north Willowbrook.
** Louetta - Another unincorporated community. Home to Vintage Park, one of the ritziest areas of town outside of the Beltway. All along 249, slightly north of Willowbrook, you'll find new houses, numerous eateries, even a Whole Foods. And all much less crowded than you'll find them inside the Loop.

** Northgate - Neighborhood just north of Greenspoint.
** Glen Forest Estates - North of Northgate.
** Swea Garden - In southeast Greenspoint.
** Oak Glen Place - South of Swea Garden.
** Meadowviewland - South of Oak Glen Place.
** Greenbriar Place North - North of Greenspoint.
** Green Oak Park - West of Greenspoint.
** Rushwood - West of Green Oak Park
** Lincoln Green East - West of Green Oak Park
** Lincoln Green Estates - Sister to neighborhood above.
** Briarcreek of Aldine - Between Greenspoint and Willowbrook.
** Ideal Farms - In the area above.
** Milroy Farms - The same.
** Northcliff - Near the above.
** Heritage Village - Another neighborhood in this area.
** Laurel Oaks - Northwest of Greenspoint.
** Silverglen North - Sister neighborhood to Laurel Oaks.
** Meadowview Farms - Well north of Greenspoint
** Imperial Green - Neighborhood in Meadowview Farms
** Imperial Plaza - Another.
** Century Plaza - Business area north of Greenspoint.
** Imperial Valley - Greenspoint neighborhood inside the Beltway.

** Sequoia Estates - One of the neighborhoods in Aldine.
** Fountain View - An apartment area that is infamous.
** Parkwood Estates - Another...
** High Meadows - South of the airport.
** Castlewood - Sister neighborhood.
** Magnolia Gardens - Large community in this area.
** Kenwood Place - Nearby.
** Pine Village Forest - Another neighborhood.
** Mt Houston - Unincorporated community in the southeast of Aldine.
** Greenbriar Colony - Neighborhood in north Aldine, west of Bush Intercontinental Airport
** Waverly Farms - North of Greenbriar Colony
** Gatewood - West of Greenbriar Colony.
** Central Green - Business area west of Waverly Farms.
** Greenview Manor - Bulldozed neighborhood within Houston city limits and between Waverly Farms and JFK Blvd's entrance to Bush Intercontinental Airport.
** East Aldine - Of all of Greater Houston's majority-Mexican communities, East Aldine might take the cake. Driving down Aldine-Westfield, one might get the feeling that one has been unwittingly teleported south of the Rio Grande; in East Aldine, it's signs and billboards in English that's the weird thing...
* Humble - A city just east of Bush Airport, it is the second of the three incorporated cities in Northern Harris County, and unlike the others, it is a complete enclave, surrounded on practically all sides by Houston's city limits, not just ETJ. The city incorporated in 1933 after a massive oil boom due to its truly large local oil wells. Humble Oil Company, a predecessor to Exxon, was headquartered here. Not very wealthy, or nice, compared to other Houston suburbs as the oil boom has long ended (though petroleum remains an important industry regardless), but it holds on greedily to its independence regardless.
** Laurel Place - Between Atascocita and Humble.
** Heather Ridge Village - Neighborhood west of Humble in Houston city limits, between Humble and the airport.
** Glen Lee Place - Sister neighborhood to Heather Ridge Village.
** Kenswick - Neighborhood west of Humble on F.M. 1960.
** Humble Heights - Another neighborhood in this area.
** Mill Creek - Another.
** Saddle Ridge - Another..
** Oak Hill Estates - Another...
** Cypresswood Point - Another....
** Cypress Gardens - Wooded area near Humble.
** Riverwood - Well west of Humble.
** Midway Plaza - Bulldozed area south of Riverwood.
** North Belt Forest - Southeast of Humble.
** Eagle Creek - South of North Belt.
** Sunset Ridge - East of Eagle Creek.
** Lindsey - Near Sunset Ridge
** Oak Knoll Estates - South of Humble.
** Humble Road Place - Near Oak Knoll Estates
* Atascocita - Large unincorporated community east of Humble, and west of Lake Houston, an artificial lake which is entirely in Houston City Limits, and was created by flooding city owned land and damming it up. Atascocita is in Houston's ETJ, but circa about 2005 signed a 30-year non-annexation agreement with the city, which annexed its business areas and began levying a sales tax on the businesses in return. Thereby, the neighborhood can expect independence till at least the 2030s.

** Northgate Crossing - Neighborhood that is the northernmost point of the Hardy Toll Rd, and the last neighborhood going north in I-45 before leaving Harris County.
** Lexington Woods - A neighborhood southeast of Northgate Crossing.
** North Spring - Another neighborhood.
** Springridge - Sister neighborhood to North Spring.
** Windsor Forest - Neighborhood in the northwest of Spring.
** Dove Meadows - Sister to Windsor Forest.
** Cypresswood Lake - Neighborhood in the middle of Spring.
** Spring Lakes - Sister to the neighborhood above.
** Bending Bough - Neighborhood in this area.
** Devonshire Woods - Another.
** Candlelight Hills - Another..
** Cypress Forest Park - Another...
** Spring Park Village - Another....
** Fairfax Village - In the west of Spring.
** Postwood - Another in this area.
** Carterwood - Another..
** Forest Lakes - Another...
** Cypresswood Green - Another!
** Imperial Ridge - Neighborhood between Greenspoint and Spring.

* Cypress - Unincorporated community northwest of Jersey Village, alongside 290. One of the (Historically) whitest (It's becoming increasingly Hispanic) and most affluent communities in Northwest Harris County, it's notoriously difficult to determine where exactly Cypress begins and ends. Cypress is often lumped together with Fairbanks to its southeast, and much of Northwest Harris County is often called the "Cy-Fair Area" as a result. The two communities along with Jersey Village are served by the Cy-Fair Independent School District, one of the most exemplary school districts in all of Texas.

Not to be confused with the neighborhood of East Houston which is considered part of ''North Houston'' (yes its confusing, work with us), this region has some rough boundaries; its everything east Loop 610, south of the Crosby Freeway (inside the Beltway), east of Lake Houston and the 22.5-mile canal that links the lake to the city (outside the Beltway), and not included in the Galveston Bay Area. A combination of industrial and rural areas, it forms an important basis for the economic engine of the city, though, of it contains very little of the city of Houston (though more than half the area is in the city's ETJ). Houston Neighborhoods, unincorporated suburbs, and independent cities include:

* Cloverleaf - Unincorporated community located directly adjacent to Houston's North Shore neighborhood, sitting between North Shore and Beltway 8 and bounded on the south by Interstate 10. A majority white community bisected by Houston city limits (Houston annexed Woodforest Boulevard, which runs right down the middle, and some businesses along the Beltway), its a rather quaint middle to lower working class community sitting in Houston's ETJ. The last or first thing you see on I-10 before or after you reach the Beltway.
* Channelview - A large, sprawling community in Houston's ETJ, it covers just about every community in this area, on both sides of Interstate 10, outside the Beltway, south of Sheldon, and north of the shipping channel, which gave the community its name. Bisected by Houston City Limits as Houston annexed Interstate 10. The last or first thing you see on Interstate 10 outside the Beltway, but before or after you cross the bridge into Baytown. Majority white, it's slightly wealthier than many of the communities surrounding it, and includes a variety of commercial, industrial and residential areas.

* Highlands - Yet another unincorporated community, it is outside Houston's ETJ and sits instead in Baytown's ETJ. Named Highlands because it sits on the high east bank of the San Jacinto River, the community was actually incorporated in 1930, but its charter was voided, thus leaving it unincorporated again, which it currently remains unless Baytown annexes it. Currently stands at a population of a little more than 7,500, it's a small little majority white community located just north of I-10 that you can access just before you enter or right after you leave Baytown.
* Lynchburg - A very small unincorporated community located in Baytown's ETJ mostly known for being home to a ferry that will take you across the Buffalo Bayou and ship channel (in fact, an alternate name for the community is Lynch's Ferry).

* The Woodlands -Large, very affluent community well north of Greenspoint. Houston has attempted to annex this neighborhood in the past, but has been constantly rebuffed. Houston has recently agreed to not annex the master-planned community for a few decades, in the meantime allowing The Woodlands to potentially incorporate itself (while agreeing to payoff Houston for the lack of incorporation).
** Rayford - Unaffiliated community in the southeast corner of the area of The Woodlands. The main business area along Interstate 45 has been annexed by Houston.
** Grogan's Mill - One of the neighborhoods in The Woodlands.
** Grogan's Forest - Another neighborhood.
** Cochran's Crossing - Another neighborhood.
** Indian Springs - Another...
** Sterling Ridge - Another.
** Alden Bridge - In the north of The Woodlands.
** Egypt - Unincorporated community in the northwest corner of The Woodlands.

** Jacob's Reserve - Community in the northwest of Shenadoah.
** Carriage Hills - Sister community to Jacob's Reserve.
** Tamina - An unincorporated community east of Shenadoah.
* Woodloch - A VERY small town well northeast of Shenadoah of no particular note.
* Oak Ridge North - A small town East of The Woodlands.
** Chateau Woods - Unincorporated Township east of Oak Ridge North that was formerly incorporated.
* Conroe - Large city north of The Woodlands, is is the county seat and the largest city in Montgomery County.
* Cut And Shoot - Unincorporated community east of Conroe.
* Panorama Village - Town north of Conroe.
* Willis - Town north of Panorama Village.
* New Waverly - Town well north of Willis.
* Montgomery - Town west of Conroe.

** Phelps - East of Huntsville on U.S. 190
** Dodge - East of Phelps
** Oakhurst - Further east.
** Point Blank - Further east.
** Stephen Creek- South of Point Blank in the Sam Houston Forest
** Willow Springs - Southwest of Stephen Creek.
** Riverside - North of Huntsville, but not on I-45.
* Livingston - Town well east of Huntsville via U.S. 190, located on I-69 north (making it well north of Kingwood/Humble/Bush Airport).

** Blanchard - Township west of Livingston.
** Onalaska - North of Blanchard on U.S. 190.
** Goodrich - South of Livingston

Greater Houston's regions (including its enclaves, areas in its ETJ, and connected suburbs) includes:

** Westwick - A neighborhood on the north side of the Energy Corridor that has several nice houses.
** Nottingham Forest - A major suburb along Memorial that is in close proximity to the Energy Corridor.
** Nottingham - Sister neighborhood to Nottingham Forest.
** Wilchester - Another major Energy Corridor suburb.
** Wilchester West - Sister neighborhood.
** Yorkshire - Another neighborhood.
** Gaywood - Another.
** Rustling Pines - Another..
** Autumn Oaks - Another...
** Fonn Villas - Another....
** Tealwood - Another.....
** Frostwood - Another......
** Memorial Plaza - Another!
** Memorial Bend - And another!
** Country Village - Annnnndddd another!
** Thornwood - Yet another....
** Fleetwood - At the west end of the Energy Corridor, before Hwy 6.
** Barker's Landing - Sister neighborhood to Fleetwood.
** Ashford South - Another suburb south of Buffalo Bayou, but with smaller housing.
** Ashford Forest - Sister neighborhood to Ashford South.
** Westwind - Another one.
** West Hampton - And one more...
* West Oaks - Community just south of the Energy Corridor; contains the West Oaks Mall..
** Briar Village - Yet another suburb, but in a slightly questionable state.
** Windmill Villas - Apartment area south of West Oaks Mall.
** Westbend - South of the Energy Corridor, north of the Westpark Tollway.
** Oak Park Ridge - North of Westbend.
** Finlaywest Oaks - Part of this area.
** Oakpark Place - Another part of the area.
** Forestview - Another!
** Clayton Oaks - Another!
** Clayton - West of Westbend.
** Clayton North - Northern extension of the area.
** Clayton Woods - Another part of it.
** Clayton Greens - Getting repetitive?
** Traditions at Clayton Park - Zzzz
** Timbergate - Part of the area.
** Wingate - West of Clayton.
** Windgate - Same as Wingate.
** Westheimer Place - West of Wingate.
** Crestwater - Gated community at the west of the area that contains Wingate.
** Great Oaks - Suburb neighborhood south of the Westpark Tollway.
** West Oaks Village - West of Great Oaks.
** Twin Oaks Village - Sister neighborhood of West Oaks Village.
* Cinco Ranch - Boring white rich suburb east of Katy. Moving on...
* Kingsland - Another one...

* Morgan's Point - A small bedroom community that used to be a resort town and retreat for Houston's wealthy. Now, not so much. Sitting at the mouth of the Houston Ship Channel, it is home to the Barbours Cut Terminal, a huge shipping container complex for the nearby ports and the only thing keeping this little town relevant.

* Nassau Bay - A more upper class, majority white bedroom community located across the street from the Johnson Space Center along Clear Lake.
* Webster - Located next to Nassau Bay and Clear Lake City, is known for nothing in particular except being small and riding on the coattails of the nearby Space Center.

* Clear Lake Shores - A community so small, it really has no purpose other than to be another rich white community. How many does that make now?

The Galveston County sub-region, not including Galveston, is poor, crime-ridden, and really not a place one would choose to live, excepting a few select communities. This area includes all of Galveston County outside of the Clear Lake Area and the city of Galveston. Cities and communities in Galveston County include:

* Dickinson - A city known for primarily being a reasonable place to live compared to its compatriots in Galveston County.
* La Marque - AKA, that area that isn't part of Texas City (for some reason) but is no better off for it.
* Bayou Vista - A small town of less than 2,000 people, but better off than the rest of the towns in its immediate area.
* Tiki Island - A small village that doesn't even push 1,000 people. Is also the most well off area in this sub-region. Go figure.

* Santa Fe - Not to be confused with the New Mexican city of the same name, this small city is slightly better off than its neighbors, and just as white as them as well.

Centered around the city of Sugar Land, the Sugar Land area has no real set geographical boundaries, unlike many of the other regions of Houston. Roughly, it is everything outside of the Beltway, South of Westpark Tollway, and west of Fort Bend Parkway (and not in Houston). Home to some of Houston's nicest suburbs, it represents the area that marks the last thing you see of Greater Houston going towards Victoria, Texas, and Corpus Christi. Much of the area has already incorporated and is thus out of Houston's reach, much to the city's chagrin. Houston neighborhoods and independent cities in the area include:

* Mission Bend - One of the few unincorporated areas in Houston's ETJ, thus maintaining Houston's link to Fort Bend County, a majority White suburb (as if there is any other kind around here)
* Four Corners - Same as Mission Bend, but with a weirder name
* Grand Mission - Another suburb.
* Meadows Place - Originally just Meadows, this is yet another example of a city could just join Houston tomorrow and no one would notice. Was in the ETJ of nearby Stafford, but, like so many other cities that will be called out here, incorporated to avoid joining Houston. Has less than 5,000 people.
* Missouri City - One of the most weirdly named areas in all of Greater Houston, and for this region, that is saying something. Started as a major railroad hub, and like so many other communities in Houston, it scrambled to incorporate to avoid annexation (a running theme around here). Is interestingly possibly one of the few Houston suburbs to experience large scale White Flight; as middle class Blacks moved into the area, middle and upper class whites packed up and left. Now, the community is mostly middle class African American (finally, some variety).
** Fonmeadow - A neighborhood in north Missouri City that is inside the Beltway.
** Fondren Park - Another neighborhood near Fonmeadow.

* Stafford - Originally a plantation owned by a William Stafford, this city, despite its small size, incorporated in the '50s before Sugar Land. Sandwiched between Houston and Missouri City, one gets the impression that it exist just because. Is actually quite ethically diverse, being a mix of Whites, Blacks, and Asians. Despite being a suburb of Houston, more people actually work here than live here, if you can believe it.
* Rosenberg - A small town located in Fort Bend County that really isn't just a CutandPasteSuburb. The last thing you will see going out of the Greater Houston Area going towards Victoria (of any consequence). Still overwhelmingly white though.
** Cumings - Community north of Richmond.
** Kingdom Heights - NOT ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', this is a neighborhood near Cumings.

** Richmond Landing - On the north end of town.
** Edgewood - In the same area.
* Pecan Grove - Master-planned community northeast of Richmond.
** Pitts - One of the sub-communities.
** Plantation Meadows - Another.
** Rio Vista - Another.
** The Greens - Another..
** Plantation Place - Another one.
** Waterside Estates - Another north of the Grand Parkway
** Bradford Park - Few minutes north of Pecan Grove.
** Texana Plantation - Community outside of west Pecan Grove.
** Goldenrod Estates - Another.
** Royal Estates - Another.
** Long Meadow Farms - Another.
** Pine Hill Ranchettes - The northernmost part of the area.

A large amorphous area that includes a large swath of Houston, it is a perfect summarization of Houston as a whole: you have got wealthy well-to-do areas, poorer crime-ridden areas, and everything in between. Separating downtown from the Katy and Sugar Land Areas, Southwest Houston includes the following neighborhoods:

** West Oaks - Not to be confused with the mall area around George Bush Park, this is a small gated community.
** Tanglewood - One of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the entire city, this is just west of West Oaks and northwest of the Galleria.
** Pine Shadows - A sister neighborhood of Tanglewood.
** Briargrove - A deed community west of Tanglewood
** Briarcroft - South of Tanglewood
** St. George Place - A rather pleasant townhouse community south of Briarcroft
** Larchmont - A small neighborhood south of St. George Place that has seen a few problems, but is undergoing gentrification.
** Charnwood - A small area west of Briargrove.
** Briarbend - Sister neighborhood to Charnwood.
** Briarmeadow - South of Charnwood and Briarbend, a rather pleasant place to live.
** Hammersmith - Townhouse neighborhood.
** Richmond Strip - Runs on Richmond Ave between Westchase and the southern end of Uptown. Became a major club scene for a while, but has lost that title to Washington Ave in the Heights and started falling on hard times, though a Dave & Buster's and a few new restaurants are still on the Strip.
* Alief - A huge community separating the Katy Area from the Sugar Land Area. Most of Alief is in Houston, but portions of it are still in Harris County's unincorporated area, though, they are in Houston's ETJ, so they might as well be part of Houston anyway. Ending at Westheimer Road in the north, it is the large area of Southwest Houston that is outside the Beltway. Like many areas of Houston, it suffered from white flight in the 70s as Whites moved out to get away from Blacks, who were trying to get away from Mexicans. Later, large amounts of Asians from China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, Laos, and Indonesia also settled here. In some places you can even find dual language signs. Unfortunately, all these demographics changes led to an increase in Poverty and Crime as well, which afflict the area to this day. Like so many areas of Houston, it fought annexation, but Houston said "[[Creator/DaveChappelle Gotcha, Bitch]]!" and consumed most of it.

** Belknap Acres - Area adjacent to some of the Sugar Land area at the '''very''' southern end of Alief.
** Huntington Village - Neighborhood at the south of Alief.
** Pheasant Run - At the west of Alief.
** Imperial Point - A neighborhood in east Alief
** Glenshannon - Another one in east Alief.
** Keegans Glen - In south Alief.
* Westchase - One of the centers of Houston's skyline, along with Downtown, Uptown, and the Energy Corridor. Is a large, urban business development straddling the Beltway and to the direct west of Uptown. Several large businesses, including those associated with the petroleum industry (such as [[MegaCorp Halliburton]]), have offices here. Mostly a boring business area that just adds to Houston's skyline.

** Briargrove Park - West of Rivercrest, an affluent neighborhood.
** Walnut Bend - West of Beltway 8 and north of Westheimer, not quite as affluent due to an influx of Hurricane Katrina refugees.
** Lakeside Estates - The sister neighborhood of Walnut Bend.
** Tanglewilde - Old suburb adjacent to the east border of Westchase, has suffered in recent years.
** Wood Lake - Near Rivercrest.

** Sunset Terrace - A wealthy neighborhood (again) south of Greenway Plaza and directly adjacent to the north border of West University Place, but is not a part of that township.

** Braesmont - A neighborhood just west of Meyerland, and nearly indistinguishable from it.
** Maplewood - Much less affluent than the rest, it's just west of Braesmont.

* Hiram Clarke - Located between the loop and the beltway, Southwest of NRG Park, and well south of Bellaire and Meyerland, anyone visiting Houston should be forewarned: This is one of the roughest areas of the city, a regular WretchedHive, and visiting isn't recommended. Drugs and crime are rampant here, and some areas lack even sidewalks. If a rapper from Houston refers to an area called "the Clarke", this is what he means. Essentially ghetto central, only really noteworthy for Madison High School, which has seen several star athletes, including Vince Young, as its alumni. This infamous area is part of the "5 Corners District".
** Brentwood - One of the neighborhoods in Hiram Clarke.
** Corinthian Pointe - A new, small house suburb just west of Hiram Clarke.
** Winchester - South of Corinthian Pointe.
** South Main Plaza - In southwest Hiram Clarke
** Pine Island Addition - Sister neighborhood to South Main Plaza.
** Mayfair Park - Near those two.
** Willow Park - In the west.
** Briargate - South of Willow Park.
** Almeda - Unincorporated community in the southeast of Hiram Clarke.
** Garden Place To Almeda - Community at the south of Hiram Clarke.
** Orchard Grove - Community near here.
** Monarch Estates - Area near Orchard Grove.
** Foxshire North - Small area near here.
** Burnham - Sister neighborhood to Foxshire North.
** Birdsall - Near those two neighborhoods.
** Bluebonnet Acres - At the south of Hiram Clarke.
** City Park - In east Hiram Clarke, just before 288.
** Myrtle - In the northeast of the area.
* Gulfton - Large community located directly to the West of Bellaire, separating it from Sharpstown and located to the South of Uptown. Formerly Westmoreland Farms, it's one of the most densely populated communities in Houston, and the area is home to many apartment complexes and contains the small Shenadoah ranch-house neighborhood. Originally a prosperous, primarily White neighborhood, the Oil Bust that tanked the economy of the city tanked the neighborhood too. Gulfton's population exploded and it gained a primarily immigrant makeup, in particular Hispanics (more particularly, illegals). Gulfton is now a struggling, poor, crime-ridden neighborhood, dealing with the aftereffects of poor urban planning and the exploitative nature of its creation, gaining the area the unflattering nickname "the Gulfton Ghetto"; it's one of the most infamous [[WretchedHive Wretched Hives]] in the southwestern states, though it is also home to several distribution companies and a few Latin restaurants.
** Shenadoah - The neighborhood inside Gulfton, it has fallen apart ever since the Oil Bust.

** Morningside Place - Neighborhood just south of Rice Village, and a wealthy area (of course).
** Southgate - The sister neighborhood of Morningside Place.
** University Place - Part of this general area.
* Braeswood Place - Large deed restricted community directly south of West University Place and Southside Place, west of the Texas Medical Center and east of Meyerland, and straddling Brays Bayou. Originally consisting of wealthy ranch-style houses, floods in 2001 devastated the community and prompted most of these houses to be torn down and replaced with newer housing.
** Westridge - A neighborhood west of NRG Park and south of Braeswood Place and Brays Bayou that has seen a few problems, but is undergoing regentrification.
** Linkwood - Another neighborhood that is adjacent to Westridge.
** Old Braeswood - An offshoot east of Braeswood Place that is even more affluent; this is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and has a multitude of historic homes including large ranch-houses (by Houston standards).
** Cambridge Green - A smaller townhouse neighborhood west of Old Braeswood.
** University Square - Small housing area south of West University Place.

** Woodside - Another one..
** Woodshire - Another...
** Westwood - Not to be confused with the Westwood in Forum Park, yet another...
* Willowbend - A working class neighborhood just south of Meyerland and the loop, it has seen its share of problems.
** Willow Meadows - The more affluent northern end of Willowbend, it's got some pleasant housing, and is, along with the Link Valley/deep-south Braeswood Place and Meyerland areas, the only really good area along West Bellfort Ave inside the beltway.
* Westbury - West of Willowbend and Meyerland, southwest of Bellaire, this neighborhood is not one of the upscale areas.
* Fondren Southwest - This includes Westbury, and while it has suitable housing, the apartment complexes were infamous for being another one of Houston's Wretched Hives; the most acceptable part of the neighborhood is Braeburn Valley, which is on the western end of Brays Bayou prior to it merging with another street and then Interstate 69 (concurrent with US 59 through the Houston area).
** Braeburn Valley - The aforementioned neighborhood with working class housing.
** Brae Acres - Strip with large properties, though isolated from much else by Sharpstown.
** Braes Timbers - Another neighborhood in the district.
** Robindell - Another...
** Braeburn Terrace - Another next to Robindell...
** Larkwood - And another.
** Braeburn Glen - A neighborhood towards the southern end of Sharpstown and the upper end of this area.
** Northfield - A neighborhood in south Fondren Southwest.
** Southmeadow - Another neighborhood in this area.

While this area could really be considered apart of Southwest Houston, it is so well known in Houston and has such a clearly defined identity that it deserves its own special mention. There was a time when Sharpstown represented one of Houston's most well known (and well off) suburbs, but those days are long past. When Hurricane Katrina hit, this is where most of the refugees ended up, and crime rose in proportion too. Neighborhoods include:
* Sharpstown - Where it all started. It was one of the United States' first car-based master-planned communities, a novelty at the time, and its growth was facilitated by the coming of the Southwest Expressway. Nearby, the Sharpstown Mall was built, which was Houston's first indoor shopping mall. Though originally majority White, soon Blacks and Latinos flocked to the area, as well as Asians, creating one of the largest Asian American Communities in Houston. Unfortunately, with this type of demographic change, usually comes the undesirable aspects of life: crime and poverty, and Sharpstown fell victim to both. This is reflected in the Sharpstown Mall, which was renamed the Sharpstown Center, and soon gained a reputation as the "ghetto mall" of Houston. Sharpstown Center continued to decline into bankruptcy, after which it was renamed [=PlazAmerica's=] and now caters to the ghetto Latino population instead of the ghetto Black population. In a sense, nothing has really changed and nothing of value was lost. This mall did get a Cineplex Odeon movie theater attached in 1993 (the mall that took Sharpstown's business, the Galleria, saw its cinema close in 1994), and this shuttered and was eventually reopened as a Latino focused theater called "Viva Cinemas". It only lasted a few months, but they also accused the nearby AMC Studio 30 (which is north of Sharpstown and east of Westchase) of taking their business unfairly and then ending their Latino offerings when Viva closed; this led to a lawsuit against the cinema chains regarding movie studio "clearance" that has prompted a Washington D.C. Department Of Justice investigation, so [=PlazAmericas=] has that.
* Harwin Drive - Houston's bargain mile; its west end is around Wilcrest Drive on the west side of Westchase, where it goes into Alief and becomes Alief-Clodine road, while its east terminus is on the southbound frontage road at Interstate 69, just east of Hillcroft. A place where you can get anything you want at a very good price...as long as you're ok with it possibly being fake. Anything designer that you could pay an arm and a leg for at any of Houston's malls can be got at Harwin for much less, and anyone looking for something nice, yet cheap should look here first. Once again, as long as one is willing to risk getting a counterfeit, everything is permitted.
* Forum Park - At the southwest end of Sharpstown, being the last neighborhood for I-69 and Beltway 8 going south before the two freeways intersect (Forum Park's inside a V-shaped enclave with these two highways inside the Beltway). The good news about this neighborhood is it has a handful of nice, well-known car dealerships for Houston. The bad news is everything else; this is another Wretched Hive AND Prostitution Central in Houston, which helped drive a mall in the neighborhood out of business, leaving only a Sears.

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOntheTin The area to the east of Southwest Houston.]] Not good enough? Okay, everything between Clear Lake City and Downtown. Still not good enough? Okay, a large amorphous area that is roughly Houston's Southeastern Portion, excluding Clear Lake, made up of various neighborhoods. That's the best you will get. The neighborhoods here include:

* Houston Museum District - One of the city's chief attractions, the area is home to 19 museums that attract millions of visitors each year. Two institutions, Houston Zoo and the Houston Museum of Natural Science are located in nearby...
** Binz - The alternate name for the Museum District.
** Museum Park - Community inside the Museum District.
* Hermann Park - Houston's most visited public park, Hermann separates the Medical Center from the Museum District. Besides the attractions already listed, the area is also home to Houston Garden Center, Miller Outdoor Theatre, and the Hermann Park Golf Course. There is also a reflecting pool (like the one in Washington, D.C.) and a statue of, who else, but Sam Houston!
** Boulevard Oaks - A highly wealthy neighborhood west of Hermann Park and the Museum District.
** Southampton - A sister neighborhood of Boulevard Oaks.
* Third Ward - The Historic Center of Houston's African American community, known in among rap culture as "the Trey". Historically economically depressed, the old ward system that was used in Houston (and is still in use today by UsefulNotes/NewOrleans) hasn't actually been an official part of Houston government since 1905, but the old ward designations are still used to refer to the old neighborhoods regardless. The neighborhood has been experiencing gentrification recently, leading to push back from local community leaders.
* Riverside Terrace - At one point a primarily Jewish neighborhood, then a primarily African American one, it is now experiencing gentrification that is transforming it from a decrepit neighborhood, to a healthy, diverse one.
* Washington Terrace - Another historically black neighborhood, currently undergoing gentrification.
* University Oaks - A small community located just south of University of Houston, it gained infamy for its racial covenant that prevented anyone not "of the Caucasian race" from moving in.
* Gulfgate - A large district just east of the University of Houston. This is where things start going downhill. Noteworthy for featuring the Gulfgate Mall Shopping Center and an iconic coffee shop.
** Pine Valley - A subdistrict in Gulfgate.

* South Park - Between 288/Hiram Clarke and Hobby Airport, this is not that much different from "The Clarke"; this also has seen several rappers make note of it and the eastern border of Telephone Road, [[note]] which is the west border of Glenblook Valley and the airport, during which it's also designated as Texas Highway 35, which goes on without the Telephone Road signing once south of the Beltway and in Pearland [[/note]] one of the most infamous streets in the city. One of those rappers, South Park Mexican, named himself after the neighborhood, and he is currently serving in prison.
** South Acres - In the southwest
** Crestmont Park - Sister community to South Acres.
** Garden Villas - Between South Park and Glenbrook Valley.
* Sunnyside - Another segment of the WretchedHive that is west of Hobby, but with slightly nicer housing. ''Slightly''.
** Brookhaven - A part of Sunnyside.
* Gulf Meadows - South of Hobby Airport and north of Pearland, it was another WretchedHive, but is undergoing gentrification.
** Skyscraper Shadows - In this area.

** Ellington - The alternate community, which also houses Ellington Airport (formerly Ellington Field), which was a U.S. military base. One of the few U.S. bases founded during WWI for pilot training still in any kind of operation, Ellington is now owned by the City of Houston, though various military and government functions, including NASA and the Texas Air Guard, still operate out of the facility. Recently the wheels have begun turning to turn the facility into a premier Spaceport, and it has already been designated as such.

The most rural area of Greater Houston (as everything else is suburbs), Brazoria County is named after the Brazos River (note there is another county in Texas called Brazos County named after the same river, so don't get them confused). The main expressway here is Texas road 288 (or the South Freeway, or just 288) that carries thousands into and out of Houston every day (be forewarned, this road is a haven for speed traps). The area also known as Brazosport includes areas both in and just outside the county, and includes the Communities:

* Brookside Village - One of the most pointless towns in this area, you would be forgiven for thinking it was part of Pearland. Brookside is a suburb that doesn't even push 2000 people, and really could just as well be part of Pearland. For example, all of its students go to schools in Pearland, that's how small it is.
* Arcola - Another town of less than 2000 people, it can be forgiven because it is relatively remote (as in, it is not surrounded by another city).

* Manvel - Another kleptomaniac town whose city limits don't conform to its size, it is huge for a small town out in the boondocks with less than 4000 people.

* Hillcrest - Not to be confused with [[ComicStrip/TheBoondocks a certain Woodcrest]], its a small town of less than 1000 people that is almost not even visible on a map and could generally be mistaken for being part of Alvin.

* Angleton - County seat for Brazoria, and FlyoverCountry for anyone using 288.
* Brazoria - A city from which the county got its name (or is it the other way around?). Actually got into a fight with Angleton over who would get to be county seat. It lost apparently.
* Lake Jackson - second largest city in the county and almost 45 mins. from Houston. Despite this, unlike most of the surrounding area, it resembles some of Houston's nicest suburbs. Nolan Ryan Expressway ends here. Hometown of Music/{{Selena}}, the Tejano music superstar murdered as she was starting to break into the mainstream.

* Clute - (Don't ask about the name.) Gained a measure of fame when a Mammoth skeleton was found here.

** West Lane Place - The eastern side of Afton Oaks.

** Royden Oaks - The south part of River Oaks, but not quite part of it. Houses are smaller, but no less expensive.
** Tall Timbers - The western end of River Oaks, this is one of the most expensive parts of town.
** Oak Estates - Not a part of River Oaks, but close enough.
** Terrelview Place - The least wealthy part of the area (but that's not saying a lot).
* Highland Village - Small community straddling Westheimer Road, between Afton Oaks, River Oaks, Uptown, and Greenway plaza. Very upscale, the area is most remembered for the Highland Village Shopping center, an upscale shopping area that caters to many of the surrounding communities.
** Lynn Park - The southern end of the village.
** Weslayan Plaza - Different from the shopping center south of Sunset Terrace, this is a sister neighborhood of Lynn Park.
* Upper Kirby - Located between Greenway Plaza and Neartown, Upper Kirby is located just east of Buffalo Speedway (which is a street in Houston, really!). Is primarily a business area.
** Alabama Square - A neighborhood inside Upper Kirby.

* Fresno - not to be confused with the California city with the same name, Fresno is a large unincorporated area in Houston's ETJ. Originally a small rural community, Houston's explosive growth led to a transformation, as numerous housing developments have sprung up. Houston hasn't gotten around to annexing them yet though.

* Iowa Colony - a small village that was such a horrible speed trap,[[note]]it actually had no fewer than five fingers of its territory crossing 288, giving the cops unrivaled opportunities to hand out tickets when the speed limit suddenly dropped to 45 MPH in the city[[/note]] Texas enacted a law limiting how much money a municipality could get from speeding tickets. It would take the cake for weirdest name for a town in Greater Houston, except it got its name from the company that founded it, who were from Des Moines, Iowa.

* Hillcrest - not to be confused with [[ComicStrip/TheBoondocks a certain Woodcrest]], its a small town of less than 1000 people that is almost not even visible on a map and could generally be mistaken for being part of Alvin.

* Angleton - county seat for Brazoria, and FlyoverCountry for anyone using 288.
* Brazoria - a city from which the county got its name (or is it the other way around?). Actually got into a fight with Angleton over who would get to be county seat. It lost apparently.

* Clute - (don't ask about the name) a city that you literally can't tell where it ends and Lake Jackson begins. Gained a measure of fame when a Mammoth skeleton was found here.
* Freeport - a small town that merged with Velasco, TX, the first capital of the Republic of Texas, it is now most remembered for the fact that it is surrounded by unsightly oil refineries that can be seen from Lake Jackson.

* East Downtown Houston ([=EaDo=]) - Separating East End from Downtown, this area is the neighborhood just south of the Eastex Freeway (I-69) when passing the Central Business District (CBD). Old Chinatown, one of the two in the city, is located here. Also located here is the other (good) football team, the Houston Dynamo, and their stadium, BBVA Stadium. Also of note is a very large, old sign reading simply "WALD" which often shows up in Instagrams of Houston as an item of mystery [[note]]It was built in the 50's by Mr. Wald and did and does sell office furniture, if you must know[[/note]]. The area has had its ups and downs. On the one hand, it is home to many industrial warehouses, some abandoned, some still in use, and was for a long time pretty much Houston's version of Skid Row, having a huge homeless population (most of them have since moved on to Midtown). On the other hand, the area is becoming a center for revitalization, gentrification, and revival. For example, a large artists community is springing up here, and growing all the time. There may come a day when, for comparison, if Neartown is Houston's Greenwich, [=EaDo=] is its Williamsburg.
* Midtown - Everything between the Gulf Freeway wrapping around downtown's southwest, the Southwest Freeway, and Spur 527 (along with a few buildings to the south of Southwest, and a small area of condos, townhouses and the like north of Bagby Street). Originally split between the Third and Fourth Wards, the area was once an upscale residential neighborhood, till businesses pushed them out. It later morphed into Little Saigon, as Vietnamese residents arrived and this lead to a transformation of the neighborhood. Now, the neighborhood is a middle to upper class majority white neighborhood, with some remainder of its former history as a Vietnamese community, with a lot of businesses thrown in for good measure. It has also recently become pretty much ground zero for the homeless, so it never hurts to keep some pocket change when traveling through.
* Fourth Ward - another area that kept its name as a former ward of Houston, the Fourth Ward was once Freedmen's Town, a community that was home to post-Civil War freed blacks. Until the 1920s, it was the center of Houston's black community. After this, the community took a nose dive, especially with the building of housing projects in the area. The community became wracked with crime, drugs, and decay, and Houston has long sought nothing less than to wipe it from the map and replace it with something far more palatable. To this end, Houston tore down most of the projects, and what remained was turned into a historical area. The area has recently been undergoing gentrification, forcing most of the old residents out, and today, it is the smallest neighborhood in Houston in terms of population. Most of the neighborhood's historical aspects are gone and it is slowly but surely becoming an extension of Midtown.

* Montrose - Montrose was originally an upscale streetcar suburb of Houston. During the 60s and 70s, the area became a miniaturized version of San Francisco, a center of the counterculture movement. It was also at this time that the area gained a reputation as the center of Houston's gay and lesbian community. Eventually, a substantial gay and lesbian community appeared, and gay bars dotted the neighborhood. The AIDS epidemic ravaged this community, and the gay population decentralized, though a fair number still remain and it is still a major [[LGBTFanbase LGBT center]] in Texas.
* Hyde Park - A neigborhood near Montrose.

Area south and east of east downtown, located between Downtown, the Port of Houston and Hobby Airport. Houston's very own [[UsefulNotes/NewOrleans Canal Street]] runs through here. It is here that Harrisburgh, the capital of Texas was once located. Here now is:
* Second Ward - also called Segundo Barrio, the Second Ward is another one of the city's four original wards. About the 1920s, the ward made the transition to be primarily Mexican in makeup, which has remained true, more or less, ever since. Gained a negative reputation in the 70s and 80s, but is currently undergoing gentrification.
* Magnolia Park - another Hispanic neighborhood, and one of the oldest in Houston. Was formerly a separate incorporated community (and white.)
* Idylwood - a neighborhood considered the most forgotten in Houston. A rather pleasant place to live.

* Bellaire - Houston's largest island city and its largest enclave [[note]] Not to be confused with Bel Air in Hollywood, which is also a luxury area, but a small theater in Southside Place DID use that name before it closed [[/note]], has the nickname the "City of Homes", as it is mostly residential. This title is not really deserved though: it is the only enclave with a business district of any real size. Bellaire incorporated ten years after its founding, preventing Houston from outright annexing it. However, even after Houston had long annexed everything around it, Bellaire refused to join the city. After the 1980s, the city rapidly became one of the most affluent in the Houston area. It has also gained a reputation for racism, especially amongst its police.

* Hilshire Village - the tenth-wealthiest location in Texas, Hilshire Village is the smallest village (only 0.3 square miles!). An overwhelmingly white rich enclave that has no real reason to not be part of Houston, it is one of the two villages north of the Katy Freeway, the other being:
* Spring Valley Village - originally known as just Spring Valley, it changed its name to keep the naming theme going.

* Hedwig Village - a smaller village, straddling Katy Freeway's southern flank. It is the only village to have extensive business development.
* Bunker Hill Village - despite its name, it has had nothing to do with battles, except the FlameWar over why it exists. The third largest village.

* Piney Point Village - the largest village by land area (just barely 2 square miles), this city is the richest area in the entire state by per capita income. This is the truest sense of the term when one says "hideout for the wealthy".

* The Washington Avenue Area - large area of Houston between the Bayou, Katy Freeway, Downtown, and the Loop, it also includes a small area just north of the Katy. Home to a number of neighborhoods, the area is named for its major thoroughfare, once a major economic arterial of the city. By the 90s, unfortunately, the area gained a reputation for being run down. Recently however, the area has experienced a revival, with a growing yuppie population. A few years ago, the area gained a reputation as a nightlife entertainment spot being home to many clubs, taking the title from Richmond Strip. However, it has evolved to something a little more sane: a place to dine out (because Houston needs more of those)

* Northside Village - Residential area east of The Heights and directly north of Downtown. One of Houston's many majority-Hispanic communities, it's something of a mixed-bag; the western side is moderately middle-class and looks like an extension of the Heights, but the farther east you go, the more run-down it gets. As of 2020, the main drag up Elysian looks a bit like the Heights after a ZombieApocalypse, and there don't appear to be any attempts at gentrification anytime soon [[note]]This might be starting to change, though; the Elysian Viaduct has been under construction since 2017, and changes are finally starting to come[[/note]]. Most of Northside's eastern third or so is occupied by a massive Industrial Park, contributing to the decidedly blue-collar feel of the neighborhood. Additionally, the Saint Arnold Brewing Company has a brewery here due north of Downtown.
* Fifth Ward - One of Houston's Historic Wards, and probably THE most infamous of Houston's [[WretchedHive Wretched Hives]]. Well-known Hip-Hop group the Music/GetoBoys (TropeMakers for {{Horrorcore}} and TropeNamers for DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster) hail from the Fifth Ward, giving you an idea of just how rough it is. The Ward lived up to its reputation especially from the 70's-90's, but recent decades have seen a marked downturn in crime. Its rep persists, unfortunately, making most large business chains hesitant to set up shop there. However, that might be starting to change; just the last few years have seen the establishment of a Chase Bank, a Taco Bell, a Walgreens, and a CVS right on the main drag of Lyons, with a [=McDonald's=] a little down the road on I-10, so the Ward's luck might be turning around at last.

* Kingwood - Houston's largest neighborhood north of the Beltway, and subject to the most contentious annexation in Houston's history. In the 2006 census, after the annexation the master-planned community had 65,000 residents by itself, versus the 37,000 it had in 1990 prior to annexation. When Houston annexed the community in the 90s, the fight over it was so bitter that it led to the state tightening the annexation laws to make future annexations harder. There are still residents in Kingwood who haven't gotten over it, and probably never will. The community itself remains a nice suburban community of Houston. Just north of the community is Lake Houston Wilderness Park, a wooded parkland that encompasses 4,786.6 acres. It was formerly owned by the state of Texas, but is now owned by the city of Houston,despite the fact that most of the park is not in Houston city limits but its ETJ. Its the only park owned by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department that has overnight camping and lodging. There are over 20 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails available inside the park.

** Old Town Spring: As the name suggests, the oldest neighborhood in Spring, and one of the oldest and most interesting townships in all of Greater Houston. Began as a true Old West Railroad Town, complete with [[TheWildWest five saloons and a gambling house]]. The Depression hit it hard, but the Oil Boom of the 70's lead to a revitalization and rebranding as a sort of old timey open air shopping mall. To this day, most of the houses operate shops for antiques, novelties, perfume, and other tinctures. One might even say that the entire town is one big antique.

* Houston Ship Channel and Port of Houston - The economic engine of the city in many ways, the Port of Houston is the one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, covering an approximately 25 miles worth of facilities along the Houston Ship Channel.The Channel was dredged in the early 1900s, being opened by Woodrow Wilson himself in 1914, allowing ocean-going ships to travel miles further inland and turning Houston's port into Texas's premier seaport, surpassing the natural ports of Galveston and Texas City. The depth of the channel would be subsequently increased in the 1930s. The Port of Houston is the 16th busiest in the world and administered cooperatively by the Port of Houston Authority, and more than 150 private entities along the channel. The port's creation was a direct result of the Great Galveston Hurricane that utterly destroyed the city of Galveston, leading to local residents to support the creation of the port and channel, seeing it as a safer alternative to the more exposed Galveston. The Port Authority was created in 1911 as the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District. The channel itself and the port facilities alongside it are in Houston city limits, mostly limited annexation, but some areas are fully annexed. On both sides of the channel, the port is surrounded by factories, warehouses, and refineries (the refineries alone make up the second largest petrochemical complex in the world). Most of these are contained in various industrial districts, including Bayport Industrial District, Battleground Industrial District, and Jacintoport. The facilities north of the channel, namely Jacintoport, are in Houston's ETJ, while Battleground, Bayport, and others located south of Houston are either part of or in the ETJ of Pasadena, La Porte, or Deer Park. Industrial facilities can also be found in Baytown. The port, including its terminals, such as Barbours Cut Terminal and the newer Bayport Terminal, form one of the most important port facilities in the U.S., despite being among the youngest of the world's major ports (the port celebrated its centennial in 2014).

* Highlands - Yet another unincorporated community, it is outside Houston's ETJ and sits instead in Baytown's ETJ. Named Highlands because it sits on the high east bank of the San Jacinto River, the community was actually incorporated in 1930, but its charter was voided, thus leaving it unincorporated again, which it currently remains unless Baytown annexes it. Currently stands at a population of a little more than 7500, it's a small little majority white community located just north of I-10 that you can access just before you enter or right after you leave Baytown.

* TheChurch: And boy howdy, ''what'' a church. Lakewood Church is one of the most well-known and easily-recognizable churches in the entire city. As though it's previous stadium-seating campus (complete with in-house televising of its Sunday sermons on local channel 14!) weren't large enough, the church procured an '''actual stadium''' — the former home of the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]] team Houston Rockets and transformed it into their new house of worship.

* InNameOnly: Both Sugar Land and Katy are [[CutAndPasteSuburb Cut And Paste Suburbs]], but each have history. Sugar Land was the Imperial Sugar company town (and it still maintains presence there, check the sugar labels at home), and Katy was named after the MKT railroad that went through town. The railroad in question was truncated in the late 1990s so there's only a spur there that doesn't get much traffic as it used to.

** Until quite recently, at least, Haliburton was headquarted in the city - and still has a massive facility hidden behind a treeline alongside the Beltway, just south of Bush International Airport. There's even a series of plaques outside Minute Maid Park (where the Astros baseball team plays) featuring the history of KBR and Haliburton, complete with a heavily-defaced image of Dick Cheney.

* NewOldWest: Invoked in city, tourist and election campaigns and UpToEleven for Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, one of the world's biggest events. ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Plus concerts.

*** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Allison "Allison"]] - Tropical Storm Allison (note the lack of the word 'Hurricane' here) dumped around 40 inches of rain throughout the Houston region, causing over 5 BILLION dollars of damage! The Texas Medical Center alone lost nearly $2 billion in lost/damaged equipment and samples. Allison was the first Atlantic storm name ever to be retired without ever being a hurricane (as of this edit, there's only been one other).

* SkyscraperCity: Houston has one of the most extensive skylines in North America (only New York, Toronto, Chicago, Mexico City, and Panama City are larger or comparable), but because of its lack of zoning laws, the skyline is much more spread out than in many of those places, thus its not nearly as apparent at first. To whit, that picture up there is only a very small portion of Houston's skyline (Downtown) and that's not even a third of the skyscrapers!

*** And then there is...Grand Parkway. Another example of non-indicative names as it is neither Grand, nor a Parkway, and while still incomplete, is planned to be a loop.

** Sharpstown. Once a business and residential district of affluence, after a combination of reduced policing and slow city response to its growing problems, it saw a downgrade when neighboring Gulfton collapsed in the 1980's. Even worse, it became so crime and poverty ridden after the fallout of Hurricane Katrina that even the rump suburb of Alief (which has its own problems but also is an international immigrant neighborhood with a lot of Asian and Latino residents) looks down on it.

** Gulfton got it pretty bad after the 80's, due to a combination of absurdly bad urban planning, illegal immigration, and a high population density in its numerous apartments. Though most of the illegal immigrants are just trying to get by, unfortunately a lot of problems show up as well since drug mules, dealers, and people trying to steal or scrape together enough money for their next fix make the neighborhood into a tense, dangerous slum.

* Historic District - The historic center of the city where the original city hall was built. Is now pretty much home to a bunch of unsightly, and short, government office buildings, with the occasional historic structure. Pretty much Houston's equivalent to Los Angeles's Civic Center
* Main Street Square - built around the Metrorail station of the same name and a Macy's department store. Is home to a brand new, huge shopping mall, called the Houston Pavilions, and thriving nightlife.

* Energy Corridor - one of the major urban centers for Houston's spread out skyline, it lines Interstate 10 all the way up to the Beltway. It's all in Houston, though some of it is only limited annexation [[note]]Which means it's in Houston, yet not really. Houston gets the tax money and the right to say they own it, but don't have to provide services, like police[[/note]]. Is called the Energy Corridor because it is home to a lot of Energy related (read oil) companies, including BP America (now you know where you can go to protest someone), [=ConocoPhillips=], [=ExxonMobil=] and Shell Oil Company. Unless you're an admirer of modern skyscraper architecture or are just passing through to get to all the fun stuff, then the best thing to do around here is go to one of the truly huge parks located here (and by huge, I mean they are, together, the largest urban parks system outside the national park system): the county run George Bush Park and Bear Creek Pioneers Park, and the city run Cullen Park.

The '''Galveston Bay Area''' or just the Bay Area, is the region immediately surrounding the Galveston and its offshoot, Trinity Bay. Ironically, the region includes little of Houston and doesn't include any part of the city of Galveston itself. The area on the Eastern side of the bay is rural and almost entirely undeveloped, while the Western side of the bay is where everyone can be found living on top of each other. Unlike Tokyo Bay, there are very few port facilities found on the Bay itself. This area can basically be divided up into four sub-regions: "East Houston", Clear Lake Region, the Galveston County Region and the Eastern Shore.

* South Houston - If there is any city that needs to stop existing and just join Houston already, it's this one. South Houston is a very small, very poor community sandwiched between Houston and Pasadena. There was, at one point, a North Houston almost directly opposite this one, but it generally doesn't exist anymore.

* Clear Lake City - A master-planed community that is pretty much a textbook definition of suburbia. When anyone remembers this area, it's usually to bring up the fact that there was a nasty annexation fight when Houston decided to take it back in the 70s. The fight failed, and most of the community was annexed by Houston. The remainder was annexed by the city of Pasadena, though it's a relatively small portion. One of the largest master planned communities in Houston. The Johnson Space Center is located here as well. Interestingly, while still composed of a mostly white population, Clear Lake City also has a notable concentration of Asians, both Eastern and Indian. This is likely due to many either working as or having descended from NASA employees.

The Galveston County sub-region, not including Galveston, is poor, crime ridden and really not a place one would choose to live, excepting a few select communities. This area includes all of Galveston County outside of the Clear Lake Area and the city of Galveston. Cities and communities in Galveston county include:

* Bacliff - an unincorporated area that has fallen on hard times and is pretty indicative of this sub-region, a regular WretchedHive. Known for a spectacular inability to incorporate itself, the community is wracked with crime and poverty, and has a very unusually high number of registered sex offenders
* San Leon - Another Unincorporated area that has fallen on hard economic times and is relatively lower class. Tried to incorporate with Bacliff and the now largely nonexistent community of Bayview to form one large city, but this proved to be an EpicFail.

* La Marque - AKA, that area that isn't part of Texas City (for some reason), but is no better off for it.

* Tiki Island - A small village that doesn't even push 1000 people. Is also the most well off area in this sub-region. Go figure.

* Santa Fe - not to be confused with the New Mexican city of the same name, this small city is slightly better off than its neighbors, and just as white as them as well.

* Beach City - located not far away from Galveston, it '''is''' far away from any ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico for that matter. Was pretty much created so it wouldn't join Baytown. There is also no real beach there, so you better get on to Galveston.

Centered around the city of Sugar Land, the Sugar Land area has no real set geographical boundaries, unlike many of the other regions of Houston. Roughly, it is everything outside of the Beltway, South of Westpark Tollway, and west of Fort Bend Parkway (and not in Houston). Home to some of Houston's nicest suburbs, it represents the area that marks the last thing you see of Greater Houston going towards Victoria, Texas and Corpus Christi. Much of the area has already incorporated and is thus out of Houston's reach, much to the city's chagrin. Houston Neighborhoods and independent cities in the area include:
* Sugar Land - One of the largest cities in the Greater Houston Area, its is also one of the wealthiest and fastest growing as well, and is at least important enough to get its own upscale mall (that's when you know your important, when you get a mall.) Used to be a company town run by Imperial Sugar, who had a huge sugar refining operation there, hence the name. This lasted until the 1950s, when the city finally established a municipal government instead of joining Houston, and the city lost what made it so unique in the first place. Nowadays, the city is the very definition of CutandPasteSuburb. Hell, more than half the current city is master planned communities (which its county, Fort Bend County, leads the nation in) and it's poised to annex even more. Pretty sure Houston regrets not annexing the little town earlier.

** New Territory - is pretty much in the same rut as nearby Greatwood: large master - planned community that ended up being annexed by Sugar Land.
* Mission Bend - one of the few unincorporated areas in Houston's ETJ, thus maintaining Houston's link to Fort Bend County, a majority White suburb (as if there is any other kind around here)

* Stafford - Originally a plantation owned by a William Stafford, this city, despite its small size, incorporated in the fifties before Sugar Land. Sandwiched between Houston and Missouri City, one gets the impression that it exist just because. Is actually quite ethically diverse, being a mix of Whites, Blacks, and Asians. Despite being a suburb of Houston, more people actually work here than live here, if you can believe it.

A large amorphous area that includes a large swath of Houston, it is a perfect summarization of Houston as a whole: you have got wealthy well to do areas, poorer, crime ridden areas, and everything in between. Separating downtown from the Katy and Sugar Land Areas, Southwest Houston includes the following neighborhoods:
* Uptown - Also called the Galleria Area, if there is an area every visitor to Houston visits just once, it's Uptown. Uptown Houston is a large commercial district (so large in fact that it rivals and even surpasses many downtown areas in size, hell it rivals downtown Los Angeles and is the 17th largest business district in the United States!) centered on Houston's premier shopping mall, the Galleria. The Houston Galleria is the largest shopping mall in Texas and eighth largest in the United States, and is ritzy as all hell, but it is just one component in what is essentially the Beverly Hills of Texas ([[TakeThat except actually part of the city it is mostly associated with]]). High Class is the name of the game here and everything about this area caters to it. Oh and did we mention the size of the skyline? Really, this is the most spread out component of Houston's skyline bar none, straddling almost the entirety of the 610 Loop from Southwest Freeway to Interstate 10 though it lacks the thick skyscraper buildup of downtown, at least, for now. The most recognizable structure, visible from almost anywhere in Greater Houston, is the Williams Tower, tallest building outside any Central Business district when it was built and a behemoth that literally towers over everything around it. All in all, this area has done pretty good for a neighborhood that, up to the 1960s, was nothing but farmland.[[note]]Westheimer Road is also known as FM - Farm to Market Road - 1093. Nobody thinks this is ironic.[[/note]]

* Greenway Plaza - a large mixed use development built between Downtown and Uptown, it is yet another center for Houston's amazing skyline and only exist because of Southwest Freeway. One of the key parts of the complex is the Lakewood Church, formerly the Compaq Center. The church is huge, the largest in the United States by most estimates. Another key part of the complex is the Regal/Edwards Grand Palace movie complex, which is the largest cinema inside the loop and one of the most luxurious cineplexes in the United States, featuring a parking garage, a Marble Slab Creamery, and formerly a Landry's restaurant named Harlow's, though the food options couldn't be taken into one of the theater's screening rooms. The restaurant closed in 2016.

* NRG Park - formerly known as the Astrodomain (yeah, really), and, until recently, as Reliant Park, it's that large area that is home to Houston's most famous sports and convention venues: NRG (formerly Reliant) Stadium, NRG (formerly Reliant) Center, NRG (formerly Reliant) Arena, and NRG (formerly Reliant) Astrodome (the only structure to keep Astro in the title). Six Flags Astroworld, a well known theme park, used to sit across the Interstate Loop form here, but it has since been closed and torn down. The Astrodome may well be on its way to the same fate. The site of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

* Gulfton - Large community located directly to the West of Bellaire, separating it from Sharpstown and located to the South of Uptown. Formerly Westmoreland Farms, it's one of the most densely populated communities in Houston, and the area is home to many apartment complexes and contains the small Shenadoah ranch-house neighborhood. Originally a prosperous, primarily White neighborhood, the Oil Bust that tanked the economy of the city tanked the neighborhood too. Gulfton's population exploded and it gained a primarily immigrant makeup, in particular Hispanics (more particularly, illegals). Gulfton is now a struggling, poor, crime ridden neighborhood, dealing with the aftereffects of poor urban planning and the exploitative nature of its creation, gaining the area the unflattering nickname "the Gulfton Ghetto"; it's one of the most infamous [[WretchedHive Wretched Hives]] in the southwestern states, though it is also home to several distribution companies and a few Latin restaurants.

** Westridge - A neighborhood west of NRG park and south of Braeswood Place and Brays Bayou that has seen a few problems, but is undergoing regentrification.

* Harwin Drive - Houston's bargain mile; its west end is around Wilcrest Drive on the west side of Westchase, where it goes into Alief and becomes Alief-Clodine road, while its east terminus is on the southbound frontage road at Interstate 69, just east of Hillcroft. A place where you can get anything you want at a very good price...as long as you're ok with it possibly being fake. Anything designer that you could pay an arm and a leg for at any of Houston's malls can be got at Harwin for much less, and anyone looking for something nice, yet cheap should look here first. Once again, as long as one is willing to risk getting a counterfeit [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreed everything is permitted]].

* University Oaks - a small community located just south of University of Houston, it gained infamy for its racial covenant that prevented any one, not "of the Caucasian race" from moving in.

* ''Series/AnimalCops'' Houston, from Animal Planet.

* ''TheBadNewsBearsInBreakingTraining''

* ''BrewsterMcCloud''

* ''CutterToHouston''
* ''DanceWithMe''
* ''TheEveningStar''
* ''{{FM}}'' - filmed at Greenway Plaza in Houston

* ''Series/HoustonKnights''

* ''Film/JasonsLyric''

* ''RightOnTrack''

* ''SugarHill''

* ''{{Thea}}''
* ''Film/TheThiefWhoCameToDinner''

* ''Film/{{Towelhead}}''
* ''TheTripToBountiful'' - set in Houston, filmed in Dallas

* ''Film/VietnamTexas''

* LorettaDevine

* Creator/ShellyDuvall

* AnnaNicoleSmith [[note]]For most of her life she claimed to have been born in Mexia, a town near Waco to the north where she lived as a child, in order to reinforce her "small-town girl" image (rather than admit to having been born in Houston, which was already a fairly big city in 1967).[[/note]]

* Music/DJScrew

* Music/MikeJones

* Music/PaulWall

* Music/SlimThug

Houston is the fourth-largest city proper in the United States and the largest in the [[EverythingIsBigInTexas famously large state of Texas]] (though the [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex]] is the larger metropolitan area overall). It is also the largest city in the American South. And while Texas is culturally distinct compared to the rest of the region, Houston is perhaps the most "traditionally" Southern city in the state. Once upon a time, it was even the capital of the Republic of Texas, but that didn't last long. It has many nicknames, amongst them "the Bayou City", as the bayous are a major feature of the city, and it was founded at what was [[BlatantLies allegedly the head of navigation of Buffalo Bayou]], "Space City" (this one actually appeared on police cars once, due to the fact that NASA's [[UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson Johnson]] Space Center is located in the city near Clear Lake), and "Magnolia City" (almost exclusively in pre-UsefulNotes/WorldWarI documents). It's also famous for its oil tycoons and unforgiving climate.

Houston also has a very active sports scene with pro teams in almost every major American league (except hockey). Houston is home to the Houston Texans of the NFL, the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball, the Houston Rockets of the NBA, and the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. There used to be a different NFL team in the city once upon a time, the Houston Oilers, but the team left town for Tennessee in the late 90s (kind of a sore topic for native sports fans, so bring this up at your own risk). Houston also has two major college athletic programs: the University of Houston Cougars and the Rice University Owls. Overall, major successes of Houston based sports teams have been few and far between. While both the Rockets and the Dynamo won two championships each, and the (now defunct) Houston Comets of the WNBA were that league's first dynasty, the Astros have made the World Series only twice (first in 2005 which saw them swept by the Chicago White Sox in four games, and again in 2017 against the LA Dodgers which saw them win in game 7), and the Texans have never made it to the conference championship game, let alone the Super Bowl. The Rice baseball team at least has made the playoffs for over two consecutive decades but has only won a championship in 2003. This has led some to characterize the city's teams as [[ButtMonkey hapless]], although it's not for the lack of trying. Houston has had a very impressive list of players play for its teams, like Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Tracy [=McGrady=], Yao Ming, and James Harden for the Rockets; Nolan Ryan, Craig Biggio (whose entire career was spent here), and Jeff Bagwell for the Astros; Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt for the Texans; Ken Stabler, Bruce Matthews, Earl Campbell, and Warren Moon for the Oilers; Brian Ching and Brad Davis for the Dynamo; and Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were the biggest-name members of the Phi Slama Jama Cougars era.

Houston also has a proud history with its stadiums. The Astros' Minute Maid Park and the Texans' NRG Stadium both have retractable roofs (which tend to remain closed due to Houston's notorious summer humidity). Obviously, any talk about Houston sports has to include the Astrodome. Billed as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" and opened in 1965, it was the first domed stadium in the world and gave rise to the use of artificial turf in baseball and football. Nowadays, the Dome sits vacant next to the larger NRG Stadium and any discussion about its future will yield a heated debate. Rounding out the sports venues are the Rockets' Toyota Center, the Dynamo's BBVA Stadium, the University of Houston's TDECU Stadium, and historic Rice Stadium.

From the way people drive, one might assume that street racing is a popular participator sport amongst the populace. The reality is that in Houston proper, an officer issuing a speeding ticket is likely to get run over by another speeder, and as such, the local police don't even bother anymore. This is ''not'' true in the suburbs, though, and some of them are speed traps out of nightmares. Despite this (or maybe because of it), traffic in Houston is infamously bad, and its best to avoid the expressways during certain times of the day. The beltway is usually clear though (if you don't mind paying a toll). Mass transit wise, Houston seems to be severely lacking for a city its size, although steps have been made to rectify this. A light rail system was built in 2003 and expanded in 2015 while the bus system has gotten overhauled a few times over the years as well. Still, Houston is still a car and highway city by far.

Entertainment wise, the city's major theme park, Ride/SixFlags [=AstroWorld=], was closed in 2005 after years of poor maintenance and declining attendance. There are smaller amusement centers in nearby Galveston and Kemah, but you'll have to drive on over to San Antonio or Dallas if you want to hit up a full blown amusement park.

Cultural-wise, the city does have resident companies in each of the performing arts, and has some interesting takes on art: it's pretty much the art car capital of at least America. The city has a notable music scene, at least amongst rap and hip hop fans. ''Tejano'' music also [[StealthPun rocketed]] to international fame here. Also, the city is fairly well known for its rodeo, the largest such event in the world. Those who know the city's history, though, find this amusing: Houston was never a cow town--it traded in cotton before Spindletop. After Spindletop, oil was its stock in trade and has pretty much remained so ever since, despite efforts to branch out into other sectors such as banking (the banks got bought out), aerospace (there's not as much money here as you'd think), and medicine (actually, those efforts have seen some moderate success).

When UsefulNotes/NewOrleans sank beneath the waves during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, [[AFriendInNeed Houston provided shelter for the bulk of the refugees]]. A number of them stayed. (And, because quite a few of them were … shall we say … [[BigEater rather hefty]], Houston has now surpassed "N'awlins" as the fattest per capita city in the U.S.) Houston got hit by its own hurricane -- Hurricane Rita -- about a month after Katrina, but the damage was nowhere near as bad. 12 years later, however, they got hit with a far more devastating hurricane, Harvey.

Media-wise, there's little set in Houston, and in fact, of the top five largest cities in the United States, [[DemotedToExtra it is probably the least publicized]], with cities less than half its size (UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}, UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, New Orleans, etc.) getting more screen time, but it does have the nation's oldest public television station, [=KUHT=].

It's named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston Sam Houston]], one of the leaders of the Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas' first president. He was Tennessee's governor before he moved to Texas just before the fighting broke out. Houston (the place) was also briefly the capital, until it was moved to Austin.

* Northside Village - Residential area east of The Heights and directly north of Downtown. One of Houston's many majority-Hispanic communities, it's something of a mixed-bag; the western side is moderately middle-class and looks like an extension of the Heights, but the farther east you go, the more run-down it gets. As of 2020, the main drag up Elysian looks a bit like the Heights after a ZombieApocalypse, and there don't appear to be any attempts at gentrification anytime soon. Most of Northside's eastern third or so is occupied by a massive Industrial Park, contributing to the decidedly blue-collar feel of the neighborhood. Additionally, the Saint Arnold Brewing Company has a brewery here due north of Downtown.

** Thornwood - Another....

** Meadow Vista - Another...

* Energy Corridor - one of the major urban centers for Houston's spread out skyline, it lines Interstate 10 all the way up to the Beltway. It's all in Houston, though some of it is only limited annexation [[note]]Which means it's in Houston, yet not really. Houston gets the tax money and the right to say they own it, but don't have to provide services, like police[[/note]]. Is called the Energy Corridor because it is home to a lot of Energy related (read oil) companies, including BP America (now you know where you can go to protest someone), [=ConocoPhillips=], [=ExxonMobil=] and Shell Oil Company. Unless you're an admirer of modern skyscraper architecture or are just passing through to get to all the fun stuff, then the best thing to do around here is go to one of the truly huge parks located here (and by huge, I mean they are, together, the largest urban parks system outside the national park system): George Bush Park and Bear Creek Pioneers Park.

* Kingwood - Houston's largest neighborhood north of the Beltway, and subject to the most contentious annexation in Houston's history. In the 2006 census, after the annexation the master-planned community had 65,000 residents by itself, versus the 37,000 it had in 1990 prior to annexation. When Houston annexed the community in the 90s, the fight over it was so bitter that it led to the state tightening the annexation laws to make future annexations harder. There are still residents in Kingwood who haven't gotten over it, and probably never will. The community itself remains a nice suburban community of Houston.

* Northside Village - Residential area east of The Heights and directly north of Downtown. One of Houston's many majority-Hispanic communities, it's something of a mixed-bag; the western side is moderately middle-class and looks like an extension of the Heights, but the farther east you go, the more run-down it gets. As of 2019, the main drag up Elysian looks a bit like the Heights after a ZombieApocalypse, and there don't appear to be any attempts at gentrification anytime soon. Most of Northside's eastern third or so is occupied by a massive Industrial Park, contributing to the decidedly blue-collar feel of the neighborhood. Additionally, the Saint Arnold Brewing Company has a brewery here due north of Downtown.

* East Downtown Houston ([=EaDo=]) - Separating East End from Downtown, this area is the neighborhood just south of the Eastex Freeway (I-69) when passing the Central Business District (CBD). Old Chinatown, one of the two in the city, is located here. Also located here is the other (good) football team, the Houston Dynamo, and their stadium, BBVA Compass Stadium. Also of note is a very large, old sign reading simply "WALD" which often shows up in Instagrams of Houston as an item of mystery [[note]]It was built in the 50's by Mr. Wald and did and does sell office furniture, if you must know[[/note]]. The area has had its ups and downs. On the one hand, it is home to many industrial warehouses, some abandoned, some still in use, and was for a long time pretty much Houston's version of Skid Row, having a huge homeless population (Most of them have since moved on to Midtown). On the other hand, the area is becoming a center for revitalization, gentrification, and revival. For example, a large artists community is springing up here, and growing all the time. There may come a day when, for comparison, if Neartown is Houston's Greenwich, [=EaDo=] is its Williamsburg.

* Afton Oaks - Large, upscale inner city, white community, located just east of uptown, right along side Loop 610. A very beautiful neighborhood befitting the region its located in, it has retains strict control over itself, including deed restrictions and private security. The community even forced Houston to reroute a METRO rail line.

* Harrisburg - The twice, former, former capital of Texas. This was the Allen Brothers first choice when they wanted to found a city. Originally belonging to John Richardson Harris, the brothers had wanted to found a city on his land, but when he died, they couldn't gain title to it, so they moved a little ways up Buffalo Bayou and founded Houston instead. During the Texas Revolution, Harrisburg was the provisional Texas government's capital, till Santa Ana burned it down. After the Republic of Texas was founded, it became capital again, but for only less than a year (the capital moved around a lot before settling on Columbia, Houston, and then finally Austin). After losing its role as capital, the city's population dwindled massively, as did its importance. It would be annexed by Houston in 1926. Harrisburg is now mostly a majority Latino inner city neighborhood now. Oh, and Harris County (formerly ''Harrisburg County'') got its name from this town.

* Southside Place - The single most pointless city in the Greater Houston Area. It is 0.2 SQUARE MILES in size. It is literally only a few city blocks. Really, why does it exist? All it contains is three strip malls, a bowling alley, a bakery, a few small office buildings, and the area's Whole Foods Market, which was formerly the Bellaire/Bel Air, the third of the classic movie palace trilogy in Houston (it's inside the West University city limits, but is mostly accessed from Southside Place); all of this is along Bellaire Boulevard, which extends east of Bellaire and drops the name when reentering Houston (it becomes West Holcombe, and has signs for both on opposite sides of the street for a few blocks); the residental neighborhood is on the east side above a former Shell building, and it's surrounded by West University in every direction except for south, where Braeswood Place borders it. Southside Place is one of the most notorious speed trap zones in Texas, which it uses to fund its tiny existence.

Houston's second major group of enclaves, and their existences are no more justified then that of the island cities. Originally a small town surrounded by farm land, area now know as the Memorial Villages first attempted to escape annexation by Houston (because to suburban whites, that's the equivalent of selling your soul) via incorporating as one large city, called Spring Branch, in the 1950s. This failed, and thus, over the course of a decade, the Memorial Villages came into existence one by one, and have stayed ever since, despite being surrounded by Houston. Even though they are all independent cities, the cities collectively maintain a police department and fire department. The villages are:

ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. The large amorphous area north of the I-610 loop, Interstate 10, and the Crosby Freeway, and to the North and East of Addicks Reservoir. Though large portions of Houston are located here, most of Houston is to the south of these demarcations; the majority of this area is unincorporated, but in Houston's ETJ, with the exception of three cities. The population in the ETJ region, including other ETJ areas thus far mentioned, about equals the city itself in Population. Like Southwest Houston, the area runs the gamut, from poor lesser communities, to rich affluent gated subdivisions, and everything in-between. Cities, Houston neighborhoods, and unincorporated suburbs include:

* Willowbrook - A major business district in the northwest of Houston. The area is home to another major Houston mall, the Willowbrook Mall. The mall and immediate surrounding area were annexed by Houston years ago, while most of the surrounding neighborhoods remained in the ETJ, as Houston was only interested in the Mall's tax money

* Tomball - A small town along SH 249 and FM 2920, northwest of Willowbrook and outside the Grand Parkway, it is one of only three incorporated towns north of Houston in Harris County. Noteworthy for its unusual name and picturesque small-town feel. Also noteworthy is their annual July 4 Celebration, which is easily as impressive as the one held in Downtown Houston. Though its not quite an enclave, it is surrounded on three sides by Houston's ETJ, making expansion near impossible without Houston's approval.
* Greenspoint - The least affluent business district of Houston and the only component of Houston's skyline in North Houston, if one does not count The Woodlands, it has earned the very unflattering name "Gunspoint" due to being a WretchedHive; it really only exists for several businesses, hotels and anything requiring flying since George Bush Intercontinental Airport is east of Greenspoint. Much like Willowbrook, it is centered around a mall, Greenspoint Mall, and the business area is annexed by Houston while the neighborhoods are not. Greenspoint Mall has degenerated to the point where it has become the new "ghetto mall" of Houston, and visiting is not recommended for tourists.

* Aldine - Another one of the most notorious Wretched Hives of Houston, this is one of the most decrepit areas of Houston alongside South Park and Hiram Clarke on the other side of town. Bush Intercontinental is to the north of this community. Despite being in within the Beltway,the entire neighborhood, for the most part, is outside Houston city limits but sitting in its ETJ.

* Atascocita - Large unincorporated community east of Humble,and west of Lake Houston, an artificial lake which is entirely in Houston City Limits,and was created by flooding city owned land and damming it up. Atascocita is in Houston's ETJ, but circa about 2005 signed a 30 year non-annexation agreement with the city, which annexed its business areas and began levying a sales tax on the businesses in return. Thereby, the neighborhood can expect independence till at least the 2030s.

* Spring - Large community north of Greenspoint and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Unincorporated and entirely in Houston's ETJ, its just another nice suburb of Houston. Pretty much all of the businesses located along Interstate 45 as it runs through Spring have been annexed into Houston via Limited Annexation.

Not to be confused with the neighborhood of East Houston which is considered part of ''North Houston'' (yes its confusing, work with us), this region has some rough boundaries; its everything east Loop 610, south of the Crosby Freeway (inside the Beltway), east of Lake Houston and the 22.5 mile canal that links the lake to the city (outside the Beltway), and not included in the Galveston Bay Area. A combination of industrial and rural areas, it forms an important basis for the economic engine of the city, though, of it contains very little of the city of Houston (though more than half the area is in the city's ETJ). Houston Neighborhoods, unincorporated suburbs, and independent cities include:
* Houston Ship Channel and Port of Houston - The economic engine of the city in many ways, the Port of Houston is the one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, covering an approximately 25 miles worth of facilities along the Houston Ship Channel.The Channel was dredged in the early 1900s, being opened by Woodrow Wilson himself in 1914, allowing ocean going ships to travel miles further inland and turning Houston's port into Texas's premier seaport, surpassing the natural ports of Galveston and Texas City. The depth of the channel would be subsequently increased in the 1930s. The Port of Houston is the 16th busiest in the world and administered cooperatively by the Port of Houston Authority, and more than 150 private entities along the channel. The port's creation was a direct result of the Great Galveston Hurricane that utterly destroyed the city of Galveston, leading to local residents to support the creation of the port and channel, seeing it as a safer alternative to the more exposed Galveston. The Port Authority was created in 1911 as the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District. The channel itself and the port facilities alongside it are in Houston city limits, mostly limited annexation, but some areas are full annexation. On both sides of the channel, the port is surrounded by factories, warehouses, and refineries (the refineries alone make up the second largest petrochemical complex in the world). Most of these are contained in various industrial districts, including Bayport Industrial District, Battleground Industrial District, and Jacintoport. The facilities north of the channel, namely Jacintoport, are in Houston's ETJ, while Battleground, Bayport, and others located south of Houston are either part of or in the ETJ of Pasadena, La Porte, or Deer Park. Industrial facilities can also be found in Baytown. The port, including its terminals, such as Barbours Cut Terminal and the newer Bayport Terminal, form one of the most important port facilities in the U.S., despite being among the youngest of the world's major ports (the port celebrated its centennial in 2014).

* North Shore - Houston neighborhood annexed by the city in the 1950s, its where that canal from Lake Houston mentioned earlier ends up connecting to the greater city. The last Houston neighborhood located in this region, it is the last thing in Houston city limits you see leaving Houston (or the first thing you see coming in) when you are traveling along interstate 10 or the Crosby Freeway. The community is spread out over a wide area, and home to a variety of subdivisions and other smaller neighborhoods.

* Channelview - A large, sprawling community in Houston's ETJ, it covers just about every community in this area, on both sides of Interstate 10, outside the Beltway, south of Sheldon, and north of the shipping channel, which gave the community its name. Bisected by Houston City Limits as Houston annexed Interstate 10. The last or first thing you see on Interstate 10 outside the Beltway, but before or after you cross the bridge into Baytown. Majority white, its slightly wealthier than many of the communities surrounding it, and includes a variety of commercial, industrial and residential areas.

* Huffman - Small unincorporated community located directly to the east of Lake Houston along FM 1960 in Houston's ETJ, being the last or first thing you see if you take 1960 into or out of Houston via Dayton. The community is named after David Huffman, a Louisiana native that fought for Texas during its war for independence. Huffman, and a group from Louisiana, settled the area in 1840 after being given land for his service to Texas. Huffman covers apparently 39 sq. miles, but its almost entirely rural, with scattered farms, subdivisions, apartments and businesses, and no real town core to speak of.

* Highlands - Yet another unincorporated community, it is outside Houston's ETJ and sits instead in Baytown's ETJ. Named Highlands because it sits on the high east bank of the San Jacinto River, the community was actually incorporated in 1930, but its charter was voided, thus leaving it unincorporated again, which it currently remains unless Baytown annexes it. Currently stands at a population of a little more than 7500, its a small little majority white community located just north of I-10 that you can access just before you enter or right after you leave Baytown.

* ''Film/FridayNightLights'' has the state football championship played at the Astrodome, though the events upon which the film is based never went anywhere near Houston: the title game that year was not played in the Astrodome.

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' - Houston is destroyed by a nuclear missile as opposed to the aliens

** Sugar Land is a separate city that was encompassed as Houston grew (as with many such small towns) -- while it is a city and functions autonomously, it could be called a suburb for descriptive purposes

* ''Film/{{Telefon}}'' - set in Houston but [[CaliforniaDoubling filmed on a Hollywood backlot, parts of Los Angeles and inside the Hyatt Regency located at 5 Embarcadero in San Francisco, California]]

** Forum Park is the last thing you will see on 59 south before hitting the south Beltway, and the second-to-last thing you will see before leaving the Houston city limits. Same problems as above, but Forum Park is the Hooker Hub of Houston as well, just for good measure.

Houston also has a proud history with its stadiums. The Astros' Minute Maid Park and the Texans' NRG Stadium both have retractable roofs (which tend to remain closed due to Houston's notorious summer humidity). Obviously, any talk about Houston sports has to include the Astrodome. Billed as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" and opened in 1965, it was the first domed stadium in the world and gave rise to the use of artificial turf in baseball and football. Nowadays, the Dome sits vacant next to the larger NRG Stadium and any discussion about its future will yield a heated debate. Rounding out the sports venues are the Rockets' Toyota Center, the Dynamo's BBVA Compass Stadium, the University of Houston's TDECU Stadium, and historic Rice Stadium.

It's named after [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston Sam Houston]], one of the leaders of the Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas' first president. He was Tennessee's governor before he moved to Texas just before the fighting broke out. Houston (the place) was also briefly the capital, until it was moved to Austin.

* Sports and Convention District - If there's a major event downtown, chances are it's happening here. Anchored by the George R. Brown Convention Center and the adjacent Discovery Green, this area is also home to Houston's pro baseball, basketball, and soccer teams; Minute Maid Park, the Toyota Center, and BBVA Compass Stadium respectively. Watch out for rampant construction as hotels and condos are popping up around these venues like crazy!

* Energy Corridor - one of the major urban centers for Houston's spread out skyline, it lines Interstate 10 all the way up to the Beltway. Its all in Houston, though some of it is only limited annexation [[note]]Which means it's in Houston, yet not really. Houston gets the tax money and the right to say they own it, but don't have to provide services, like police[[/note]]. Is called the Energy Corridor because it is home to a lot of Energy related (read oil) companies, including BP America (now you know where you can go to protest someone), [=ConocoPhillips=], [=ExxonMobil=] and Shell Oil Company. Unless you're an admirer of modern skyscraper architecture or are just passing through to get to all the fun stuff, then the best thing to do around here is go to one of the truly huge parks located here (and by huge, I mean they are, together, the largest urban parks system outside the national park system): George Bush Park and Bear Creek Pioneers Park.

The '''Galveston Bay Area''' or just the Bay Area, is the region immediately surrounding the Galveston and its offshoot, Trinity Bay. Ironically, the region includes little of Houston and doesn't include any part of the city of Galveston itself. The area on the Eastern side of the bay is rural and almost entirely undeveloped, while the Western side of the bay is where everyone can be found living on top of each other. Unlike Tokyo Bay, there are very few port facilities found on the Bay itself. This area can basically be divided up into Four sub-regions: "East Houston", Clear Lake Region, the Galveston County Region and the Eastern Shore.

* La Porte - Despite the name, there is no port here (It ''is'' extremely close to Morgan's point, mentioned below, and it's hard to tell when you leave one and enter the other if you work the BC Terminal). The only thing of note about this working class community is that the San Jacinto Monument, the World's tallest monumental column, even surpassing the Washington Monument, is located nearby and can be seen from Interstate 10.
* Morgan's Point - A small bedroom community that used to be a resort town and retreat for Houston's wealthy. Now, not so much. Sits at the mouth to the Houston shipping canal, it is home to the Barbours Cut Terminal, a huge shipping container complex for the nearby ports and the only thing keeping this little town relevant.

* South Houston - If there is any city that needs to stop existing and just join Houston already, its this one. South Houston is very small, very poor community sandwiched between Houston and Pasadena, there was, at one point, a North Houston almost directly opposite this one, but it generally doesn't exist anymore.

* Clear Lake City - A master-planed community that is pretty much a text book definition of suburbia. When anyone remembers this area, its usually to bring up the fact that there was a nasty annexation fight when Houston decided to take it back in the 70s. The fight failed, and most of the community was annexed by Houston. The remainder was annexed by the city of Pasadena, though its a relatively small portion. One of the largest master planned communities in Houston. The Johnson Space Center is located here as well. Interestingly, while still composed of a mostly white population, Clear Lake City also has a notable concentration of Asians, both Eastern and Indian. This is likely due to many either working as or having descended from NASA employees.

* San Leon - Another Unincorporated area that has fallen on hard economic times and is relatively lower class. Tried to incorporate with Bacliff and the now largely nonexistent community of Bayview to form one large city, but this proved to be an EpicFail
* Dickinson - A city known for primarily being a reasonable place to live compared to its compatriots in Galveston County

* Bayou Vista - A small town of less than 2,000 people, but better off than the rest of the towns in its immediate area

* Sugar Land - One of the largest cities in the Greater Houston Area, its is also one of the wealthiest and fastest growing as well, and is at least important enough to get its own upscale mall (that's when you know your important, when you get a mall.) Used to be a company town run by Imperial Sugar, who had a huge sugar refining operation there, hence the name. This lasted until the 1950s, when the city finally established a municipal government instead of joining Houston, and the city lost what made it so unique in the first place. Nowadays, the city is the very definition of CutandPasteSuburb. Hell, more than half the current city is master planned communities (which its county, Fort Bend County, leads the nation in) and its poised to annex even more. Pretty sure Houston regrets not annexing the little town earlier.

* Mission Bend - one of the few unincorporated Areas in Houston's ETJ, thus maintaining Houston's link to Fort Bend county, a majority White suburb (as if there is any other kind around here)

** Phesant Run - At the west of Alief.

* Westchase - One of the centers of Houston's skyline, along with Downtown, Uptown, and the Energy Corridor. Is a large, urban business development straddling the Beltway and to the direct west of Uptown. Several large business, including those associated with the petroleum industry (such as [[MegaCorp Halliburton]]), have offices here. Mostly a boring business area that just adds to Houston's skyline.

* [=NRG=] Park - formerly known as the Astrodomain (yeah, really), and, until recently, as Reliant Park, it's that large area that is home to Houston's most famous sports and convention venues: [=NRG=] (formerly Reliant) Stadium, [=NRG=] (formerly Reliant) Center, [=NRG=] (formerly Reliant) Arena, and [=NRG=] (formerly Reliant) Astrodome (the only structure to keep Astro in the title). Six Flags Astroworld, a well known theme park, used to sit across the Interstate Loop form here, but it has since been closed and torn down. The Astrodome may well be on its way to the same fate. The site of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
* Hiram Clarke - Located between the loop and the beltway, Southwest of Reliant Park, and well south of Bellaire and Meyerland, anyone visiting Houston should be forewarned: This is one of the roughest areas of the city, a regular WretchedHive, and visiting isn't recommended. Drugs and crime are rampant here, and some areas lack even sidewalks. If a rapper from Houston refers to an area called "the Clarke", this is what he means. Essentially ghetto central, only really noteworthy for Madison High School, which has seen several star athletes, including Vince Young, as its alumni. This infamous area is part of the "5 Corners District".

* Rice Village - A small shopping district located just West of Rice University. A dense and well known retail location, it is a culinary mad house, with various restaurants, including [[UptoEleven three French, two Japanese, two Chinese, two Italian, two Turkish, one Mexican, two Spanish, one Mediterranean, one Vietnamese, two Indian, and three Thai restaurants as well as sandwich shops, delicatessens, and speciality food and beverage stores]].

Area south of east downtown, located between Downtown, the Port of Houston and Hobby Airport. Houston's very own [[UsefulNotes/NewOrleans Canal Street]] runs through here. It is here that Harrisburgh, the capital of Texas was once located. Here now is:

* Pleasantville: [[Film/Pleasantville No connection to the film of the same name]], this neighborhood in Houston, located between Denver Harbor and 610 Loop was annexed in the 1940s and is predominantly African American today. Surrounded by industrial areas and rail lines, the entire neighborhood is declining and has been declining for decades, wracked by poverty and crime.

* Pleasantville: [[Pleasantville/film No connection to the film of the same name]], this neighborhood in Houston, located between Denver Harbor and 610 Loop was annexed in the 1940s and is predominantly African American today. Surrounded by industrial areas and rail lines, the entire neighborhood is declining and has been declining for decades, wracked by poverty and crime.

* Denver Harbor - East of the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens and north of the Houston Ship Channel. An almost entirely industrialized area, and not very scenic, though one can find the occasional Townhouse on the southern side.