Southwest Houston

The Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce building in the City of Bellaire (the office has since moved)

Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, United States.

South West Houston is considered to be the area from around Beltway 8 to Highway 6, south of Interstate 10. Many low-income apartment complexes are located in Southwest Houston.[1] The apartment complexes bordered by U.S. Route 59 (Southwest Freeway) and Bissonnet Road, including properties along Bellaire Boulevard and Gulfton Drive, are dense and known for crime.[2] Illegal immigrants came to the apartments, which began attracting low income tenants after the 1980s Texas oil bust. Hurricane Katrina refugees came to the apartments in 2005.[3] About 1/5 of Houston's homicides in 2005 occurred in this area.

The Houston Metropolitan Chamber, formerly the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce, serves several neighborhoods often identified as "Southwest Houston."[4]

History

From the 1980 U.S. Census to the 1990 Census, many African-Americans left traditional African-American neighborhoods and entered parts of Southwest Houston; areas of Southwest Houston received from more than 1,000 African-Americans per square mile to more than 3,500 African-Americans per square mile. Many Asian-Americans moved into Southwest Houston during the same period. They were mostly Chinese American, Indian American, and Pakistani American; some pockets of Cambodian Americans, Korean Americans, and Vietnamese Americans appeared during that period.[5] Southwest Houston area contains one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the Southern United States.[6] A combination of Roads and water, especially Bayous and creeks defines the boundary of Southwest community, Harris county in Houston Texas. Railroads also separates part of the boundary from Missouri City but not as significant as Roads. The area is known as southwest, while Houston is popularly known as H-TOWN or SPACE CENTER.

On May 31, 2013, the Houston Fire Department suffered its largest casualty in a single event, the Southwest Inn fire, with four firefighters killed and 13 others were injured while fighting a 5-alarm fire at Southwest Inn,[7] located in the Greater Sharpstown district of Southwest Houston.[8][9]

Neighborhoods and communities considered to be in Southwest Houston

Neighborhoods and communities in Houston defined as Southwest Houston by the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce :

Cities defined by the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce as in "Southwest Houston":

Other neighborhoods and communities in Houston considered to be in Southwest Houston:

Other neighborhoods and communities outside of Houston considered to be in Southwest Houston

  • Brazoria County:
    • Lakes of Savannah : The website refers to the community as in "Southwest Houston"[11]

Economy

Headquarters of Rice Epicurean Markets

The corporate office for Rice Epicurean Markets is located on a lot in Southwest Houston.[12] Rice established its headquarters there in 1960, and the current 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) headquarters facilities opened on that land in 2005. Walmart and other smaller grocery stores were observed including gas stations. Many Non industrial business ventures were observed with few industrial and factory businesses. The small business owners consist of average size employees. Most people work in the community.[13]

Education

Some areas in southwest Houston are within the Houston Independent School District. Some areas are in the Alief Independent School District.

The Imani School is in Southwest Houston.[14]

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ Turner, Allan. "Evacuees landed in high-crime ZIP codes." Houston Chronicle. Friday January 20, 2006. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  2. ↑ "North Houston Has Highest Crime Rate," KPRC-TV, February 16, 2005, updated February 17, 2005. Retrieved on August 17, 2011.
  3. ↑ "A Little About HFD Fire District 68," Houston Fire Department District 68
  4. ↑ "Houston Chamber Re-Invents Itself after 61 years with a New Image" (Archive). Houston Metropolitan Chamber. January 7, 2011. Retrieved on April 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ Rodriguez, Lori. "Census tracks rapid growth of suburbia." Houston Chronicle. Sunday March 10, 1991. Section A, SOUTH WEST HOUSTON GULFTON. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  6. ↑ Estimates of the Population by Age, Sex, and Race/Ethnicity for July 1, 2015 for State of Texas. Texas Demographic Center, U.S. Bureau of the Census State Data Center Program (PDF), July 15, 2015, retrieved June 8, 2017
  7. ↑ Pinkerton, James; Lezon, Dale (1 June 2013). "Massive blaze in SW Houston kills 4 firefighters". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  8. ↑ "Contact." (Archive) Southwest Inn. Retrieved on June 6, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Map Major Roads." (Archive) Greater Sharpstown Management District. Retrieved on August 15, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Super Neighborhood #25 - Alief". City of Houston. nd. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  11. ↑ Home Page. Lakes of Savannah. Accessed November 2, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Rice Epicurean Store Locations." Rice Epicurean Markets. Retrieved on December 13, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Rice Epicurean Markets Opens New Headquarters." Progressive Grocer, VNU Business Media, Inc. Friday February 11, 2005. Retrieved on January 28, 2010.
  14. ↑ Karkabi, Barbara. "New and notable." Houston Chronicle. Friday, February 27, 2009. Retrieved on October 18, 2011. "[...]The Imani School, a Christian school in southwest Houston,[...]"
  15. ↑ Snyder, Mike. "Green edges Khan in controller runoff." Houston Chronicle. December 12, 2009. Retrieved on May 26, 2014.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.