II. Houston Demographics, Housing, Economy, Geography, Climatology, Transportation and Maps
A. Demographics, Housing, Economy
The Greater Houston region is comprised of 10 counties: Montgomery, Harris, San Jacinto, Chambers, Fort Bend Liberty, Austin, Waller, Galveston and Brazoria. There are 5,539,949 individuals living within the DRP jurisdiction. The majority of the population lives in Harris, Brazoria, Ft. Bend, Galveston, and Montgomery counties. 27.5% of the population is under the age of 18; 44% from 18 to 44; 19.1% from 45 to 64; and 8.4% are 75 or older. The median age is 31 years. The average household size is 2.67 and the average family size is 3.39. The median income for a household is $36,616 and the median income for a family is $40,443. 19% of the population and 16% of the families live below the poverty line.
The ethnic distribution of the jurisdiction is listed below:
|
White
|
49.27%
|
|
Black
|
5.31%
|
|
Am. Indians
|
0.44%
|
|
PI
|
0.06%
|
|
Asian
|
5.31%
|
|
Hispanic
|
18.31%
|
|
Other
|
1.30%
|
There are 2,040,117 housing units in the Greater Houston area with home ownership of 75.44%.
Approximately one third of the population of Houston is uninsured. According to Gateway to Care, of the 3.5 million residents in the City of Houston, 1.1 million are uninsured, including 52% of Hispanics, 28% of African Americans, and 25% of children. Of the families with medical coverage, only a small percentage of this group has vision coverage.
The predominant economic base in Houston is oil and gas exploration and production, accounting for 11% of the GAP. There has been a rapid growth of other sectors such as engineering services, health services and manufacturing. Houston is a major port and financial center. Biomedical research and aeronautics, and the ship channel are also large parts of the city's industrial base. The Houston metropolitan area comprises the largest petrochemical manufacturing area in the world, including manufacturing and processing of synthetic rubber, insecticides, and fertilizers. The area is also the world's largest for building oilfield equipment.
B. Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Houston / Sugar Land / Baytown metropolitan area has a total area of 10,062 square miles, an area is slightly larger than New Jersey. The area is comprised of 8,929 square miles of land, and 1,135 square miles of water. It is located in the gulf coastal plains, with temperate grassland vegetation. The metropolitan area was built on forested land, marshes, swamp, and prairie, all of which can still be seen in surrounding areas. Much of the Houston area is flat, with flooding a recurrent problem.
Galveston is a barrier island and prone to hurricanes, storm surge, and flooding.
[Source: Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD)]
C. Climate
The climate of the Greater Houston area is classified as humid subtropical. Houston's warmest month is July at about 94 degrees F (33 degrees C) and the coldest month is January at 61 degrees F (16 degrees C). The average yearly precipitation level is approximately 48 inches. Houston has occasional severe weather, mostly in the form of flooding. Spring super cell thunderstorms sometimes bring tornadoes to the area. Houston has experienced tropical storms and hurricanes in the past that brought severe damage to the city.
|
|
Average High
|
Average Low
|
Average Precipitation
|
|
January
|
62.3F
|
41.2F
|
3.68in.
|
|
February
|
66.5F
|
44.3F
|
2.98in.
|
|
March
|
73.3F
|
51.3F
|
3.36in.
|
|
April
|
79.1F
|
57.9F
|
3.60in.
|
|
May
|
85.5F
|
66.1F
|
5.15in.
|
|
June
|
90.7F
|
71.8F
|
5.35in.
|
|
July
|
93.6F
|
73.5F
|
3.18in.
|
|
August
|
93.5F
|
73.0F
|
3.83in.
|
|
September
|
89.3F
|
68.4F
|
4.33in.
|
|
October
|
82.0F
|
58.8F
|
4.50in
|
|
November
|
72.0F
|
49.8F
|
4.19in.
|
|
December
|
64.6F
|
42.8F
|
3.69in
|
D. Transportation
Transportation in Houston is primarily by road, through use of private automobile, and bus service. Galveston Island is connected to the mainland via a causeway. There is a limited Houston light rail system from the South Loop 610 to Downtown, limited train service primarily for shipping, and airports at Intercontinental Airport, Hobby Airport and Ellington Field. Boats and ships travel through the ports of Houston and Galveston. Helicopter travel is available.
Greater Houston's freeway system includes 575.5 miles of freeways and expressways in the 10-county metro area. Houston freeways are heavily traveled and often under construction to meet the demands of continuing growth.
The Greater Houston area has a hub-and-spoke freeway structure with multiple loops. The innermost is Interstate 610, forming an approximately 10 mile diameter loop around downtown. The roughly square Loop-610 is quartered into the North Loop, South Loop, West Loop, and East Loop. The roads of Beltway 8 and their freeway core, the Sam Houston Tollway, are the next loop, with a diameter of roughly 25 miles.
Highways in the Greater Houston Area
|
Designation
|
Common Name
|
|
Spur 5
|
Alvin Freeway
|
|
Interstate Highway 10
|
Baytown-East Freeway
|
|
U.S. Highway 90
|
Crosby Freeway
|
|
Spur 330
|
Decker Drive
|
|
U.S. Highway 59
|
Eastex Freeway
|
|
Farm to Market Road 1764
|
Emmett F. Lowry Expressway
|
|
Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road
|
|
|
State Highway 146
|
Fred Hartman Bridge
|
|
State Highway 99
|
Grand Parkway
|
|
Interstate Highway 45
|
Gulf Freeway
|
|
Hardy Toll Road
|
|
|
Interstate Highway 10
|
Katy Freeway
|
|
State Highway 225
|
La Porte Freeway
|
|
Interstate Highway 610
|
South, West, North and East Loop
|
|
Interstate Highway 45
|
North Freeway
|
|
U.S. Highway 290
|
Northwest Freeway
|
|
Beltway 8
|
Sam Houston Tollway
|
|
Interstate 610
|
Sidney Sherman Bridge
|
|
State Highway 288
|
South Freeway
|
|
U.S. Highway 59
|
Southwest Freeway
|
|
Spur 527
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The Downtown Split
|
|
State Highway 249
|
Tomball Parkway
|
|
Westpark Tollway/Fort Bend Westpark Tollway
|
|
The Impact of Blocked Highways on Eye Care in Times of Disaster and Evacuation
The road system of Houston is vulnerable to disruption during disasters. Road blockage by traffic or road and rail blockage by flooding would interfere with the ability of eye care workers to travel to a disaster site, mobilize supplies, and evacuate victims. The City of Houston /UHCO Eye Van needs road access to be engaged. Alternative transportation of supplies, workers and victims by boat or air would be required in the event of road blockage. Hurricane Rita in 2005 spurred the largest evacuation in United States history. Houston's evacuation preparations and were overwhelmed despite implementation of contraflow lanes to ease state highway system gridlock; many motorists ran out of gas or experienced breakdowns in record -breaking heat nearing 100°F. Since 2005, a staged evacuation notification system has been instituted to manage future evacuations in an orderly fashion.
Map: Houston, Texas
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