Houston Kohei Joshi

Port of Houston (transportation working closely together with industries)

Petrochemical Industries (thriving industries working with ports.)

Bayous (wildlife preservation) A marshy outlet of a lake or river

Flooding (also future) Coastal Erosion (Also future) Not very diverse economy

Notes Houston -Houston is located on the southern coast of America, next to Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico -It is the largest city in Texas and is also the 4 th largest city in the United States with a population of around 2.1 million people. -The population of Houston has continually been on the rise due to the rapidly growing ports and railroad industry, as well as the discovery of oil in But, what really lead to the success of Houston as a city is perhaps its geographical location. - Houston is located on the Southern Coast of the US next to the Gulf of Mexico. This is home to the Port of Houston -The Port of Houston is the 6 th largest port in the world, and handles the most international commerce in terms of tonnage in the US -It consists of the Port Authority along with more than 150 private companies. -Thanks to the successful economic trade, many people from other cities move to Houston which is a major factor for the increasing population. -Also, along the Houston Ship Channel running from the Galveston Bay, are several petrolium coorperation’s which form one of the world’s largest petrochemical complex. Petrochemical means any substance made from refining and processing petrol and natural gas such as plastic -So, the economic success of Houston as a mega city is due largely in part to its thriving ports which provide cheap but constant trade, and the several industries that are able to take advantage of being in close quarters with the ports. -As you can see, these are some of the ways the coast helps Houston flourish as a city. -Now let’s take a look at the historical significance of the coast for Houston

-During WWII, shipping activities were suspended and the port alone was unable to sustain the thriving economy of Houston. -Luckily, the coast provided other ways for Houston to survive, and this was where the petrochemical industry took off. -They made refinaries and manufacturing plants along the Houston Ship Channel, especially with demands for petrolium and synthetic rubber running high. -The coast provided the city with many resources such as crude oil which enabled Houston to not only ride through tough times, but also use it to their advantage in the future -Right after the war, the port which is located on the coast, became once again the foundation of the Houston’s economy, but the petrochemical industry continued to grow - Some times afterwards around the 1970’s, Houston experienced a sudden increase in population as people from other states moved looking for job opportunities in the petrolium industry, which is based on and located next to the coast -As one can see, the entire city of Houston always did and still does rely on the coast to run their economy. -Despite this fact, the coast does present some problems for the surrounding areas, as it is prone to flooding. In 2005, 2.5 million people were evacuated when Hurricane Rita was approaching due to fear of flooding. Houston faces coastal erosion just like the other cities. -Also, because Houston didn’t have a diverse economy in that they focused too much energy and resources on their ports and industry, when the recession hit in the late 1980’s, the city had a tough time coping To try to prevent problems like this, there are several things Houston does. -In order to prevent flooding, Houston nurtures it’s several Bayou’s and relies on it to contain all the water. This provides a great wildlife habitat for animals. Because Houston does not have zoning laws, Real estate companies often uses the scenic view of the bayou’s to their advantage and so this is a example of wildlife helping the settlements and residentials. -In order to diversify their economy, Houston focused more on the aerospace and healthcare facilities to reduce its dependence on the petrolium industry. Today, the Johnson Space Center and the Houston Medical Center are great tourist attractions, that once again real estate companies can use this to their advantage. This is a example of industries helping tourism and recreation as well as settlements.