Colleges and universities[edit]

Further information: List of colleges and universities in Houston

Texas Southern University

Four separate and distinct state universities are located in Houston. The University of Houston is a nationally
recognized Tier One research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System.[190][191]
[192]
The third-largest university in Texas, the University of Houston has nearly 40,000 students on its 667-acre campus in
southeast Houston.[193] The University of HoustonClear Lake and the University of HoustonDowntown are stand-
alone universities; they are not branch campuses of the University of Houston. Located in the historic community of
Third Ward is Texas Southern University, one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black universities in the
United States.

Several private institutions of higher learningranging from liberal arts colleges, such as The University of St. Thomas,
Houston's only Catholic university, to Rice University, the nationally recognized research universityare located within
the city. Rice, with a total enrollment of slightly more than 6,000 students, has a number of distinguished graduate
programs and research institutes, such as the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy.[194] Houston Baptist University,
affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, offers bachelor's and graduate degrees. It was founded in 1960
and is located in the Sharpstown area in Southwest Houston.

Three community college districts exist with campuses in and around Houston. The Houston Community College
System serves most of Houston. The northwestern through northeastern parts of the city are served by various
campuses of the Lone Star College System, while the southeastern portion of Houston is served by San Jacinto
College, and a northeastern portion is served by Lee College.[195] The Houston Community College and Lone Star
College systems are within the 10 largest institutions of higher learning in the United States.

Media[edit]

Further information: List of newspapers in Houston, List of television stations in Texas, List of radio stations in
Texas, Magazines in Houston, and List of films featured in Houston

The primary network-affiliated television stations are KPRC-TV (NBC), KHOU-TV (CBS), KTRK-
TV (ABC), KRIV (Fox), KIAH (The CW), and KTXH (MyNetworkTV). KTRK-TV, KRIV and KTXH operate as owned-and-
operated stations of their networks.

The HoustonThe WoodlandsSugar Land metropolitan area is served by one public television station and one public
radio station. KUHT (HoustonPBS) is a PBS member station and is the first public television station in the United States.
Houston Public Radio is listener-funded and comprises one NPR member station, KUHF (KUHF News). The University
of Houston System owns and holds broadcasting licenses to KUHT and KUHF. The stations broadcast from the Melcher
Center for Public Broadcasting, located on the campus of the University of Houston.

Houston is served by the Houston Chronicle, its only major daily newspaper with wide distribution. The Hearst
Corporation, which owns and operates the Houston Chronicle, bought the assets of the Houston Postits long-time
rival and main competitionwhen Houston Post ceased operations in 1995. The Houston Post was owned by the family
of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby of Houston. The only other major publication to serve the city is the Houston
Pressa free alternative weekly with a weekly readership of more than 300,000. [196]
Infrastructure[edit]

Healthcare[edit]
Main article: Texas Medical Center

See also: List of hospitals in Texas

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Houston is the seat of the internationally renowned Texas Medical Center, which contains the world's largest
concentration of research and healthcare institutions.[197]All 49 member institutions of the Texas Medical Center are non-
profit organizations. They provide patient and preventive care, research, education, and local, national, and international
community well-being. Employing more than 73,600 people, institutions at the medical center include 13 hospitals and
two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, pharmacy,
and virtually all health-related careers. It is where one of the firstand still the largestair emergency service, Life
Flight, was created, and a very successful inter-institutional transplant program was developed. More heart surgeries
are performed at the Texas Medical Center than anywhere else in the world. [198]

Some of the academic and research health institutions at the center include MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor
College of Medicine, UT Health Science Center, Memorial Hermann Hospital, The Methodist Hospital, Texas Children's
Hospital, and University of Houston College of Pharmacy.

The Baylor College of Medicine has annually been considered within the top ten medical schools in the nation; likewise,
the MD Anderson Cancer Center has consistently ranked as one of the top two U.S. hospitals specializing in cancer
care by U.S. News & World Report since 1990.[199][200] The Menninger Clinic, a renowned psychiatric treatment center, is
affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital System.[201] With hospital locations nationwide and
headquarters in Houston, the Triumph Healthcare hospital system is the third largest long term acute care provider
nationally.[202]

Transportation[edit]
Main article: Transportation in Houston

Highways[edit]

This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available
information. (March 2016)
I-10 and I-45 interchange

Seventy-one point seven percent of residents drive alone to work. [203] Houston's freeway system comprises 739.3 miles
(1,189.8 km) of freeways and expressways in a ten-county metropolitan area. [204] However, the Texas Transportation
Institute's annual Urban Mobility Report found that Houston had the fourth-worst congestion in the country with
commuters spending an average of 58 hours in traffic in 2009.[205]

Houston's highway system has a hub-and-spoke freeway structure serviced by multiple loops. The innermost loop
is Interstate 610, which encircles downtown, the medical center, and many core neighborhoods with around a 8-mile
(13 km) diameter. Beltway 8 and its freeway core, the Sam Houston Tollway, form the middle loop at a diameter of
roughly 23 miles (37 km). A proposed highway project, State Highway 99 (Grand Parkway), will form a third loop outside
of Houston, totaling 180 miles in length and making an almost-complete circumference, with the exception of crossing
the ship channel. As of June 2014, two of eleven segments of State Highway 99 have been completed to the west of
Houston, and three northern segments totaling 38 miles. In addition to the Sam Houston Tollway loop mentioned above,
the Harris County Toll Road Authority currently operates four spoke tollways: The Katy Managed Lanes of Interstate 10,
the Hardy Toll Road, the Westpark Tollway, and the Fort Bend Parkway Extension. Other spoke roads either planned or
under construction include Crosby Freeway, and the future Alvin Freeway.

Houston's freeway system is monitored by Houston TranStara partnership of four government agencies that are
responsible for providing transportation and emergency management services to the region.[206]

Transit systems[edit]

METRORail light rail

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) provides public transportation in the form of buses, light
rail, and lift vans.

METRO began light rail service on January 1, 2004, with the inaugural track ("Red Line") running about 8 miles (13 km)
from the University of HoustonDowntown (UHD), which traverses through the Texas Medical Center and terminates
at NRG Park. METRO is currently in the design phase of a 10-year expansion plan that will add five more lines. [207] and
expand the current Red Line. Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service three times a week to
Houston via the Sunset Limited (Los AngelesNew Orleans), which stops at a train station on the north side of the
downtown area. The station saw 14,891 boardings and alightings in fiscal year 2008. [208] In 2012, there was a 25 percent
increase in ridership to 20,327 passengers embarking from the Houston Amtrak station. [209]

Cycling[edit]

Houston has the largest number of bike commuters in Texas with over 160 miles of dedicated bikeways. [210] The city is
currently in the process of expanding its on and off street bikeway network. [211] A bicycle sharing system known as
Houston B-Cycle currently operates 29 different stations in downtown and neighboring areas. [212]
Airports[edit]

George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Houston is served by three airports, two of which are commercial that served 52 million passengers in 2007 and
managed by the Houston Airport System.[213] The Federal Aviation Administration and the state of Texas selected the
"Houston Airport System as Airport of the Year" for 2005, [214] largely because of its multi-year, $3.1 billion airport
improvement program for both major airports in Houston.

The primary city airport is George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), the tenth-busiest in the United States for total
passengers, and twenty eighth-busiest worldwide. Bush Intercontinental currently ranks fourth in the United States for
non-stop domestic and international service with 182 destinations. [215] In 2006, the United States Department of
Transportation named IAH the fastest-growing of the top ten airports in the United States. [216] The Houston Air Route
Traffic Control Center stands on the George Bush Intercontinental Airport grounds.

Houston was the headquarters of Continental Airlines until its 2010 merger with United Airlines with headquarters in
Chicago; regulatory approval for the merger was granted in October of that year. Bush Intercontinental became United
Airlines' largest airline hub.[217] The airline retained a significant operational presence in Houston while offering more than
700 daily departures from the city.[218][219] In early 2007, Bush Intercontinental Airport was named a model "port of entry"
for international travelers by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. [220]

The second-largest commercial airport is William P. Hobby Airport (named Houston International Airport until 1967)
which operates primarily short- to medium-haul domestic flights. However, in 2015 Southwest Airlines launched service
from a new international terminal at Hobby airport to several destinations in Mexico, Central America, and the
Caribbean. These were the first international flights flown from Hobby since 1969. [221] Houston's aviation history is
showcased in the 1940 Air Terminal Museum located in the old terminal building on the west side of the airport. Hobby
Airport has been recognized with two awards for being one of the top five performing airports in the world and for
customer service by Airports Council International.[222]

Houston's third municipal airport is Ellington Airport (a former U.S. Air Force base) used by military, government, NASA,
and general aviation sectors.[223]

Sister cities[edit]

The Houston Office of Protocol and International Affairs is the city's liaison to Houston's sister cities and to the national
governing organization, Sister Cities International. Through their official city-to-city relationships, these volunteer
associations promote people-to-people diplomacy and encourage citizens to develop mutual trust and understanding
through commercial, cultural, educational, and humanitarian exchanges. [224][225]

Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 2001

Baku (Azerbaijan) 1976

Basrah (Iraq) 2015[226]

Chiba (Japan) 1973

Guayaquil (Ecuador) 1987

Huelva (Spain) 1969

Istanbul (Turkey) 1986

Karachi (Pakistan) 2009

Leipzig (Germany) 1993

Luanda (Angola) 2003

Nice (France) 1973

Perth (Australia) 1983

Shenzhen (China) 1986

Stavanger (Norway) 1980

Taipei (Taiwan) 1963

Tampico (Mexico) 2003

Tyumen (Russia) 1995

Wuhan (China) 2016

See also[edit]

List of people from Houston

Houston portal