Southwest Houston is a region in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The area is considered to be from

Texas State Highway 6 State Highway 6 (SH 6) runs from the Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma state line, to northwest of Galveston, where it is known as the Old Galveston Highway. In Sugar Land and Missouri City, it is known as Alvin-Sugarland Road and runs per ...

, south of

Westpark Tollway The Westpark Tollway, also Fort Bend Westpark Tollway, is a limited-access toll road in Texas, serving western Houston and Harris County, and northeastern Fort Bend County. Construction on the facility began in 2001 and portions of the road wer ...

to north of

U.S. Route 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...

. Many

Section 8 (housing) Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 (), often called Section 8, as repeatedly amended, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of low-income households in the United States. Fort Lauderdale, Florida Hou ...

complexes are located in Southwest Houston.

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

refugees came to the area in 2005. The Houston Metropolitan Chamber, formerly the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce, serves several neighborhoods often identified as "Southwest Houston."

History

From the 1980 U.S. Census to the 1990 Census, many African-Americans left traditional

African-American neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American. ...

s 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 African Americans in the U.S are also moving to Southwest Houston in the

New Great Migration The New Great Migration is the demographic change from 1970 to the present, which is a reversal of the previous 60-year trend of black migration within the United States. Since 1970, deindustrialization of cities in the Northeastern and ...

. Many Asian-Americans moved into Southwest Houston during the same period. They were mostly

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

, and

Pakistani American Pakistani Americans ( ur, ) are Americans who originate from Pakistan. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-Am ...

; some pockets of

Cambodian American Cambodian Americans,; also Khmer Americans, are Americans of Cambodian or Khmer ancestry. In addition, Cambodian Americans are also Americans with ancestry of other ethnic groups of Cambodia, such as the Chams and Chinese Cambodians. Accordin ...

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

s, and

Vietnamese American Vietnamese Americans ( vi, Người Mỹ gốc Việt, lit=Viet-origin American people) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese ...

s appeared during that period. Southwest Houston area contains one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. On May 31, 2013, the

Houston Fire Department City of Houston Fire Department (HFD) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Houston, Texas, United States, the fourth largest city in the United States. HFD is responsible for preserving life and ...

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, located in the

Greater Sharpstown Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, H ...

district of Southwest Houston.Map Major Roads
"
Archive
Greater Sharpstown Management District. Retrieved on August 15, 2009.

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 Commerc

* Braeswood/Stella Link * Almeda, Houston, Central Southwest * Fondren Southwest *

Greenway Plaza Greenway Plaza is a business district located along Interstate 69 (U.S. Highway 59) within the Interstate 610 loop in southwestern Houston, Texas, west of Downtown and east of Uptown. The district is located immediately west of Upper Kirby, n ...

Gulfton Gulfton is a community in Southwest Houston, Texas, United States that includes a group of apartment complexes that primarily house refugee and immigrant populations. It is located between the 610 Loop and Beltway 8, west of the City of Bellaire ...

br>
* Meyerland, Houston, Texas, Meyerland/South Post Oak *

Reliant Park NRG Park, formerly Reliant Park and Astrodomain, is a complex in Houston, named after the energy company NRG Energy. It is located on Kirby Drive at the South Loop West Freeway (I-610). This complex of buildings encompasses of land and consists ...

/South Loop * Rice Village/

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrate ...

Sharpstown Sharpstown is a master-planned community in the Southwest Management District (formerly Greater Sharpstown), Southwest Houston, Texas.Uptown Cities defined by the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce as in "Southwest Houston": * Bellaire * Southside Place *

West University Place West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city was 14,955. ...

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

Alief Alief is a working-class suburb in Southwest Harris County, Texas, Harris County, Texas, United States. Most of Alief is within the city limits of Houston, while a portion of the community is in Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated ...

Super Neighborhood #25 - Alief
. City of Houston. nd. Retrieved July 1, 2011. * Westheimer, Houston *

South Main, Houston The city of Houston, Texas, contains many neighborhoods, ranging from Planned community, planned communities to historic Ward (United States), wards. There is no uniform standard for what constitutes an individual neighborhood within the city; howe ...

Energy Corridor The Energy Corridor is a business district in Houston, Texas, located on the west side of the metropolitan area between Beltway 8 and the Grand Parkway. The district straddles a stretch of Interstate 10 (the Katy Freeway) from Kirkwood Road west ...

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

Brazoria County Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statis ...

: ** Lakes of Savanna

The website refers to the community as in "Southwest Houston"

Economy

The corporate office for Rice Epicurean Markets is located on a lot in Southwest Houston. Rice established its headquarters there in 1960, and the current 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.

Education

Some areas in Southwest Houston are within the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

. Some areas are in the

Alief Independent School District Alief Independent School District is a school district that is based in southwest Houston, Texas, United States. Alief ISD, which covers of land, covers a small portion of southwest Houston and parts of unincorporated Harris County. In Hous ...

. The Imani School is in Southwest Houston.Karkabi, Barbara.
New and notable
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. Friday, February 27, 2009. Retrieved on October 18, 2011. " ..he Imani School, a Christian school in southwest Houston, ..

Notable residents

* M.J. Khan (former

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

member)Snyder, Mike.
Green edges Khan in controller runoff
" ''

''. December 12, 2009. Retrieved on May 26, 2014. *

Maxo Kream Emekwanem Ogugua Biosah Jr. (born March 29, 1990), known professionally as Maxo Kream, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. His debut album ''Punken'' was released in 2018, and the follow-up and major label debut, ''Brandon Banks (album), ...

(American hip hop artist)

References

External links

Houston Metropolitan Chamber
!--This chamber has replaced the Greater Southwest Chamber-->
Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce
(Archive) {{coord missing, Texas Neighborhoods in Houston