Pleasantville is a neighborhood located in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Pleasantville is predominantly

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, and located inside of the

610 Loop Interstate 610 (I-610) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that forms a loop around the inner city sector of the city of Houston, Texas. I-610, colloquially known as The Loop, Loop 610, The Inner Loop, or just 610, traditionally marks ...

in eastern Houston

History

The Pleasantville neighborhood was established in 1948 by two land developers, Melvin Silverman and H.M. Cohen, who partnered with real estate agent and mortgage broker, Robinson Judson Robinson Sr.. Silverman, owned property to the north of the Houston Ship Channel. In the post World War II period, the two aimed to create a community for Jewish American military veterans and African American servicemen, two groups that were known to face housing discrimination at the time. The community attracted a wave of African American residents as it became one of the first areas where they could legally own a home. Residents became heavily involved with their community, forming a Pleasantville Civic Club League and a Garden Club among many other community organizations that continuously worked to improve the area. Although the deed restrictions limited the area of Pleasantville to residential purposes only, the lack of zoning in Houston allowed for an encroachment of industrial buildings within close proximity of Pleasantville. This encroachment was accelerated after the finished construction of the I-610 highway that outlines the eastern border of the residential area. The resulting increase in traffic from the highway attracted more industrial establishments such as the Southern Produce Co distribution center, Budweiser, and several chemical plants. On the morning of June 24, 1995, a seven alarm fire broke out in a chemical storage warehouse in the Pleasantville neighborhood. The fire burned uncontrolled for a day, and firefighters had to evacuate due to lack of knowledge of the chemicals that the warehouse contained. The neighborhood was evacuated. In response to the fire and community advocacy, Mayor Bob Lanier promised to create a better system for disclosing chemical locations in residential areas. The Hazardous Materials Ordinance was passed in 1996 to better regulate where hazardous materials can be stored. Pleasantville has a demonstrated history of community advocacy. Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS), a community-based advocacy group, started working for flood mitigation after

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

in 2017. In 2019, ACTS launched a community-owned air monitoring network to address

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

concerns. Due to Pleasantville’s location next to the ship channel, the interstate, and industrial sites like a large brewery, as well as events like the warehouse fire, Pleasantville residents became concerned by air quality issues. With funding and support from groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas Southern University, Pleasantville is establishing at least one community-owned and monitored air monitor. The community of Pleasantville is highly engaged in the project and will use the information from the monitors to inform future plans.

Cityscape

Pleasantville is in proximity to the

and the portion of

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

labeled the " East Freeway".Crowe, Robert.
Houston grants council to Pleasantville
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, 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''. ...

''. October 18, 2001. Retrieved on May 17, 2014. The area surrounding the community includes rail lines and industrial businesses.Olson, Bradley.
Smelly mounds of Ike debris tower over Pleasantville
" ''

''. January 13, 2009. Retrieved on May 17, 2014.

Government and infrastructure

The

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary municipal law enforcement agency serving the city of Houston, Texas, United States, and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fi ...

Northeast Patrol Division serves the neighborhoo

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

District B serves Pleasantville. The Pleasantville and Groveland Terrace subdivisions are a part of the Super Neighborhood Council No. 57 Pleasantville Area, which officially formed in July 2001. In the 1991

Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Qualifications, election, and terms To file to run for mayor, a person must be a qualified voter of the city of Houston, and have h ...

election most Pleasantville voters voted for

Sylvester Turner Sylvester Turner (September 27, 1954 – March 5, 2025) was an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from January 2025 until his death in March 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democra ...

; Pleasantville's voter turnout was almost 50 percent. Debbie Allen founded the Pleasantville Strategic Revitalization Planning Committee,Problem: Lane restriping on hold until construction on Pleasantville wraps up -- Day 3
" ''

''. June 27, 2005. Retrieved on May 17, 2014. which became sponsored by the city government. The

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

(TSU) School of Public Affairs and several community-based organizations are a part of the committee.Jaitapker, Nabeel.
Pleasantville homeowners hear results of survey
" ''

''. June 16, 2005. Pasadena News. Retrieved on May 17, 2014. Allen became the committee's president.Pleasantville residents help in fight against crime
" ''

''. June 3, 2008. Retrieved on May 17, 2014.

Harris Health System The Harris Health System, previously the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD), is a governmental entity with taxing authority that owns and operates three hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Harris County, Texas, United States, includ ...

(formerly Harris County Hospital District) designated Ripley Health Center in the East End for ZIP code 77029. - See ZIP code 77029
See this map for relevant ZIP code
In 2000 Ripley was replaced by the Gulfgate Health Center.

.

Harris County Hospital District The Harris Health System, previously the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD), is a governmental entity with taxing authority that owns and operates three hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Harris County, Texas, United States, includ ...

. Accessed October 17, 2008. The designated public hospital is

Ben Taub General Hospital Ben Taub Hospital is a public hospital located in Houston, Texas within the Texas Medical Center. Having opened in May 1963, the hospital is owned and operated by the Harris Health System and is staffed by the faculty, residents, and students fr ...

in the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a List of neighborhoods in Houston, neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States. It is immediately south of the Houston Museum District, Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 6 ...

Crime and environment

In 2005 there was a door-to-door survey conducted by the Strategic Planning Committee and TSU. Residents stated in the survey that their major concerns were

gang activity A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectiv ...

, drug trafficking, a lack of presence of police, drive-by shootings, and prostitution. In addition residents mentioned issues with noise pollution originating from railroad tracks, abandoned and vacant buildings, and the overall quality of the environment. On Saturday June 10, 2005, residents attended a meeting at the Judson Robinson Sr. Community Center to discuss the survey. By 2008 Allen had, as part of the

METRO Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

Adopt-a-Stop/Shelter program, adopted 28 bus stops in Pleasantville, and she stated that she did this in order to stop criminal activity from occurring at the bus stops.

Education

Pleasantville is served by the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), 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 ci ...

. Zoned schools includ
Pleasantville Elementary SchoolHolland Middle School
and

Furr High School Ebbert L. Furr High School is a secondary school located in Houston, Texas, United States. Furr, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Houston Independent School District. Furr is adjacent tHerman Brown Parkand the Songwood subdivis ...

. The Pleasantville Neighborhood Library of the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in ...

is in the community.Pleasantville Neighborhood Library
"

. Retrieved on March 17, 2014.

Parks and recreation

Th
Robinson Sr. Community Center
is located in Pleasantville. It was named after Judson W. Robinson Sr., a precinct chairperson in Pleasantville, the founder of real estate company Judson W. Robinson & Sons, Inc., a director of the Riverside General Hospital, and a member of the board of commissioners of the Housing Authority of the city of Houston. He was born in

Crockett, Texas Crockett is a city and the county seat of Houston County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,332. Houston County is the oldest county and Crockett the fifth-oldest city in Texas. History The town was name ...

and he died on Sunday May 11, 1986. The ''

'' stated that he was "a notable leader in the city's black community".Staff. "Services set today for Judson W. Robinson Sr." ''

''. Tuesday, May 13, 1986. Section 3, p. 8. NewsBank Record Number: HSC0513238425. Available at the

website with a library card. His son, Judson W. Robinson Jr., served as a member of

References

External links

Pleasantville Strategic Planning and Revitalization Committee
{{coord, 29.7632, N, 95.2783, W, source:wikidata, display=title Neighborhoods in Houston Populated places in Texas established by African Americans Populated places established in 1948