; Horace Chilton born near Tyler Smith County, Houston is well known for its oil and petrochemical industries which are leading contributors to the city's economy the industries located along the ship channel coupled with a growing population have caused a considerable increase in air pollution for the city each year Houston has excessive ozone levels and is ranked among the most ozone-polluted cities in the United States. Ground-level ozone or smog is Houston's predominant air pollution problem in 2011 Houston was ranked as the 17th most polluted city in the US according to the American Lung Association a 2007 assessment found the following twelve air pollutants to be definite risks to health in Houston:. Harris County ESD #28 Fire Ponderosa VFD 1% .10, Top publicly traded companies. .
. The Gulf Coastal Plains region wraps around the Gulf of Mexico on the southeast section of the state Vegetation in this region consists of thick piney woods the Interior Lowlands region consists of gently rolling to hilly forested land and is part of a larger pine-hardwood forest, Jacinto City Rivers, Locations in Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside Interstate 610 known as the "610 Loop" or simply "The Loop" Inside the loop generally encompasses the central business district and has come to define an urban lifestyle and state of mind Elizabeth Long the author of the 2003 book Book Clubs: Women and the Uses of Reading in Everyday Life wrote that most of the upper middle classes in the 610 Loop live in the southwestern part of the inner city in the areas near Hermann Park the Houston Museum District Rice University and the Texas Medical Center while some portions of northern Houston and Eastern Houston have been gentrified and also have upper middle classes. . By 2005 USA Today referred to Houston as "the dining-out capital of the nation." Houstonians ate out at restaurants more often than residents of other American cities and Houston restaurants have the second lowest average prices of restaurants of major cities. Tex-Mex cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine are very popular in Houston Many Mexican cuisine restaurants in Houston have aspects that originate from Texas culture!
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