|
The geographic areas of Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside Interstate 610, known as the "Loop." Inside the loop generally encompasses the Central business district and the "island cities" of West University Place (West U.), Southside Place and a portion of Bellaire. ("Island cities" refers to the City of Houston's practice of annexing around the existing boundaries of incorporated municipalities.) Other "island cities" include the Memorial Villages — Bunker Hill Village, Hedwig Village, Hilshire Village, Hunters Creek Village, Piney Point Village, and Spring Valley Village. The outlying areas of Houston, as well as the rest of Bellaire, the Memorial Villages, the airports and the city's suburbs and enclaves are outside the loop. Another ring road, Beltway 8 (also known simply as the "Beltway"), encircles the city another 5 miles (8 km) further out. A third, State Highway 99 or Grand Parkway, has begun construction roughly 10 miles (16 km) beyond the Beltway around the outer suburbs and currently extends from north of Interstate 10 east of Katy to U.S. Highway 59 in Sugar Land. Locations within the Houston city limits inside Beltway 8 had traditionally used the 713 area code. Those outside Beltway 8 but within city limits had received the 281 or 832 area code. The geographic division between 713, 281, and 832 has been eliminated, and newly issued phone numbers (especially for cell phones and fax machines) within that zone may be assigned any of the three codes. Areas far north, west, east and south of the inner-city also use 936 and 409. Zip codes in Houston range from 77002 to 77099. A small portion of northeast Houston uses zip codes 77339 and 77345. Houston is the most populated city in the United States without zoning laws. City voters rejected creation of separate commercial and residential land-use districts in 1948, 1962 and 1993. As a result, Houston has grown in an unusual manner. Rather than a single “downtown” as the center of the city's employment, five additional business districts have grown throughout the inner-city, including one for Houston's medical center complex. If these business districts were combined, they would form the third largest downtown in the United States. The city also has one of the largest skylines in the United States but because it is spread over a few miles, pictures of the city show, for the most part, the main downtown area. ==Development of geographic areas== John Nova Lomax of the ''Houston Press'' said that before the interstate system was established in Houston, the neighborhoods were "strongly distinct neighborhoods and districts with poetic names()"〔Lomax, John Nova. "(Houston 101: Sig Byrd, Houston's King of True-Life Noir )." ''Houston Press''. Friday November 20, 2009. Retrieved on September 4, 2012.〕 Beginning in the 1960s the development of the 610 Loop caused the focus of the Houston area to move away from Downtown Houston. Joel Barna of ''Cite 42'' said that this caused Greater Houston to shift from "a fragmenting but still centrally focused spatial entity into something more like a doughnut," and that Downtown Houston began to become a "hole" in the "doughnut." As interchange connections with the 610 Loop opened, according to Barna Downtown "became just another node in a multi-node grid" and, as of 1998, "has been that, with already established high densities and land prices."〔Barna, Joel Warren. "(Filling the Doughnut )." ''Cite 42''. Summer/Fall (northern hemisphere) 1998. Published in: Scardino, Barrie and Bruce Webb. ''Epheremal City''. University of Texas Press, 2003. Google Books Page 73. ISBN 0-292-70187-X, 9780292701878.〕 By 1998 Beltway 8 neared completion and development increased in the central city. Barna said that "it's as if Houston had stretched out so far that it its sprawl began doubling back upon itself."〔Barna, Joel Warren. "(Filling the Doughnut )." ''Cite 42''. Summer/Fall (northern hemisphere) 1998. Published in: Scardino, Barrie and Bruce Webb. ''Epheremal City''. University of Texas Press, 2003. Google Books Page 73-74. ISBN 0-292-70187-X, 9780292701878.〕 Lisa Gray of the ''Houston Chronicle'' said that Houston differs from many "old-style" European cities and cities of the East Coast of the United States because Houston began with sprawl development and later developed dense cores, as opposed to beginning with dense cores and later developing sprawl. Many denser areas of Houston have parking garages, allowing automobile drivers to access areas with relatively few parking spaces.〔Gray, Lisa. "(PARKING TALES Garages tell city's story GRAY: Parking garages are becoming appealing to the eye )." ''Houston Chronicle''. Sunday January 24, 2010. Star 1. Retrieved on July 16, 2010.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Geographic areas of Houston」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|