Galveston Bay - Urban Development

Urban Development

Galveston Bay is located in the Greater Houston metropolitan area and itself is at the center of one of the most important shipping hubs in the world. The metro area is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the United States with a population of 6.1 million as of the 2010 U.S. Census estimate. The population of the metropolitan area is centered in the city of Houston—the largest economic and cultural center of the American South with a population of 2.2 million. It is among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States.

Four counties border the Bay: Brazoria, Chambers, Harris, and Galveston County. The largest city in this area is Houston, the nation's fourth-largest. Houston itself, though, began its life as an inland city and only due to its immense growth has it reached the shores of the Bay. The area's original metropolis was Galveston, which though now largely a quiet, tourist island, was once one of the most important ports in the nation prior to the 1900 Galveston hurricane. Other significant communities bordering the Bay include Texas City, Pasadena, Baytown, and Anahuac.

Important ports that serve the bay include the Port of Houston, the Port of Texas City, and the Port of Galveston. The Houston Ship Channel, which connects the Port of Houston to the Gulf, passes through the Bay. It is a partially man-made feature created by dredging the Buffalo Bayou, the ship channel subbays, and Galveston Bay.

The area has a broad industrial base including the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, transportation, and health care sectors. Houston is second to only New York City in the number of Fortune 500 headquarters in the city limits. The bayside communities in particular are themselves the heart of both the nation's manned space program and the nation's petrochemical industry.