A new mixed-use development on Houston’s Near Northside is in the works by a nonprofit housing organization. Mayor Bill White believes this is an important step to providing affordable housing to citizens of the town near the downtown area. The new housing is going to be located at an old FedEx Warehouse and include 80 to 100 single-family home, 180 to 250 apartments and a retail center. The Avenue Community Development Corporation will be overseeing the project.

This is a very crucial development in the Houston area as it is providing affordable housing to many deserving people and families and is also building upon areas that are all ready developed rather than sprawling out more. With developments like these Houston can maintain a better nucleus of a city and keep more people coming into the city.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6141832.html

White said the project, one of the largest developments inside Loop 610 ever undertaken by a Houston nonprofit developer, represents a wise alternative to “leapfrog” suburban development that consumes huge tracts of land and requires costly extensions of streets and other infrastructure.

With thanksgiving comes great food and delicious pies. The Flying Saucer Pie Company reportedly baked almost 5,000 pies to sell on the night before Thanksgiving. These pies cause people to camp out overnight just to assure that they’d be able to have a slice of their favorite pie.

These types of attractions are crucial to global cities in adding to the places that people can only find there. Houston has a number of such attractions and companies like the Flying Saucer Pie Company that can stay in business and bring people back are important in attracting new companies that try to find their own niche.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6134512.html

Houston is host to the National Museum of Funeral History. This may not sound very appealing but they recently added a Vatican Exhibit. The museum has many differeny artifacts with great historical value. This new addition is an attempt to remember the lives and deaths of past Popes.

When trying to develop a global city and make it world renowned, culture is one of the largest driving factors. Museums such as this bring value and culture to a city and gives it more depth.

Houston was previously the smog capital of the U.S. but it is getting increasingly cleaner.They recently had a record-low 16 days of dangerous smog that was higher than the federal health-based standards for ground-level ozone. Not to long ago there would be upwards of 60 days of dangerous smog in a year. Since 1999 there has been a decrease of 74 percent of the days of bad smog.

This push towards an environmentally friendly city in Houston is huge in its development and growth as a viable global city. The environment is a growing concern in all areas of the world and it is a very positive thing that Houston is tackling the problem and creating a healthier city.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6140221.html

Houston has quietly become one of the top weapon sources for Mexican drug cartels according to federal law enforcement officials. Houston has numerous gun shops and is a good location, close to the border, for bring firearms into Mexico. An estimated 90 percent of some 27,000 weapons taken from stash houses or recovered on crime scenes from the past two years are said to have come from the U.S.

These are the issues that cause Houston much grief and concern and also give them a bad name. They are the types of problems that all global cities face but the global cities that stand alone on top are the cities that take these problems head on. Houston has to find solutions to stop so many weapons from going into Mexico and causing many problems and unnecessary deaths.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-gunsales_01tex.ART.State.Edition1.4a4b8f1.html

Three passengers on a MetroRail train were taken to the hospital after suffering injuries when a car made an illegal turn and the train collided with it.

This article simply demonstrates how global cities have many different issues to deal with on a daily basis, ranging from the diversity of people to all of the different modes of transportation. It is vital that these mega cities do everything in their power to keep things running smoothly so incidents like this happen as little as possible.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6108413.html

RediClinic LLC opened the largest retail-based convenient clinic in the United States in Houston. These clinics are nurse practitioners that work with physicians to prescribe medications and diagnose illnesses like strep throat. The clinic is inside the new H-E-B store and is 926 square feet that also has exam rooms and a room just for drawing blood.

This clinic is just another example of Houston adapting and attempting to help all of its residents. Clinics like these are very valuable because they are convenient and don’t always have the same feeling of going to the hospital. They are able to help a lot of people. Global cities like Houston must provide these types of things if they want to continually expand and become an even greater global city.

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/11/10/daily38.html

The largest landscape architecture and planning firm in Texas, TBG, has decided to merg with Houston’s oldest land planning firm, Vern G. Henry and Associates. This merger is significant because it brings two storied and heralded firms together but it also means Houston and its surrounding areas will experience a more integrated environment. Both companies have years of experience.

This should be a successful merger because the two companies are coming together in agreement and with shared beliefs. This is positive for Houston because the companies will be a huge asset to developing Houston further and also providing an even stronger land development firm to attract other businesses and people.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/TBG-Partners-Houston-Based-Planning/story.aspx?guid={53E8620A-5D95-45E8-8EE5-3AD480527DEB}

Houston and Harris County are going to start to begin buying and remodeling homes that were foreclosed and sell them to low and middle income families. They received a $28 million dollar federal grant to try and help the subprime mortgage crisis. The city will use the money in two different ways. They are going to buy and demolish homes that were abandoned and foreclosed so builders can construct new affordable homes to sell. They would also like to find a nonprofit housing group to help in the renovation process of homes for low income families.

This article shows how the city of Houston is being proactive in trying to helps its residents and keep the city thriving. The huge economic crisis has put strains on nearly everyone and this is just one of the many solutions that will be needed. Houston remains to be an innovative and problem solving city and this is just another example.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6111600.html

United States representative Al Green is coinciding with the Housto Vietnamese community in the opposition of a consulate opening in Houston. This consulate would put into positon people to look over the well being of the Vietnamese in Houston. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam is in favo of it but the Vietnamese of Houston are not.

This is a touchy subject because the U.S. wants to make sure it doesn’t anger Vietnam as trade between the countries has been increasing. The Vietnamese people don’t want more people telling them what to do and trying to make decisions for them. This is significant because global cities such as Houston have to deal with problems like these all the time because of their diverse populations.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6104608.html