This is our monthly series Houston Maps and Data, where we provide a roundup of interesting Houston stories using maps and data that help us understand the region by the numbers.
In mid-April, the Houston area saw unprecedented flooding. There are a lot of attempts to explain why, but before you go down that rabbit hole, check out the Houston Chronicle’s flooding breakdown and analysis. Perhaps the most striking finding is that 25% of the City of Houston’s 311 calls came from outside the county’s floodplain.
If you want more flood insight and information, check out:
- a closer look at the Greenspoint flood
- Hell and High Water, an excellent collaboration between the Texas Tribune and ProPublica
- a pre-Tax Day Flood look at the 100-year flood zone
- a sentiment analysis of #houstonflood tweets
- do the legwork yourself at Harris County’s interactive flood education tool
In other news, there are a ton of awesome maps and data links to share this month. I had trouble paring it down to fit into a single post. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Word Frequency in Online Dating Profiles Across Texas
Image: R. Luke Dubois
Artist R. Luke Dubois looked at online dating profile word frequencies by zip code, and created a glorious map of the United States. You can learn a lot about an area based on the most frequently used words.
Here’s a closer look at Houston:
Houston Public Education Funding Lags State, National Averages
Image credit: Houston Public Media
Education Week looked at federal funding of public education, and Houston Public Media put together a great interactive map. Houston Independent School District (HISD) spends $7,512 per student, which is below the State of Texas average of $8,075, and well below the national average of $11,841.
City of Houston Purchases $1.2 Million of Green Space
How much park land does $1.2 million get you in Houston? About 16,500 square feet. Don’t worry: these aren’t your tax dollars at work. It’s merely “conserving green space amid the march of townhomes.”
Map Shows the Noisiest Places to Live in Houston
The RentLingo Noise Index Heatmap provides an overview of the noisiest areas of Houston, the causes of noise, and the average noise readings for the area. It’s a great way to find out if your new home is near the train, a busy street, or ongoing construction.
Zip Codes with Highest Demand for Glass Recycling Pickup
A few weeks back, Mayor Turner struck a new deal with Waste Management, the City’s provider of curbside recycling services. In short, he was able to continue curbside recycling services, but we had to take glass out of the recycling waste stream. As a result, several new businesses have popped up to provide supplemental glass recycling pickup service. But only Hauling Glass Houston uses a data-driven approach to expansion.
If Houston Looks Different, That’s Because It Is Different
The Houston Chronicle has a sad reminder that the City of Houston is constantly being torn down and rebuilt over and over again. Check out this animation of housing boom teardowns from 1990-2014.
