Houston was founded on August 30, 1836, by brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou.The city was incorporated on June 5, 1837, and named after then-President of the Republic of Texas—former General Sam Houston—who had commanded at the Battle of San Jacinto, which took place 25 miles (40 km) east of where the city was established. The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the city's population.

In the mid-twentieth century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where the Mission Control Center is located.

Houston is the largest city in the United States without formal zoning regulations, it has developed similarly to other Sun Belt cities because the city's land use regulations and legal covenants have played a similar role.Regulations include mandatory lot size for single-family houses and requirements that parking be available to tenants and customers. Such restrictions have had mixed results.

Though some have blamed the city's low density, urban sprawl, and lack of pedestrian-friendliness on these policies, the city's land use has also been credited with having significant affordable housing, sparing Houston the worst effects of the 2008 real estate crisis.

The Galleria :-

The Galleria is an upscale mixed-use urban development centrally located in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas, United States.The development consists of a retail complex, as well as the Galleria Office Towers complex,two Westin hotels, and a private health club. The office towers and hotels are separately owned and managed from the shopping center.

With 3 million total square feet of space that includes 2.4 million of gross leasable area with over 375 stores, the Galleria is the largest mall in Texas and seventh-largest in the United States.It is currently anchored by two separate full-line Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.