01 · CITY GOVERNMENT
Who does what at City Hall?
Understand the mayor, council members and how decisions are made.
District B Houston
Know your district.
Find your next step.
A clear starting point for life in Houston’s District B: neighbourhood context, city services and practical ways to take part in local government.
START SOMEWHERE GOOD
Useful places to start
Make sense of local government, one question at a time.
02 · CITY SERVICES
Something needs fixing?
Learn how to report a non-emergency issue through Houston 311.
03 · YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD
Get to know District B
A starting point for the district’s neighbourhoods and civic life.
KEEP EXPLORING
The local guide
THE JOURNAL · 2 MIN
Using Houston 311: How to Report Potholes, Flooding and Illegal Dumping
Houston 311 is the city’s help and information line for non-emergency services. It is the fastest way to put a problem on the city’s…
THE JOURNAL · 2 MIN
How Houston City Council Works: Districts, At-Large Seats and the Mayor
Houston has a “strong mayor” form of government. The mayor runs the city’s administration and sets the council agenda, while City Council approves the…
THE BIGGER PICTURE
A clearer starting point for District B
Houston City Council District B covers a large part of north and northeast Houston, including neighbourhoods such as Acres Homes, Kashmere Gardens, Trinity Gardens, Settegast and Greenspoint, and the area around George Bush Intercontinental Airport. It is home to long-established Black and Hispanic communities, working families, churches and civic clubs with deep roots, and some of the city’s most pressing infrastructure needs: drainage, roads, sidewalks and illegal dumping.
District B Houston is an independent community guide for the people who live and work here. It explains how city government works, how elections and endorsements function, and how to get problems fixed.
Start here
- How Houston City Council works – districts, at-large seats, the mayor and how a decision is made.
- Endorsements in city council races – who endorses candidates, what an endorsement does and does not tell you, and how to research a race yourself.
- Using Houston 311 – how to report potholes, flooding, missed trash pickups and illegal dumping, and how to follow up.
- About this site – who we are and how we work.
Why local government matters
Most of the decisions that shape daily life in District B are made at City Hall, not in Austin or Washington: which streets get repaved, how drainage projects are prioritised, how quickly heavy trash is picked up, where new parks and libraries go. City council elections often have low turnout, which means every vote, every public comment and every call to a council office carries more weight than people expect.
Get involved
- Know your council member and the at-large members who represent the whole city.
- Join your civic club or super neighbourhood council; they are often the first to hear about projects.
- Speak at council. Houston City Council takes public comment from residents at its regular sessions.
- Vote in city elections, including runoffs, which are often decided by small numbers of voters.
News and explainers are published on the news page.