South vs South - London and Houston

 

*Cartoon map of Texas by Dr Makkoy & London Cartoon Wallpaper 

When it comes to world cities being compared to one another, London tends to be paired up with the likes of New York and to a lesser extent, Los Angeles in California. But how's about this Southern city of the UK verses another Southern city in America? It's the tale of the tape as I compare the largest populated city in the South of Britain with the largest city in the South of the USA; here, I present some facts of these big cities collated from a variety of sources including Wikipedia.

''Have a good one, y'all!'' 

London

• London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom

• It is the most populous city in the UK and Metropolitan area of the European Union

• London has a diverse range of people and cultures

• More than 300 languages are spoken

• According to a 2011 census estimate, the population of London stands at over 8 million.

• Was founded by the Romans, who named it Londonium

• Like Houston, London is in the southern (England) part of the country.

• It is a leading global city and a world cultural capital city.

• It comprises of Greater London, the City of London, which covers London Bridge, Southwark & 32 boroughs in London.

• The nicknames for London include The City for Central London and The Smoke for the outskirts of London.

• Famous people born in London include Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Emily Blunt, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston, Davina McCall, Sharon Osbourne, Sam Smith and Paloma Faith to name but many.

• If London was a country, it would be the 8th largest in Europe.

• Greater London is an administrative area in Southeast England, that covers the capital city of London such as Leicester Square, Oxford Street and Westminster. It was created in 1965.

• London was the first city to to reach a population of 1 million in 1811. It remained the largest city in the world, until 1957 when it was overtaken by Tokyo.

• The London Underground is the oldest running subway in the entire world.  

• In 2012, the summer Olympic games were held in London. It became the first world city to host the Olympics 3 times, having done so in 1908 and 1948. 

• London came in at #26 in the top 50 major global cities in terms of global economy, according to Brookings Institution and JP Morgan Chase 

Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images 

Houston 

• It is the most populous city in Texas and fourth most populous city in the United States with Chicago third, Los Angeles second and New York first.  

• Houston is the largest city in the South of the United States and in Texas, in addition to being the second fastest growing city in the US as of 2014. 

• It consists of 8 counties (equivalent to the boroughs of London in the UK): Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller.

• Was founded in 1836 near the banks of Buffalo Bayou (now known as Allen's landing) by the Allen brothers, Augustus Chapman and John Kirby.

• It became a city in June 5 1837.

• It was named after ex-general Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas, who won Battle of San Jacinito, where the city was established.

• The city's population hails from various ethnic and religious backgrounds & has a ever- growing international community.

• It is considered as the most culturally and ethnically diverse city in Texas. It currently has the fourth largest Asian community in the United States of America. 

• Its estimated population is at over 2 million

• If Houston was a country, it would rank as the 30th largest country in the world

• More than 90 languages are spoken 

• The official nickname for Houston is 'Space City' because of the location of NASA's space center. Other nicknames include Bayou City and H-Town.

• Famous people born in Houston include WWE wrestler The Undertaker (real name Mark Calaway) , Jennifer Garner, Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Hilary Duff, Patrick Swayze, Beyonce Knowles, Debbie Allen, Chandra Wilson of Grey's Anatomy, Phylicia Rashad and actress Loretta Devine. 

• Houston is one of 48 counties in East Texas.

• Greater Houston is a 9- county metropolitan area situated in Southeast, Texas. The 5 biggest cities in the area are Houston, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Baytown and Conroe.

• The US Superbowl XXXVIII was held in Houston back in February 1 2004. The game was between NFC champions the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots, which the Patriots won 32-29.

• Houston was ranked #39 in the top 50 global cities.The recent rise in oil and gas production in North America explains the success of metropolitan areas such as Houston, Calgary in Canada and Denver.