Clear Lake City is a master plan community in Houston, Texas that was originally developed by the Friendswood Development Company on land sold to Humble Oil and Refining Company (later Exxon Company) by James Marion West in 1938.

Clear Lake City was annexed by Houston in 1977 despite a grass-roots campaign by its residents to stop it. For several years after the annexation, Clear Lake residents were paying Houston taxes but receiving no services, such as fire and police protection. The culture in this area is still separate from the general Houstonian culture. Clear Lake City is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, as well as other major aerospace companies including Boeing and Lockheed-Martin. Clear Lake City is a very diverse area, and has one of the largest Asian communities in the city of Houston. The University of Houston - Clear Lake is also located within the community. Clear Lake City and its neighbors have a high concentration of engineers due to both NASA and the local petro-chemical industries.

Clear Lake City is named for a lake to the south of Johnson Space Center that separates Harris county from Galveston county and connects Clear Creek to Galveston Bay. NASA Parkway (originally NASA Rd. One but renamed in 2003 by Texas House Bill 1049) extends from I-146 all the way to Highway 35 and a major artery through the Clear Lake area along with Bay Area Blvd.

The West mansion is still located on NASA Parkway overlooking Clear Lake.

National News:

• Andrea Yates of Clear Lake City, Houston drowned her five children in a bathtub during the summer of 2001.

External links

• University of Houston - Clear Lake