Planning and Development

City of Houston Redistricting 2011

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The City of Houston Charter requires that the City Council expand to eleven single-member districts at such point that census data demonstrates that the City’s population exceeds 2.1 million residents. With the much anticipated release of the 2010 US Census, we will begin the process of redistricting in order to add those Districts. The City is interested in hearing from you and your neighborhood regarding your suggestions for the configuration of the new council districts.



Approved City Council Redistricting Plan and Documents:


Map - City of Houston Districts, May 9, 2011 Map - Approved District A
Map - Approved District B Map - Approved District C
Map - Approved District D Map - Approved District E
Map - Approved District F Map - Approved District G
Map - Approved District H Map - Approved District I
Map - Approved District J Map - Approved District K

  Ex. 1 Map - Staff Plan April 6, 2011
  Ex. 1-A Map - Approved District A
  Ex. 1-B Map - Approved District B
  Ex. 1-C Map - Approved District C
  Ex. 1-D Map - Approved District D
  Ex. 1-E Map - Approved District E
  Ex. 1-F Map - Approved District F
  Ex. 1-G Map - Approved District G
  Ex. 1-H Map - Approved District H
  Ex. 1-I Map - Approved District I
  Ex. 1-J Map - Approved District J
  Ex. 1-K Map - Approved District K
  Ex. 2 Total & Voting Age Population by Council District, by Race/Ethnicity (Excel file)
  Ex. 3 COH 2010 Total Population by Dist & Pct

Note: All files are in PDF format, unless otherwise specified.


There are several points at which you may submit information for the process:

  • through email, US postal service, or delivery. All comments should be directed to Margaret Wallace, City of Houston Planning & Development Department, 611 Walker, 6th Floor, Houston, Texas 77002, margaret.wallace@houstontx.gov.
  • at any of the ten town hall meetings scheduled across the Houston community during the month of March. While each meeting location was chosen and is sponsored by the respective Council Member, the meetings will address redistricting on a city-wide basis. Individuals may attend and comment at any convenient meeting, regardless of its location.
  • at any of the three public hearings that will be held in City Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of City Hall, 901 Bagby Street. These are scheduled for Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. and Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.


Make your own plan:

City of Houston Resolution No. 2011-1, passed by City Council on January 12, 2011, sets forth the procedures, criteria and rules for the consideration and establishment of council member district boundaries. Should you or your neighborhood want to submit a redistricting plan for Council’s consideration, it must conform to Section 4 of this Resolution.


A computer kiosk will be set up in our offices for members of the community wishing to develop and submit their own plan. The kiosk will be located on the 6th floor of 611 Walker Street, 77002, and will be available by appointment for anyone to use. You may contact Margaret Wallace (713-837-7826 or margaret.wallace@houstontx.gov) to schedule a time.


All plans should be submitted to Ms. Wallace’s attention (City of Houston Planning & Development Department, 611 Walker, 6th Floor, Houston, Texas 77002, margaret.wallace@houstontx.gov) no later than 4:15 p.m. on Friday, May 6, 2011.



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Other Important Information:












Town Hall Meetings Schedule
Each meeting is scheduled for 6:30 – 8:00 pm. Any interested party may attend any meeting.

Date Location District Convenient To METRO Routes
{Date} {Location} {District} {METRO}



Maps/schedules for each of the METRO routes can be obtained from their website:    http://www.ridemetro.org/SchedulesMaps/BusSched.aspx








Anticipated Redistricting Timeline:

{Date} {Description}






City Council Criteria and Rules for Drawing Districts



Redistricting Criteria: The Department of Planning and Development is to observe the following criteria, to the greatest extent possible, in the reconfiguration of Council District boundaries.


  1. Council Districts should be relatively equal in total population according to the 2010 federal census. In no event should the total deviation between the largest and the smallest Council District exceed ten per cent of the average district population.
  2. Council Districts should be composed of whole county voting precincts.
  3. Easily identifiable geographic boundaries should be followed.
  4. Communities of interest should be maintained in a Council District, and attempts should be made to maintain neighborhoods.
  5. Council Districts should be compact and composed of contiguous territory. Compactness and contiguity may involve a functional as well as a geographic dimension. The functional dimension may take on added weight in situations in which geographic compactness may not be possible in light of the fact that some areas are attached to the remainder of the City only by relatively long and narrow strips of land. Functional compactness and contiguity includes, but is not limited to, consideration of factors such as:
    • the availability of transportation and communication;
    • the existence of common social, economic and other shared interests; and
    • the ability of the citizens of a Council District to relate to each other and to their representative on the City Council and the ability of the Council Member to relate effectively to his or her constituency.
  6. Preservation of incumbent-constituency relations by recognition of the residence of existing members of the Council and their history in representing certain areas.
  7. The plan should be narrowly tailored to avoid retrogression in the position of racial minorities and language minorities as defined in the Voting Rights Act with respect to their effective exercise of the electoral franchise.
  8. The plan should not fragment a geographically compact minority community or pack minority voters in the presence of polarized voting so as to create liability under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S. Code § 1973.


Rules: The City’s redistricting plan, and any plan submitted by any person to the City for consideration, shall be prepared in compliance with all of the following rules.


    All plans shall:
  1. Be submitted in writing so that all proposals may be fully and accurately considered;
  2. Be based on the 2010 federal census (P. L. 94-171) data;
  3. Redistrict the entire City, i.e., contain proposed boundaries for all Council Districts within the City. If a plan does not redistrict the entire City, it may be impossible for the Council to assess the plan’s impact on one or more protected minority groups. The requirement that any plan redistrict the entire City does not preclude citizens from proposing that particular voting precincts, neighborhoods, or locations be included in a specific council district;
  4. Conform to the criteria set forth above. All redistricting plans prepared by other persons for the City’s consideration must be submitted no later than 4:15 p.m. on Friday, May 6, 2011, to the attention of Margaret Wallace, Planning Department, 611 Walker, 6th Floor, Houston, Texas 77002. No plan submitted after such time and date will be accepted or considered.


Read the entire City of Houston Redistricting Resolution No. 2011-1




For more information, please contact Margaret Wallace at 713.837.7826 or Margaret.Wallace@houstontx.gov.