Hidden Houston Video

The new green: Shop, swap and recycle at innovative flea market

While it's true that "reduce, reuse and recycle" is the triumvirate of most eco-conscious consumers, re-purposing and up-cycling — finding new life for things whose lifespan may have otherwise come to an end — is the new green.

When Greeni Recycling founders, husband-and-wife team Michael Cannon and Paloma Garner launched their business, they envisioned creating a mechanism that encouraged their employees to re-imagine the objects their business collected — perhaps even sell them at a local market where sustainability is king.

That's how the Houston Re-Market was born — a green flea market of sorts. The reoccurring gathering is held on the fourth Saturday of every month at 4302 Harrisburg Blvd. in EaDo.

Cannon and Garner hope to change the purchasing habits of locals by advocating for responsible consumerism. To do so, the market gathers 10-plus merchants who use recycled, reused, previously loved materials in crafting their goods. In an unregulated swapping zone, shoppers can drop off unwanted clothing and household items for others to enjoy. Recycling of plastics, certain types of aluminum, tin/bi-metal, glass, paper and cardboard, courtesy of Greeni, is also offered at the market.

The duo call it responsibility in action, and see it as just the beginning.

"We'd like to see this moving away from our project to become a community project," Garner says. "To me, the Houston Re-Market makes this city special."

Hear more about the Houston Re-Market in the Houston's Voice video above, produced by Kira Black of Human Films.

Editor's note: Hidden Houston, an interactive multimedia series, aims to reveal the many things that are unique about the Bayou City and its surrounding areas.

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are you happy?

Houston continues sad streak as one of the 'unhappiest' U.S. cities

Photo by Damaris Martin on Unsplash

Even with a poor ranking, you still shouldn't ask us to "smile more."

A new nationwide study analyzing the happiest cities in America has determined Houston is slightly happier than it was last year, but it still appears to be one of the unhappiest U.S. cities in 2026.

Houston currently ranks as the 128th happiest U.S. city. Last year, it was No. 151.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Houston across the three key dimensions:

No. 107 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 148 – Income and employment
No. 158 – Community and environment

Despite its low ranking, Houstonians are working hard to improve their city's quality of life year after year, whether its through opening new restaurants, inviting Houston-born stars to perform at the rodeo, or having a strong job market. We also have some of the best museums, a diverse culinary scene, and iconic institutions like the Johnson Space Center. And considering that people keep moving here, Houston must be happier than other places.

Having a good job and a fun social life can qualify as factors that measure happiness, but WalletHub separately emphasized that making more money doesn't necessarily mean "more" happiness.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Elsewhere in Texas
The Dallas suburb Plano and its residents' happiness far outshines the rest of Texas, according to WalletHub. Plano ranked as the 16th happiest U.S. city, and the No. 1 happiest statewide. Austin was the only other Texas city to rank among the top 50, landing in the No. 39 spot.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 70 – Irving
No. 92 – Garland
No. 106 – Grand Prairie
No. 111 – Dallas
No. 113 – Fort Worth
No. 119 – Arlington
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

reports san antonio wallethub