The development around the Clear Lake area has exploded over the last 10 years. It's not going to be pretty if Rita continues her path.
It appears from the WU map of various forecasts that they are all agreeing on landfall well south of Houston/Galveston and that a Louisiana landfall is now off the table. UKMET did the best job of forecasting Katrina. They have Rita running up the gut of Texas.
Or course, once it makes landfall, it is anyone's guess and it's still too early for my tastes so say where it will hit with any certainty. It's got approximately four more days and a lot can change in that much time.
But, for now, all but the unreliable NOGAPS seem to have it coming ashore down around Freeport. That means the Houston area gets the "dirty side" but will likely be spared the full frontal attack of the winds and surge.