  urlLink The New York Times > Business > Soaring Oil Prices, but No New Boom in Houston : "Other analysts say it might be a blessing in disguise if Houston avoided a boom this time around, if only to also avoid a repeat of the painful bust of the 1980's, which erased thousands of oil-related jobs from the city. As Houston's economy has diversified over the last 20 years, its ethnic makeup also evolved, with the number of whites dropping 6 percent in the 1990's as the number of Latinos grew 74 percent and the Asian population increased 76 percent.
That growth has positioned Houston to compete internationally across a variety of industries, even if the energy business remains at the pinnacle of the economy, transformed into a 'knowledge industry' without the blue-collar jobs it was associated with in the past, said Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology at Rice University. " 
