One wave of the population boom ended abruptly in the mid-1980s, as oil prices fell precipitously. The space industry also suffered in 1986 after the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated shortly after launch. There was a cutback in some activities for a period. In the late 1980s, the city's economy suffered from the nationwide recession. After the early 1990s recession, Houston made efforts to diversify its economy by focusing on aerospace and health care/biotechnology, and reduced its dependence on the petroleum industry. Since the increase of oil prices in the 2000s, the petroleum industry has again increased its share of the local economy.
Why did Houston's economy have problems in the late 1980's?
the nationwide recession