While we focus attention on local cities - and efforts to keep Houston vibrant - its worth looking at cities that have lost their vitality and suffer the consequences. Detroit is one of the classic examples, and is often used as a cautionary tale.
Detroit seems to have been too tied into the automobile industry and suffered heavily from white flight to the suburbs. Houston's aggressive annexation policies have largely curtailed white flight - there's just so far people are willing to fly. But we will have to see whether Houston's close connection with the energy sector hurts it down the road.
Detroit's decay is being documented heavily by photographers - example above. Its lead to a category of photography called ruin porn. Like the real thing there are questions about whether its a healthy obsession.
