After the war area economic diversification brought on by the war effort helped in the transition to a peacetime economy. NASA's Johnson Space Center was established in 1963 helping to spur explosive growth in the mid-20th century, especially the 1970s and 1980s. The remainder of the communities on the southwestern shore urbanized and development connected the area to Houston. Tourism and recreation re-emerged and blossomed particularly around the Clear Lake area and the nearby shoreline.Barrington (2008), p. 266.Antrobus (2005), p. 57.</ref>