<P> In the 1980s, an influx of middle - class African Americans - most of them first - time homeowners - were attracted to developing communities south and west of Houston . Many of them made the subdivisions of Missouri City home . This influx occurred after an economic downturn caused property values and interest rates to drop . Teal Run and other unincorporated areas east of Highway 6 became ethnically diverse before neighborhoods farther west . Movement by black families has been characterized by neighborhood hopping, whereby families who can afford to move go to majority - white neighborhoods, ostensibly to escape possible negative influences to their children . As a result of the influx, some white families moved to different communities and neighborhoods in a response known as "white flight". (White flight usually further decreases property values, whereby a neighborhood is no longer seen as desirable to a significant segment of the population, and therefore worth less . Low income families tend to fill the void left by whites, and the process starts over again when minority members of the community once again seek a better neighborhood to live in .) Many of the newcomers were employees within nearby Houston work centers (e.g., Texas Medical Center and Greenway Plaza). In 2000, Missouri City was named a model city for middle - class African Americans by Black Entertainment Television . </P> <P> The Missouri City area's recent upscale, master - planned residential developments include Lake Olympia, south of Quail Valley, and portions of Riverstone, south of State Highway 6 . The nearby unincorporated area of Sienna Plantation, also located south of Highway 6, is situated on and around land once occupied by plantations where, among other things, sugarcane and cotton were harvested . </P> <P> Missouri City is located in eastern Fort Bend County at 29 ° 34 ′ 58" N 95 ° 32 ′ 22" W ﻿ / ﻿ 29.58278 ° N 95.53944 ° W ﻿ / 29.58278; - 95.53944 (29.582799, - 95.539423). A portion of the city extends north into Harris County . Missouri City is bordered by the city of Houston to the north and east, Stafford to the northwest, Sugar Land to the west, and Arcola to the southeast, as well as unincorporated communities such as Fifth Street to the north, Fresno to the east, and Sienna Plantation to the south . Downtown Houston is 17 miles (27 km) to the northeast . </P> <P> Oyster Creek flows in a southerly direction through the municipality . </P>

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