A frank assessment of past policy wrongdoings is necessary to overcome inequality in the city.
Miguel Solis reflects on segregation in Dallas today and advocates for a broader view of the causes and for more proactive solutions. He references the recent North Texas Regional Housing Assessment, which reports that Dallas has extreme racial and economic segregation. In addition, the city is struggling with a lack of affordable housing, poverty, and inadequate access to quality healthcare, transportation, and educational services.
Solis says focusing on factors like the housing market and banking and real estate industry practices is a mistake. "Rather, racial residential segregation was a direct and intended consequence of state actions at all levels of our government. Explicit racial zoning policies, deeply flawed urban planning, federally subsidized housing and mortgage discrimination, and many other tools were deployed to engineer today's Dallas," he says.
Solis points to an important first step in changing course: an honest assessment of how Dallas got to where it is today. He urges readers to use Richard Rothstein’s book "The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America" as a guide for the future.
"Rothsteins’s invaluable, unfiltered look at how our government segregated America is a description of specific, man-made decisions that produced today's neighborhoods, and it forecasts what can be done to reverse their effects," says Solis.
FULL STORY: Segregation in Dallas is getting worse thanks to a legacy of government policies that must be reversed
DART Sets Its Sights on Automated Buses
The Dallas-area transit agency is partnering with other agencies to study driverless buses and their role in the future of transit systems.
Dallas DOT Brings New Mobility Vision to the Region
The agency’s director wants to change the city’s transportation priorities and provide more mobility options to residents.
Report: 'Segregation Tax' Depresses Home Values in Majority-Black Areas
According to a study, residential segregation and anti-black bias combine to devalue properties in majority-black neighborhoods by an average of $48,000 per home.
Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
Paris Voters Approve More Car-Free Streets
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the city will develop a plan to close 500 streets to car traffic and add new bike and pedestrian infrastructure after a referendum on the proposal passed with 66 percent of the vote.
Making Mobility More Inclusive
A new study highlights the challenges people with disabilities continue to face in navigating urban spaces.
Texas Bills Could Push More People Into Homelessness
A proposal to speed up the eviction process and a bill that would accelerate enforcement of an existing camping ban could make the state’s homelessness crisis worse, advocates say.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service