Left Behind in Dallas' Suburban Boom: the Urban Core

"The continuing population boom in Dallas’ northern suburbs isn’t necessarily a good thing for the entire region, especially the urban core," according to a post by Brandon Formby.

"Collin and Denton Counties continue to draw highly educated, middle-class newcomers from across the country. Meanwhile, Dallas continues to grapple with serving a poorer population. And the city must do so without the benefit of increased tax revenue that comes with exploding new developments and neighborhoods its northern neighbors enjoy."

According to Formby, the city recently launched two planning-related efforts to counter the trends toward the north and away from the urban core. One is called Neighborhood Plus, "an ambitious fledgling plan that calls for implementing a $10.25-an-hour minimum wage, empowering neighborhoods to identify their most pressing needs and partnering with nonprofits to help do what local government cannot." The second is an overhaul of a planning overhaul, designed "to make it bureaucratically easier to add high-density developments, green spaces, and pedestrian- and bike-friendly infrastructure, all of which are said to draw young professionals and middle-class residents."

The article includes more details about the implications of the boom in the northern suburbs for Dallas schools, as well as the possibility of a proposal to tear down I-345 between Deep Ellum and East Dallas to help created a new places for dense housing and middle class neighborhoods.