Dallas鈥� web of interstates and highways transformed the city in the 1960s, allowing people and families to prioritize cars and spread out.
But recently, the 鈥渃ommuter city鈥� identity has been challenged.
People are gravitating back to the urban core. And people with knowledge of city planning say there鈥檚 a right and wrong way to handle that.
Instead of fixating on big-box stores, chains and shopping centers, some argue that adding more duplexes to the residential landscape, encouraging walking and fostering pop-up markets might be a better way to invest in parts of Dallas that need a boost.
On 四虎影院鈥檚 鈥�,鈥� Patrick Kennedy, a and , and State Rep. talked about urbanism in Dallas 鈥� a city known more for horsepower than hoofing it.
Read highlights from the conversation below.
Interview Highlights
On the definition of urbanism
Anchia: In the context of 鈥淣ew Urbanism鈥� and urban design, I think about the articulation of the physical environment to the individual. One of the things that holds Dallas back in a way is this very car-centric design: Dallas is made for cars and for cars traveling long distances. When I think of urbanism, I think of rethinking the physical environment so that it allows the individual to experience the physical environment in a way that gives them more options and more opportunities.
Kennedy: I would break it down to the root word of 鈥渦rban,鈥� or 鈥渦rbs,鈥� which is people, and it becomes about place for people. So we鈥檙e talking about urbanism being design for human habitat. We all have the same kind of needs, but we all have different wants and tastes as well. So we have to build for all of that in a way that works, in a way that鈥檚 economically, financially and environmentally sustainable.
On Dallas becoming a 鈥渃ommuter city鈥�
Kennedy: It was largely due to the interstate highway program that was implemented by President Eisenhower in the 鈥�50s, who incidentally never intended the highways to go through the center of cities and displace existing neighborhoods. They were supposed to link regional economies, which they did, but we overbuilt them through cities and ended up creating barriers. What that's led to is: Cities like Houston, Atlanta and Dallas have the longest length of commute in the entire country and only one form of transportation ends up working.
On what Dallas has on its side
Anchia: We really still are a blank canvas. There are large swaths of this community that remain underdeveloped or undeveloped. While oftentimes we鈥檒l suck up a lot of oxygen talking about the negative aspects of that, there鈥檚 also a lot of positive. We can catalyze neighborhoods, we can start anew, we can plans things better that are more responsive not only to the environment as we find it today, but the environment as we see it evolving with changes in technology, modes of transportation, etc. There are lot of things we need to keep our eye on, but the fact that we do have a blank canvas gives me a lot of hope and optimism for the future.
On what kind of development works well
Anchia: If you listen to the neighborhood, they鈥檒l usually give you the right answer. They鈥檒l tell you exactly what they want, and it鈥檚 usually not the Super Target. Oftentimes, a Super Target is all you can finance in an area, but if you have folks who are willing to take early risk in places and catalyze neighborhoods, then market capital will follow. And with the collaboration of the neighbors and elected officials, you can build something really great. I don鈥檛 think we need to replicate Bishop Arts 10 times around the city. I think you need to take that Bishop Arts process in a box and replicate it 10 times around our community. There鈥檚 some real opportunity in the southern sector to do this.
Kennedy: I think there鈥檚 also an important point to be made about not just what the neighborhood may want and need, but also what is best for the city and municipality as a whole. I looked at different land use types throughout Plano to say which land uses performed the best in terms of property taxes generated per acre, rather than just saying, 鈥淗ey, this Super Target generates X amount of jobs and X amount of property taxes.鈥�
And what I found was that the best-performing land uses in all of Plano 鈥� which there鈥檚 a lot of growth 鈥� was historic downtown Plano, where it鈥檚 sort of the two- and three-story businesses. That鈥檚 what produces the most amount of property taxes, the most amount of jobs per acre 鈥� that sort of small-scale, historic mixed-use [development]. What doesn鈥檛 perform is the single-family developments, the strip center retail, the single-use office parks. And if those things aren鈥檛 producing enough property taxes per acre, it means there鈥檚 this slow loss of money to the city that they have to compensate elsewhere.
Interview responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Learn more
D Magazine recently devoted an entire special issue to urbanism. Patrick Kennedy and Rafael Anchia will participate in a on the topic Wednesday at the Dallas Museum of Art.
To listen to the entire conversation on 鈥淭hink,鈥� stream it here or .
