Have you heard of the City of Dallas Economic Development Corporation?
Now, before you start yawning into the atmosphere, this is important stuff. This is something you wanna know about. First of all, this is something new, which may be why you haven’t heard of it. But, what is it exactly?
On May 2, 2021, the Dallas City Council adopted recommendations to create a new economic development corporation to support and enhance the work of the City of Dallas 2022-2032 Economic Development Policy. We will get into the policy in a bit. The Council’s goal is to have a 15-Member Board of Directors who will contribute to the organization’s success by representing a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, geographies, and areas of expertise with the highest level of integrity and dedication to Dallas.
This should be music to your ears because the plan for this board is diversity. This is important for numerous reasons in Triple D when it comes to the communities in the South versus the North. There is a big difference in the livelihood of these two ends of Dallas especially when it comes to the businesses surrounding these areas and other resources. Communities tend to thrive with an abundance of business and opportunity.
If you were able to check our story, Dallas Residents Push Back Against Unchecked Spread of Dollar Stores back in December, we talked about how the absence of real grocery stores and only dollar stores in Highland Hills is a real problem as well as in other areas. Residents don’t have access to healthy foods without going pretty far out of the area. As long as the area is populated by dollar stores, no grocery stores want to build there. The dollar stores are cheap but deeply stricken the area. We are hoping this new initiative can help this issue. Our city boasts loads of opportunities, but you will find those opportunities do not exist for everyone.
With Dallas being the ninth-largest city in the nation, Dallas is home to now 7.5 million residents, almost two dozen Fortune 500 companies, and is one of the busiest transportation hubs. According to CDEDC, Dallas will only thrive if it pursues an exhaustive approach that meets the needs of businesses large and small while simultaneously fostering job creation, diverse housing opportunities, workforce development, and employee retention at every level of the company. It aims to provide equitable economic pathways for each of its residents.
Now, to the stellar part. This is when you should really pay attention because it’s concerning Blacks, especially Black residents below Interstate 30 and south of the Trinity River. The distance isn’t far from the North, but the lifestyle is drastically different. Southern Dallas only covers 15 percent of the tax base but it is home to 45 percent of the population. Something is not adding up here. Why is this happening?
Well, a number of things such as discriminatory policies, redlining, and disinvestment have stifled this part of Dallas for numerous years. According to the Dallas County 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment in conjunction with Parkland Health,data shows that the population residing in zip codes located in the Southern geographic area of the city of Dallas bears a higher mortality rate when compared with areas north of Interstate 30.
All of these disparities are tied to race and place. According to the CDEDC, Black households earn less than half the income of White households. Most of them, along with those of Latin descent are rent-burdened, along with having zero net worth compared to White residents.
But, it gets worse. Dallas is ranked 272 out 274 cites on inclusion. So, basically we are almost dead last. Ouch.
So, now you can see why having this Board is highly necessary to bring inclusion and order into our city. This city cannot continue to function in this manner. The Southern Sector deserves all of the same resources as its northern counterpart. I mean, that’s quality of life, which should not be compromised.
This board aims to bring solutions to these underserved communities. The board aims to foster environments for residents to achieve their full social and economic potential, which will include a growing tax base, to improve public services, health, quality of life, and educational outcomes for all.
If you feel driven to help with this initiative, you can apply to be a member of the board. All nominations must be in by April 30. Please see the link below to apply.