2018 State of Dallas Housing Report

Read the full report here!

Learn more about bcANALYTICS  and check out the 2016 and 2017 State of Dallas Housing Reports!

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We are excited to release the third annual State of Dallas Housing report, the latest in our series of data-driven analytics reports that examine the issue of housing affordability within Dallas and present opportunities for equitable housing development.

The maps and graphics included in the report illustrate longitudinal trends in housing production and new residential construction, as well as growth in population, jobs, and income, across Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. The report looks at median incomes by racial and ethnic group and by industry of employment in relation to average housing costs by Census tract.

The bcANALYTICS team interviewed 10 housing experts in Dallas to determine priority areas where additional research was needed. The need to better understand Dallas’s housing market within the context of the four-county region (Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant) emerged as a top priority. The report examines key data that demonstrates how Dallas’s housing market is not producing enough affordable housing to meet the needs of its socioeconomically diverse population. With costs of housing on the rise, the housing products on the Dallas market—and the regional market—are increasingly out of reach for many. Moving to surrounding communities does not, according to the study, provide a viable option for finding more affordable housing.

With the City of Dallas adopting a new Comprehensive Housing Policy, Dallas’s residents and stakeholders will need additional metrics and context to understand the issue of housing affordability at the city-wide scale. This new report aims to equip our city with the knowledge to be informed advocates for their communities’ interests.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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In 2017 North Texas continued to be one of the fastest growing regions in the United States, and one of the top housing markets in the United States. As the City of Dallas’ prepares to implement its recently passed housing policy, aimed at increasing the production of housing units across the city, it is important to understand housing production at a larger scale to pinpoint where new housing units or typologies may be needed at this critical juncture. The 2018 State of Dallas Housing Report explores current housing trends in the City of Dallas and socioeconomic trends across the four most populous counties of North Texas (Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant) to help contextualize housing production and identify potential challenges and opportunities for improving access to housing for residents of Dallas and North Texas. 

The region’s rise in population, new housing, employment, and income exemplifies the uneven nature of development and economic growth across North Texas. Growth in the region is concentrated in specific cities and neighborhoods, while other areas have experienced less measurable change in recent years. Housing production has followed this growth in parts of the region. However, housing production in the city of Dallas has been heavily concentrated in just a few of the Dallas’ nearly 400 neighborhoods despite more widespread growth across Dallas.

This report helps quantify these trends in Dallas’ housing production from 2011 to 2017, contrasting them with socioeconomic changes and housing production across North Texas. Is Dallas’ goal of increasing the production of housing feasible, inclusive, and able to address the needs of all Dallas residents? Central to this report is the focus of housing accessibility and affordability for different income and population groups in Dallas, based on the ratio of housing values to median income. Has new housing production across North Texas provided opportunities for Dallas’ median income households to access housing in surrounding communities? This report suggests the answer is no. 

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As more of Dallas’ housing production is focused on higher-valued homes, largely in the city’s northern sector, new housing built in North Texas from 2011 to 2016 was largely concentrated in areas that are the least affordable to Dallas’ median income households of color. As the City weighs a new housing policy to stimulate housing production in Dallas it is important to understand both the history of recent housing production in Dallas and the connection between housing production and Dallas’ existing residents. 

This report finds that despite large numbers of new housing units built across the region, many Dallas households are only able to easily afford housing in certain parts of North Texas, primarily in Census tracts that are heavily segregated with high poverty and further removed from much of the economic growth in North Texas. Additionally, some of the fastest growing industries in North Texas tend to pay lower wages that create an additional barrier to accessing affordable housing in proximity to jobs and other amenities based. The lack of production of affordable rental units only further enforces the challenge of Dallas’ minority and low income residents from accessing quality affordable housing at the expense of providing luxury housing for more affluent new residents moving to neighborhoods close to Downtown Dallas. 

El Sonido del Agua Call for Musicians - deadline for submission extended to JUNE 15!

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We are thrilled to announce the Call for Musicians for "El Sonido del Agua," a multi-year creative placemaking project supported by ArtPlace America.

The deadline for submissions has been extended to JUNE 15!

As part of this project, we will commission one or more local corrido writers / conjunto musicians to lead workshops with colonia residents and collaboratively write corridos that speak to residents’ experiences of flooding and other stormwater issues in the colonias.

The call for musicians is below:

 

 

 

 

 

Convocatoria para Músicos de Conjunto Regional / Compositores de Corridos

El Sonido del Agua - Valle del Rio Grande

 

Convocatoria de Músicos empieza: 5-17-18

Fecha límite para entregar solicitud: 6-15-18

Favor de enviarla escrita o verbalmente

 

Para preguntas:

Para preguntas sobre el proyecto contacte a Thor - thor@bcworkshop.org

Envíe preguntas en Español a Martha - martas@lupenet.org o Laura - laura.arise94@gmail.com

Envíe preguntas sobre los talleres de música a Rogelio - nrogelio@hushmail.com  

 

Descripción del Proyecto:

buildingcommunityWORKSHOP ([bc]) se complace en anunciar la convocatoria de propuestas de músicos para El Sonido del Agua, un proyecto que asociará a residentes de colonias con escritores de Corrido / músicos de Conjunto.

El Sonido del Agua es un proyecto de ritmo acelerado y altamente colaborativo. Los músicos trabajan con  residentes, organizadores comunitarios, expertos en políticas y salud pública, diseñadores y planificadores, trabajadores de la ciudad y del condado y más. Los músicos seleccionados para el proyecto le enseñarán a residentes de colonia cómo escribir corridos que respondan y se enfoquen en los problemas relacionados con el drenaje, las inundaciones y los huracanes  al igual como los problemas afectan su vida cotidiana. Dependiendo de los resultados de los talleres se seleccionarán múltiples Corridos para que se produzcan en Conjuntos.

Los músicos deberían estar dispuestos a trabajar en colaboración con los líderes de las colonias y aliados comunitarios y deberán ser capaces de enseñar como escribir canciones y ser músicos de Conjunto o socios de los músicos de Conjunto.

La línea de tiempo del proyecto es la siguiente:

  • Convocatoria de lanzamiento de músicos - 5-15-18
  • 1er Auditoría comunitaria - Observar condiciones secas - 6-11-18
  • Preguntas - formato de seminario web - 6-13-18
  • Llamada para músicos - 6-15-18
  • Selección y notificación de músicos - 6-15-18

Actividades de Talleres:

  • 2da Auditoria comunitaria - condiciones después de la lluvia - TBD
  • 1er Taller de Corridos - TBD
  • 2do Taller de Corridos - TBD
  • 3er Taller de Corridos - TBD
  • Finalización del Corrido - JULIO
  • Composición de letra musical con conjunto - AGOSTO
  • Funciones / Sesiones de Música - SEPTIEMBRE - OCTUBRE
  • Celebraciones en la Colonia - OCTUBRE - NOVIEMBRE

Esta iniciativa está respaldada por el patrocinio de ArtPlace America. Para conocer más sobre ArtPlace America, visite el sitio web: www.artplaceamerica.org

PRINCIPIOS DEL PROYECTO

Las presentaciones de propuestas deben enfocarse en este proyecto musical en colaboración con los miembros de la comunidad utilizando los principios de guia y el proceso de Activacion Vacantes [bc] que se encuentran a continuación:

  • Los corridos deben versar sobre la vida cotidiana, las inundaciones, los huracanes y las travesías que les trajo, incluyendo los problemas relacionados con la salud pública, la vivienda digna y las condiciones de vida.
  • El proyecto debe ser impulsado por objetivos definidos y articulados por los residentes de un lugar en particular
  • Debe elevar las voces y motivar la participación cívica
  • Fortalecer la identidad del vecindario y la historia cultural, desafiando las normas, incluida la aburguesación y el desplazamiento
  • Fomentar la colaboración y la participación creativa entre un conjunto diverso de personas, que culmina en un trabajo co-creado por el artista y la comunidad
  • Empoderar a los residentes para abordar el futuro de su propio vecindario y buscar mayores resultados relacionados con los objetivos de la comunidad
  • Cambiar las percepciones de los desafíos

Para más información en procesos de Activación Vacantes se pueden encontrar aqui.

¿Quienes pueden ser candidatos?

Todo tipo de músico(s) que viva en los El Valle del Rio Grande en EE.UU es elegible a participar y se le invita a enviar una solicitud. Los músicos deben demostrar un gran interés en la justicia social y un gran deseo de trabajar en colaboración con partes interesadas de diversos orígenes económicos y culturales. Los músicos interesados en participar en el diseño, proyectos comunitarios, la planificación urbana o en la creación de espacios creativos son especialmente alentados a presentar solicitudes y aplicar. Las solicitudes son abiertas para ambos grupos colectivos e individuos.

PREMIO DEL PROYECTO

El presupuesto musical es de $ 30,000. Esto se puede otorgar a un o más de un músico, dependiendo de la calidad de la solicitud y su propuesta. El presupuesto incluye la participación en los eventos mencionados anteriormente y el trabajo del músico. Los músicos deberán participar en una auditoría de colonias para informarse de la vida cotidiana de los residentes. Este evento brindará a los músicos la oportunidad de conocer a los residentes y conocer a la comunidad. La programación de este evento puede incluir un recorrido a pie u otros eventos similares para ayudar a presentar a los vecinos a los músicos.

INSTRUCCIONES PARA ENTREGAR SOLICITUD Y PROPUESTA

Las solicitudes se pueden enviar en línea aquí, o verbalmente con Laura o Martha. El personal de [bc] está feliz de ayudar a los solicitantes a completar su solicitud en cualquier momento del proceso. Todas las preguntas de los solicitantes pueden dirigirse con Thor Erickson a el correo electrónico: thor@bcworkshop.org

Todas las aplicaciones requerirán:

  1. Información del solicitante: nombre, dirección, número de teléfono, correo electrónico y sitio web (si corresponde)
  2. Biografía del Músico  (700 caracteres)
  3. Testimonio escrito del músico (700 caracteres)
    1. Un testimonio que proclama la experiencia y el interés en trabajar en colaboración con las comunidades durante el desarrollo de la música
  4. Propuesta de proyecto (900 caracteres)
    1. Especifique el interés y el enfoque del artista para ayudar con las prioridades establecidas de la comunidad
    2. Mencione cómo se relacionaría el trabajo con los principios de activación de vacantes
    3. Mencione cómo el músico trabajará con los residentes a través de talleres
    4. Describa el enfoque y si el músico tiene cualquier otro formato que prefiera que el esquema anterior.
    5. Describe cómo el músico creará  el Corrido con un Conjunto
    6. Incluya un presupuesto preliminar que describa los gastos y las redistribución de todas las personas involucradas.
  5. Muestras de trabajo y descripciones: Los músicos pueden proporcionar hasta 5 muestras de trabajo. Todos los enlaces e imágenes deben compilarse en un PDF, menos de 10 MB.
    1. Medios de audio y / o video: hasta 3 de las muestras de trabajo pueden ser de audio o video. Si usa Vimeo, Soundcloud o YouTube, no proteja con contraseña los enlaces multimedia. El tiempo total de audio o video enviado para las 3 muestras de medios no debe exceder los 6 minutos. Todos los enlaces deben estar relacionados con la hora de inicio.
    2. Documentación fotográfica de trabajo de audio / video y trabajo en 2D / 3D: las fotos deben tener 72 ppp, no menos de 800 píxeles y no más de 1100 píxeles a lo mucho. El tamaño total del archivo de cada imagen no puede superar los 10 MB.
    3. Para cada muestra de trabajo favor de incluir:
      1. El título, año y dimensiones
      2. El rol del artista en la producción de la obra
      3. Descripción breve del trabajo
      4. Solo si aplica, incluya una breve descripción de cómo se utilizó el compromiso de la comunidad para crear o compartir el trabajo

SCORING

Las solicitudes serán evaluadas por [bc] y el Comité Asesor, según los siguientes criterios:

  • La alineación del solicitante con los valores del proyecto
  • La experiencia del solicitante involucrando a la comunidad de maneras innovadoras, creativas y consideradas
  • La experiencia del solicitante de trabajar en grupo con restricciones de tiempo y una fecha límite
  • El interés expresado por el solicitante de trabajar con los residentes de la colonia y los socios del proyecto
  • El interés del solicitante en incorporar los datos recopilados a través de la auditoría
  • La fortaleza de la capacidad de los solicitantes para incorporar principios estéticos para abordar desafíos basados en la comunidad
  • Originalidad, competencia y consistencia de los solicitantes a través de muestras de trabajo

ALIADOS EN ESTE PROYECTO

  • LUPE
  • ARISE
  • TXLIHIS
  • Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center
  • UTRGV - Director of Estuary, Environmental and Special Projects (Cameron County Region)
  • University of Texas School of Public Health
  • Department of Population Health and Behavioral Sciences, UTRGV School of Medicine

RECURSOS ADICIONALES

 

 

Call for Conjunto Musicians / Corrido Writers

El Sonido del Agua - Rio Grande Valley

 

Call for Participation Release Date: 5-17-18

Application Deadline: 6-15-18

Submit Via Typeform, or verbally

 

Contacts:

Questions about the project Thor - thor@bcworkshop.org

To submit verbally Spanish Martha - martas@lupenet.org or laura.arise94@gmail.com

Questions about the workshops - Rogelio - nrogelio@hushmail.com  

 

PROJECT OVERVIEW

buildingcommunityWORKSHOP ([bc]) is excited to announce the call for proposals from teaching musicianfor El Sonido del Agua, a project that will partner colonia residents with Corrido writers / Conjunto musicians.

El Sonido del Agua is a quick paced and highly collaborative project. Musicians will get to know residents and stakeholders, community organizers, public health and policy experts, designers and planners, City and County workers, and more. The musicians selected for El Sonido del Agua will teach residents how to write Corridos that respond to and address issues related to drainage, flooding, and hurricanes and the dealings of daily life through these storm events. Depending on workshop outcomes, multiple Corridos may be selected to be produced into Conjuntos.

The musicians should be willing to work in collaboration with colonia leaders and local stakeholders, should be able to teach songwriting, and either be a Conjunto musician or partner with Conjunto musicians.

The timeline of the project is as follows:

  • Call for musicians release - 5-15-18
  • Community Audit 1 - 6-11-18
  • Q&A for applicants and auditions - 6-13-18
  • Applications due - 6-15-18
  • Selection and notification of musicians - 6-15-18

Workshop activities:

  • Community Audit 2 - wet after rain - TBD
  • Corrido Workshop 1 - TBD
  • Corrido Workshop 2 - TBD
  • Corrido Workshop 3 - TBD
  • Corrido finalization - JULY
  • Conjunto writing - AUGUST  
  • Performances - SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER
  • Colonia celebrations - OCTOBER - NOVEMBER

This initiative is supported by ArtPlace America. To learn more about ArtPlace America visit www.artplaceamerica.org

PROJECT PRINCIPLES

Proposal submissions should focus on this music project in collaboration with community members utilizing [bc]’s Activating Vacancy guiding principles and process found below:

  • Corridos should be about daily life, flooding, hurricanes, and living through this including issues related to public health, fair housing, and general living conditions.  
  • The project as a whole should:
  • Be driven by a set of goals defined and articulated by the residents of a particular place.
  • Elevate voices and encourage civic participation.
  • Strengthen neighborhood identity and cultural history, challenging norms, including gentrification and displacement
  • Foster collaboration and creative participation between a diverse set of individuals, culminating in a work co-created by artist and community
  • Empower residents to address the future of their own neighborhood, and pursue larger outcomes related to community goals
  • Shift perceptions of challenges

More information on the Activating Vacancy process can be found here.

ELIGIBILITY

Musicians of all disciplines living in the United States Lower Rio Grande Valley are eligible to apply. Musicians should demonstrate a strong interest in social justice and desire to work collaboratively with stakeholders from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds. Musicians  with interests in design, community-engaged projects, urban planning or creative placemaking are especially encouraged to submit applications. Individuals and collectives/groups are welcome to apply.

PROJECT AWARD

The total budget for the musician stipend is $30,000. This may be awarded to 1 or more than 1 musician depending on scope of application and thoroughness. This fee should include participation in the events listed above, and the unique approach of the musician. Musicians will be required to participate in a colonia audit to inform their understanding of residents' daily experiences. This event will provide musicians with the opportunity to meet residents and learn about the community. Programming for this event may include a walking tour or other similar events to help introduce neighbors to the musicians.  

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Applications may be submitted online here, or verbally to Martha or Stephanie.  [bc] staff are happy to support applicants in the completion of their application at any point in the application process.  All applicant questions can be directed to Thor Erickson at thor@bcworkshop.org.

All applications will require:

  1. Applicant Information: name, address, phone number, email and website (if applicable)
  2. Musician Bio (700 characters)
  3. Musician Statement (700 characters)
    1. A statement that proclaims experience and interest in working collaboratively with communities during the development of music
  4. Project proposal (900 characters)
    1. Specify artist’s interest in and approach to addressing stated community priorities
    2. Address how the work would relate to Activating Vacancy principles
    3. Address how musician will work with residents through workshops.
    4. Describe approach and if the musician has any other format they prefer than the outline above.
    5. Describe how musician will merge the Corrido with a Conjunto
    6. Preliminary budget that describes expenses and stipends to all people involved.
  5.  Work Samples and Descriptions: Musicians can provide up to 5 work samples. All links and images should be compiled into one PDF, less than 10MB.
    1. Audio and/or Video Media: Up to 3 of the work samples can be audio or video. If using Vimeo, Soundcloud, or YouTube, do not password protect media links. The total time of audio or video submitted for all 3 media samples should not exceed 6 minutes. All links must be cued to the start time.
    2. Photo Documentation of Audio/Video work and 2D/3D Work: Photos should be 72 DPI, no smaller than 800 pixels and no larger than 1100 pixels on the long side.   The total file size of each image can be no larger than 10MB
    3. For each work sample include:
      1. Title, year and dimensions
      2. Role of the artist in the work’s production
      3. Brief description of the work
      4. If applicable, brief description of how community engagement was used to create or share the work

SCORING

  • Applications will be evaluated by [bc], and the Advisory Committee, based upon the following criteria:
  • Applicant’s alignment with project principles
  • Applicant’s experience engaging communities in innovative, thoughtful and creative ways
  • Applicant’s experience working collaboratively within time restraints and on deadline
  • Nuance and strength of applicant’s expressed interest in working with colonia residents and project partners
  • Applicant’s interest in incorporating data collected through the audit
  • Strength of applicants ability to incorporate aesthetic principles to address community based challenges
  • Originality, proficiency and consistency of applicants work samples

 

PROJECT PARTNERS

  • LUPE
  • ARISE
  • TXLIHIS
  • Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center
  • UTRGV - Director of Estuary, Environmental and Special Projects (Cameron County Region)
  • University of Texas School of Public Health
  • Department of Population Health and Behavioral Sciences, UTRGV School of Medicine

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

Cultivating Connections Final Presentations

See more posts about our work in DC!

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On May 1, students in Professor Barbara Brown-Wilson's Ecological Democracy course at the University of Virginia School of Architecture gave their final presentations for their Cultivating Connections project, through which they explored how to connect the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens—a National Park—to the surrounding Kenilworth-Parkside community. Students presented via video conference to a group which included representatives of Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, the National Park Service, and the DC Office of Planning. The presentations wrapped up a semester-long project for the students, who received guidance  and mentorship in public interest design and community engagement practices from [bc]'s Washington, DC team.

Over the course of the semester, activities that informed their project included visits to the park and design activities with visitors. As part of NatureFest—a weeklong camp at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens—UVA students asked young participants to  draw maps of how they get to the park and representations of plants and animals they've encountered there, learning about where campers come from and how they interact with the park. 

Check out images from the final presentation day below!

This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

Smart Growth for Dallas Focus Forums

Learn more about Smart Growth for Dallas!

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Smart Growth for Dallas, an initiative led by the Trust for Public Land, buildingcommunityWORKSHOP, and Texas Trees Foundation, seeks to combine community insight and science to promote quality public spaces and green infrastructure in Dallas. To unpack the issues highlighted during our community engagement process, Smart Growth for Dallas will be hosting a series of Focus Forums to explore the challenging topics of race and ethnicity, urban development, and accessibility within our public space design. The closing discussion will seek to knit together the prior conversation by exploring the specific role of design in bringing equity to public spaces. Through these conversations we hope to uncover forward-thinking ideas about planning and public space design in Dallas by bringing together groups whose work directly relates to each theme.

The first focus forum, "Equitable Development & Public Space" will be held on Thursday, May 17. A panel discussion moderated by Dr. Ivonne Audirac, of the University of Texas at Arlington's College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA), will convene key stakeholders to explore the issues of urban development and the effect of public space design on neighborhood vitality. This moderated forum will discuss how the design of public spaces can impact neighborhood strength and urban development, through exploring how public space design can contribute to the perpetuation of neighborhood disinvestment or be a catalyst for new development and neighborhood desirability.

Joining us as panelists are Aaron Abelson of HR&A Advisors, Brent Brown of the Trinity Park Conservancy, Brianna Brown of Texas Organizing Project, and Cynthia Salinas of the Esperanza Building Blocks.

Stay tuned for more information about future focus forums as their dates and locations are announced!

RAPIDO in Houston

With the support of a funding partnership with Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., [bc] is working to bring the RAPIDO model to Houston, working with families affected by Hurricane Harvey in collaboration with Texas Low Income Housing Information Service and Covenant Community Capital. 

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We've worked to adapt RAPIDO's temporary-to-permanent housing model for this new geography and have designed a temporary-to-permanent unit for a family. RAPIDO’s housing model deploys a temporary CORE unit to family’s property weeks after a disaster, which can be expanded into a permanent home through a system of semi-custom designed additions. The purpose of the RAPIDO CORE is to bridge the gap between relief and recovery housing and provide a pathway to meet long-term family needs and preferences.

Our first RAPIDO prototype in Houston will provide the process and the means for a Houston family to become homeowners and allow us to pilot RAPIDO in Houston.

We're also working to design and build an Accessory Dwelling Unit prototype (ADU), which will pilot additional possibilities for post-disaster housing and pre-disaster planning. After a disaster, RAPIDO's ADU allows homeowners whose houses are in need of repairs to remain on their property while the repairs are made. After the homeowner moves back into their primary home, the ADU can be rented out as affordable housing, providing an extra income. The RAPIDO ADU unit can also play a role pre-disaster by providing a safe space on a homeowner's property.

Check out photos below!

[bc] + UVA Community Design Partnership

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Supported in part by a National Endowment for the Arts Art Works grant, [bc] is partnering with the University of Virginia School of Architecture to train students in the practice of community-engaged, public interest design.

15 students enrolled in the semester-long Ecological Democracy class, a graduate planning course taught by Assistant Professor Barbara Brown-Wilson, will work with [bc]'s DC team to utilize community-engaged research and design methods to address a timely equitable development challenge.  Over the semester, students will build awareness of "the roles planning and design can play in supporting socio-economic vulnerable communities to increase their own social and ecological resilience."

[bc] and UVA are working with the nonprofit organization Friends of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to develop strategies that help connect residents of the surrounding community to the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, a National Park though signage, way-finding and other physical interventions. 

In February, UVA students traveled to Washington, DC. Students, faculty, and [bc] staff visited Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens to gain insight from stakeholders, conduct a site documentation assignment, and learn about the history of the Kenilworth-Parkside neighborhood.

In March, [bc] visited the UVA campus to provide feedback on students' group presentations, which explored aspects of way-finding signage design, codes and regulations, mapping, and project coordinators. Check out our photos from these activities!

This partnership furthers [bc]'s efforts to advance the practice of public interest design through training and mentorship of designers and planners, while providing UVA students with experience learning from professionals in the field. 

This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

Community Engagement Recap

Community Meeting

[bc] partnered with the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville to host the first community engagement meeting with residents from Corpus Christi on September 18th. This process was prompted after the Port of Corpus Christi announced a voluntary relocation program for the neighborhoods of Hillcrest and Washington-Coles.The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the two organizations to Corpus Christi, which was looking for affordable housing options. We also wanted to learn what housing preferences the local residents wished to live in.

With this is mind, [bc] put together a few activities to learn more about the housing preferences. The residents were asked to fill out a survey that included questions framed around their desired neighborhood characteristics, the preferred housing attributes, and the nearby amenities they wished to live close to.

After a night of conversations and participating, the meeting finished with responses and answers that would be used to further the design process. The next step was to create a community workshop that focused more specifically on the individual housing and locational preferences for each resident.

 

Community Workshop

On September 30th, [bc] again paired with Community Development Corporation of Brownsville to host an interactive community workshop session. This session was focused around the individual housing and locational preferences of each residents. This was done by separating the residents into two groups; one that wanted to move together as a community and the other that was interested in finding land that fit their family's needs.

The residents that wished to move together went through an activity to construct their ideal neighborhood. The residents used blocks and paper to compose an example section of their future neighborhood. The elements were based off of the original nearby elements chosen the meeting before. This activity allowed the residents to understand how the design of a neighborhood begins.

The residents that wished to move as individuals participated in a sticker activity that had them layout their existing home and compare it to what they would like to see in their new home. Deciding among room arrangements and architectural elements allowed each participate to have a say in how their house would get designed.

The next step in the design process is to work with our partners at CDCB to address the locational preferences and begin schematic design.


 

Focus Group

On November 18th, the residents of Corpus Christi came to a focus group geared toward progressing residents in the design process. The main objective of the meeting was to understand the locational preferences of Corpus Christi. [bc] and CDCB put together different areas of the city in order to best understand where the residents wanted to move.

The residents and [bc] employees had conversations about various housing locations within Corpus Christi. Afterwards, a general consensus is going to allow [bc] and CDCB to find land within the city to begin the construction design process with the focus group residents.

Currently, individual design meetings are being scheduled as equitable land becomes available.

Understanding Housing Needs and Preferences in Corpus Christi

Corpus is a new geography for us and we recognize that we understand the social, economic, and environmental issues facing a community before beginning work. The Hillcrest and Washington Coles community had already started a relocation process that started 2 years ago. Even though the program is voluntary the residents are facing a difficult decision between staying in an environmentally hazardous area, which will be affected by the relocation of a major infrastructure project or participating and having limited choice. During our discovery phase we focused our efforts in understanding the state of housing and the different actors in the housing community.

Last month, [bc] in partnership with CDCB started engaging Corpus Christi’s residents and stakeholders through [2] events: a community meeting that served as an informing and listening session; and a Housing Workshop designed to understand current housing conditions and desires from and individual and neighborhood perspective.

Smart Growth for Dallas Technical Advisory Team

Learn more about our Smart Growth for Dallas related work!

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Smart Growth for Dallas is launching a Technical Advisory Team! As the next phase of a partnership with the Trust for Public Land and the Texas Trees Foundation, we're working to refine a data-driven decision support tool, which will help Dallas and its residents identify opportunities for parks, green infrastructure, and other green investments in areas where it will have significant impact. The information gathered through prior community engagement meetings has informed and will continue to drive the development of this tool. We'll be communicating with stakeholders across the city to get additional input.

As members of the Technical Advisory Team, stakeholders will provide insight as to how this tool can help achieve goals across various sectors, how their data can be incorporated, and specific use cases for the tool. The partnership will be convening a series of webinars through Summer 2018 in alignment with the five planning objectives: Connect, Cool, Health, Equity, and Absorb/Protect.

If you think the tool could be useful to you or your organization, please get in touch with us via email!

[bc], Trust for Public Land, and Dallas Park and Recreation Director Willis Winters were recently featured in an NBC DFW segment. Trust for Public Land North Texas Area Director Robert Kent stated, "Our objective in Smart Growth for Dallas is to provide a best in class data tool, to help the city understand specific areas where we can make investments in green assets, whether it's things like rain gardens or more trees or buying more land for parks, that will have a big impact on social, economic and environmental challenges." 

Stay tuned for further updates!

Dallas Cultural Plan Public Engagement

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As a partner in the team with Lord Cultural Resources, HR&A Advisors, and Idyllic Interactive, [bc] is working to engage Dallas's residents for the Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs' Dallas Cultural Plan 2018. Through a year-long process, the Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) seeks to gather community input on how residents experience culture in their daily lives and how the city can continue to stay arts-friendly. 

The public engagement process for the Dallas Cultural Plan kicked off with a series of four events this September. At the Dallas Museum of Art, the Dallas Children's Theatre, Walnut Hill Recreation Center, and Southwest Center Mall, attendees participated in a series of activities which included realtime digital mapping, drawing stories of cultural experiences, and building ideal cultural communities. 

Through October and November, Community Conversations at South Dallas Cultural Center, Oak Cliff Cultural Center, Fretz Park Recreation Center, Bath House Cultural Center, Pleasant Grove Branch Library, West Dallas Multipurpose Center, and Moody Performance Hall provided forums for residents to share their visions for arts in their neighborhoods.

The Community Conversations will engage residents of all 14 districts within the City of Dallas. The series resumed for the new year at the Grauwyler Park Branch Library on January 11, 2018. In January/February 2018, we'll continue engaging residents through Community Conversations at:

This phase of outreach also includes a series of discussions focused on specific art mediums, cultural institutions, and practicing artists. Upcoming opportunities include:

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Don't miss your chance to share your thoughts, hopes, and dreams for Dallas's cultural future through this once-in-a-decade opportunity. Be on the lookout for future events on the Dallas Cultural Plan event calendar. 

Even if you can't make it to an event, there are other ways that you can get involved! Take the Dallas Cultural Plan Survey to help us understand the diversity of arts and cultural activity occurring across Dallas and in your neighborhood.

You can also contribute to Dallas’ Arts & Culture Ecosystem Map by entering locations where you go to to create, experience, or learn about arts and culture in Dallas here—please enter only one location at a time, but you can submit as many responses as you'd like.

The Neighborhood Toolkit can be used to facilitate a conversation with friends, neighbors or co-workers on your own time. Email engage@dallasculturalplan.com to tell us about the date, time and location of your meeting!

Check out photos from Dallas Cultural Plan activities that have taken place thus far in the gallery below!

PDII 2017 Projects Completed!

Learn more about the Public Design Impact Initiative!

For the two projects selected this year, filmmaker Tony Pena filmed and produced two videos for Equal Voice Network, and graphic designer Nayelli Bautista designed essential handouts and informational materials for Movimiento del Valle por los Derechos Humanos. 

These projects will both assist each organization with their outreach to residents of the Rio Grande Valley, ensuring they are informed about their rights as citizens or non-citizens. It also positions each organization as a resource for their communities. We hope these design works enable both groups to reach a wider and more diverse audience. 

You can see the products of each project by following our recipient organizations: Equal Voice Network and Movimiento del Valle por los Derechos Humanos on their social media. 

Movimiento del Valle por los Derechos Humanos now has brochures, posters, flyers, and business cards to distribute that inform Rio Grande Valley residents of their rights and provides resources in case these rights are violated.

Equal Voice Network now has two short videos regarding the impacts of legislation like SB4 and how we can all work together to advocate for the interests of individuals and families in the Rio Grande Valley.

These Public Design Impact Initiative projects were made possible by support from the Ford Foundation. Thank you to our designers, nonprofit partners and supporters!

Cool & Connected Oak Cliff

Learn more about our Smart Growth for Dallas related work!

We've had a blast working with The Texas Trees Foundation, The Trust for Public Land, and The Nature Conservancy; and working together with Oak Cliff residents and schools to implement large-scale tree planting projects in a targeted “heat island” area in southern Dallas. 

Science has shown that healthy urban tree canopies provide cities and communities a broad range of environmental and health benefits. Trees help combat extreme heat and harmful air pollution, both of which contribute to public health concerns like asthma and heart disease. They also regulate water quality, reduce storm water runoff and provide habitat for wildlife. Increasingly, urban forests and other forms of green space are recognized as an important strategy for increasing a city’s resilience to the impacts of climate change and, a growing body of research shows that students benefit from close proximity to green space around schools.

Unfortunately, parks, trees, and green space are in short supply in parts of Dallas—particularly around schools. Research from The Trust for Public Land indicates that only 58% of Dallas residents have a park or trail within a half-mile walking distance from their home; and a recent study from the Texas Trees Foundation indicates that 95% of schools in the Dallas Independent School District lack adequate canopy cover. Additionally, Dallas has the 3rd fastest growing urban heat island in the country.

Project partners are using data driven analysis to identify and advance tree planting in neighborhoods and school campuses with the greatest need. The Trust for Public Land’s recent “Smart Growth for Dallas” analysis identified portions of the historic Oak Cliff community, in southern Dallas, as a high priority for urban heat island reduction, connectivity enhancements, equity improvements and efforts to improve public health.

Over the course of the next several months, project partners will work alongside community volunteers and students to plant over 1,000 trees in a target area of Oak Cliff. Trees will be planted on two Dallas Independent School District (DISD) school campuses and in the surrounding neighborhood, including linkages to the Honey Springs-Cedar Crest Trail.

Join us! There will be more tree plantings and community meetings in 2018. Find out more about the project and the next opportunity to contribute your time and input into this work here: http://www.texastrees.org/projects/cool-connect-cedar-crest/

Lessons from the Field: Reflections on Rural Placemaking

Find our more about our Rural Placemaking work! 

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Over the past year, [bc] and the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) have had the opportunity to investigate how tools of arts and community building can be used in rural communities, funded in part by a generous Knowledge Building Grant through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

This partnership has brought resources to existing local efforts and enabled our organizations to better understand how ‘creative placemaking’ works in practice in rural communities and why it is a valuable tool for rural community development now. Through webinars, an internal working group, two pilot projects (in Kinston, North Carolina and Thomas, West Virginia) and a peer-to-peer exchange, we’ve seen the value of vivid local examples in understanding that ‘creative placemaking’ has been happening for a long time in rural communities across the country. Modest increases in resources coupled with capacity building hold vast potential for rural and tribal communities.

We've published a report, Lessons from the Field: Reflections on Rural Placemaking describing our yearlong initiative and reflecting on the last year of our work, outlining key outcomes and lessons learned valuable to the larger practice of rural creative placemaking. Read the full report here. 

Several resources were developed during this partnership to expand knowledge and practice of rural creative placemaking, including: 

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

 

Activating Vacancy Downtown Dallas Recap

For the Activating Vacancy Downtown Dallas, a National Endowment for the Arts-supported project in partnership with Downtown Dallas, Inc., two artist teams worked with community members to create works of public art to activate spaces in Downtown Dallas. Through a call for proposals, artists were tasked with devising a project in response to public space priorities, identified through our Community Audited Public Space (CAPS) process and a Community Advisory Committee. Two series of works were created through a community-engaged process: the WonderPhones and MAY I // a blessing project. Project teams engaged with community members through a variety of workshops and community gathering events, which included project tours and a culmintaing public interview with the artists. 

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WonderPhone

The WonderPhone is an interactive payphone that connect the people in downtown Dallas to the city and each other. The team combined old and new technology to allow people to listen to content and play and record their stories. Five WonderPhones were created, placed in colorful enclosures in various locations downtown and popping up at events.

The WonderPhone team (Rickey Crum, Gray Garmon, Katie Krummeck, Edward Li, and Justin Childress) worked with local high school students, architects, historians, designers, urban planners, musicians and essayists to create and record engaging Dallas- or phone-related content for participants to enjoy. Audio content ranged from personal stories of memories downtown to future imaginings of new possibilities for Downtown, as well both curated and newly created pieces that focus on the history and architecture of downtown Dallas. Interactive prompts ask participants to share reactions to specific questions (and hear responses live) as well as follow instructions to participate in immersive experiences exploring downtown.

The artists said, "We hope that the WonderPhone will inspire participants to listen and think deeply about the lived experiences of the citizens of Downtown Dallas as well as engage participants in activities to help them observe Dallas in a new light and reflect on their own participation in the city."

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MAY I // a blessing project

MAY I // a blessing project is a walkable installation of blessings written by local young women for the Dallas community, manifested large-scale. The artists Ruben Carrazana and Janielle Kastner worked with a group of young women (ages 12-18) who wrote specific declarations of hope for themselves (MAY I), for their community (MAY WE), and for their spaces (MAY THIS SPACE).

The team issued an exhortation to the city: "We believe these young women don’t need us to 'empower' them, they need us to acknowledge they already have the power to speak life into their community. We call these declarations blessings as they begin with the word 'may' - a word that summons into existence that which isn’t here yet. Our work as artists has been taking their words and manifesting them in unexpected places downtown in a bold, surprising, even defiant manner. In a world that asks them to shrink, MAY I radically insists young women take up extraordinary amounts of space. We encourage you to join these young women and manifest your own blessing in your spaces, tagging #mayiblessdallas."

Our partner DDI will continue to use the artworks to activate spaces in downtown Dallas. Check out photos of the artworks and the AVDD events below!

This project was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). To find out more about the National Endowment for the Arts visit www.arts.gov.  

To find out more about our project partner Downtown Dallas Inc., visit www.downtowndallas.com.

Pre-Construction Clean-Up at 1208 E. 10th Street

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[bc] received a Safety Grant from Texas Mutual to support our purchase of ergonomic office equipment and safety equipment to keep our staff safe at the Tenth Street Neighborhood Resource Center construction site. 

In the Tenth Street neighborhood—one of the last remaining and perhaps the most intact of Dallas's historic Freedmen's Towns—we’re working with residents to help build local capacity.  We're renovating a historic home at 1208 E. 10th Street to serve as a Neighborhood Resource Center.  When completed, it will become a repository for essential resources, a site for activities that promote technical learning among residents and strengthen community cohesion, and a residence for a [bc] architectural designer who will hold open office hours to assist the community with technical advice.

The Neighborhood Resource Center will support residents in their efforts to address the pressing issues they've identified in their community, such as vacancy, redevelopment pressures, and the disrepair of historic homes in the neighborhood.  

In preparation for construction activities, [bc] and community members visited the property to conduct preliminary site clean-up.  Activities included leaf-raking, trash pick-up, and bamboo and brush clearing.  Check out the photos below!

Staff benefitted from the use of coveralls, safety glasses, gloves, ear protection, and hardhats purchased through Texas Mutual's generous grant.  We're so grateful for this support!

[bc] is grateful to all those who have provided support for the Tenth Street Neighborhood Resource Center: The Real Estate Council Foundation, The Dorothea L. Leonhardt Foundation, Inc., the Hillcrest Foundation, the Hoblitzelle Foundation, and Bank of America. 

Dallas Afterschool Access Map

Learn more about bcANALYTICS  and read the full Dallas Afterschool Access Report! 

There are 570,000 children aged 14 and under in Dallas County. All of these children qualify for afterschool programs. Funding, physical spaces, operations, staffing, materials and curriculum development are all needed to keep afterschool programs alive. More than 1,000 afterschool programs operate in Dallas County, each finding their own method for covering these costs and serving their students.

Dallas Afterschool has established the After the Bell Alliance to improve access to seats in afterschool programs for children across Dallas County. This partnership of community members, funders, afterschool providers, and advocates envisions that all students will have access to enriching and educational activities after they leave school each day. 

Two barriers to achieving this vision exist: costs associated with attending afterschool programs and students' physical access to program sites. Dallas Afterschool aims to increase access to free and low-cost programs for an additional 16,000 students in Dallas County. 

This report uses a multi-criteria model to analyze data within five areas: Existing Afterschool Environment, Current Neighborhood Conditions, Local School Environment, Accessibility + Proximity, and Change in Neighborhood Conditions.  10 clusters of Census tracts are identified for the After the Bell Alliance to expand afterschool programs. This approach provides an opportunity to enhance access for low-income students in some of Dallas County's least affluent neighborhoods. 

 

 

 

Casitas Los Olmos is finished!

Learn more about our Making work!

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Casitas Los Olmos, completed in October 2017, is a neighborhood of 80 single family rental units and six community amenity structures where families can thrive and have a sense of ownership of where they live.  Porches create spaces to enjoy the outdoors, shaded windows help keep the hot sun out, and energy and water efficient construction help keep utility bills low. Each home has parking spaces immediately adjacent to the front door.

The 8.72 acre site incorporates low impact development (LID) strategies such as bioswales, partially permeable driveways, and native landscaping to filter and absorb as much stormwater on site as possible. Community amenity structures (including leasing offices, a learning center, a community space with a prep kitchen, a BBQ pavilion, mail kiosk, laundry and playground) define the larger public green areas. Steel roofs encompass the amenity structures and provide large shaded areas for comfortable gathering and play areas. The shade structures take a cue from Raymondville’s agricultural history. 

From the project's inception, the design team challenged itself to create a place that engages residents and engenders a sense of community. The neighborhood was developed via a community engaged design process, resulting in a collection of sequential green spaces, varying in scale from pocket neighborhood areas to community greens. The integration of pedestrian paths allow residents to move throughout these spaces of gathering and play. 

Expanding Choice in Affordable Housing

Learn more about sustainABLEhouse, and our sAh RGV work.

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sustainABLEhouse utilizes design as a tool to address issues of equity within the Lower Rio Grande Valley by providing affordable single-family housing that is durable, efficient, contextually appropriate, and community & resident informed.

The sustainABLEhouse design process is broken down into simple steps so that a family can confidently make decisions about their home. The design of each home begins with a family filling out a Design Starts Here homework booklet. The simple questions in the homework helps a family think about the factors that will go into the design of their home. [bc] staff meet the family at their property and together measure the property to fully understand how to work with existing infrastructure, trees, and other important factors. This interactive early step helps to build trust between [bc] and the family, an important part of the sustainABLEhouse process.

Since beginning sustainABLEhouse in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in late 2012, [bc] has worked with Community Development Corporation of Brownsville to build homes with 63 families. Each of the families designed their home via a custom design process, or via a customizable catalog process. You can watch a short film documenting our process here!

sustainABLEhouse has fit into four different funding programs and sources in the LRGV. Three of these programs are administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) - Colonia Self Help Center, HOME Homeowner Rehabilitation Assistance, HOME Persons With Disability, and the City of Brownsville’s HOME Homeowner Rehabilitation Assistance program.

sustainABLEhouse acts on the belief that choice empowers, and a home designed by the family that lives in it will work better for that family, and help to maintain and build viable neighborhoods.

The Cottages Win AIA Design Award

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AIA Dallas has announced its 2017 Design Award recipients, including the Cottages at Hickory Crossing. 

The Cottages at Hickory Crossing were completed at the end of February of 2017, and is now home to 50 residents. Located on a three-acre site less than a half-mile from downtown, the Cottages at Hickory Crossing provides permanent supportive housing and support services for the fifty most chronic cases of homelessness in Dallas. The integration of thoughtful design and robust services become a comprehensive approach to overcoming the chronic challenges residents face. To best understand the needs of future residents and service providers, the pre-design process included a combination of research, focus group charrettes, and a comprehensive engagement of stakeholders in the decision-making process. 

The design is comprised of fifty, 430-square-foot cottage residences. Individual homes encourage stronger personal identity while promoting a sense of community for residents. Homes are arranged in clusters of 6-8 units to create semi-public spaces or “micro-neighborhoods”.  The 4,000-square-foot support-services building is a series of small buildings under one “porch” roof. While this building forms an urban edge at the street, it maintains a level of porosity for ease of access by residents. A series of courtyards and a common green provide flexible space for activities, from urban farming to outdoor recreation, encouraging interaction between neighbors. 

The project seeks to serve as a model for sustainable urban living by maximizing open space, incorporating on-site rainwater collection and community garden space. LEED for Homes Platinum certification is expected to be completed in early 2018.

Beyond housing, the “wrap-around services” model and its architectural responses work to break the chronic challenges that residents face. 54 formerly homeless individuals living in permanent supporting housing facilities or shelters participated in a series of focus groups during the design process. Through collaboration with support services professionals and homeless individuals, the proposed design is an alternative typology that employs small and efficient individual homes for each resident. Transitional exterior spaces enable one to navigate through varying spatial experiences, from the more secluded porch to the shared courtyard, before reaching the common green.

Project Partners

CitySquare Housing
Communities Foundation of Texas
Caruth Foundation
City Square Housing
Metrocare Services
Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance
Dallas County
UT Southwestern

 

Project Consultants

Permitted Development
Henley Johnston & Associates
Design & Construction Solutions, LLC
Kadleck Associates
MEP Systems
Hocker Design Group
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