If cities like Dallas believe they can be saved by a superhero, they need to call on the right kind of superhero.
Speaking at a conference on the future of Dallas on Thursday, architect and author Vishaan Chakrabarti said the city’s future shouldn’t depend on a savior in a cape, but on ordinary people who can change things in smaller ways.
“We don’t need a Superman,” he said. “We need the Avengers — a group of misfits who take their individual skills and work together.”
Chakrabarti was among speakers at the Latino Cultural Center during the daylong conference, called “What Makes a City? Character and Calling: What Does Dallas Want to Be?” Sponsors included the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, the Trinity Trust Foundation and the City Design Studio.
The idea of effecting long-term change with small initiatives was a common theme at the event.
Monte Anderson, who heads a real estate firm that has played a key role in revitalizing parts of southern Dallas, noted that the Bishop Arts District revival started 30 years ago with a single business in a then-neglected area. The neighborhood has since grown into one of the great success stories south of the Trinity River.
“In some cases, it’s going to take 100 years,” Anderson said on a late-morning panel. “If you can’t do anything else, start a snow cone stand, and if you can’t found a snow cone stand, start out in a tent.”
The Rev. Zan Holmes, pastor emeritus of St. Luke Community United Methodist Church, and another panelist took a different tack. He cautioned that individual efforts need to be connected if Dallas is to become a better city.
Holmes cited a recent book that noted that the number of bowling leagues in the U.S. was on the decline — a sign that America, long known as a nation of joiners, was becoming too individualized.
“There are some wonderful things happening in this city,” he said. “But we are not connected. We are bowling alone. ... We’re not getting the most mileage out of our resources because we are not focusing on issues and challenges together.”
But Jack Matthews, who is spearheading development of the Cedars neighborhood south of downtown, said a lack of consensus can be a good thing.
Noting another speaker’s remark that things seem to get done much faster in Fort Worth, Matthews said that Dallas politics have traditionally been more contentious. But great things are accomplished here nonetheless, he said.
“In Fort Worth, council passes things unanimously; in Dallas, council argues about these things,” he said. “But that arguing about a position might make things better. Short term, you get frustrated.”
In his opening remarks, Mayor Mike Rawlings called on Dallas residents to think in terms of the health of all North Texas.
“I believe that we live in the city of D-FW, and Dallas is a neighborhood in that city,” he said. “We have to think regionally — that as the pie gets bigger, we all benefit. What’s good for Fort Worth is good for Dallas, and what’s good for Dallas is good for Fort Worth.”
Rawlings also challenged traditional thinking when he addressed the question posed by the conference — “What does Dallas want to be?”
“We want to be richer, that’s the history,” he said. “People want wealth and they want to create wealth.”
Acknowledging that making money is not something public officials usually advocate so bluntly, Rawlings said it was a matter of ensuring a broad range of citizens have a piece of that wealth.
“I’m not talking about billionaires or half-billionaires or people with $100 million. I’m talking about the citizens of Dallas who are hardworking and want a piece of that pie,” he said. “People want to earn a good wage. They want to live a good life.”
The mayor’s generally upbeat assessment of the city’s future included one cautionary note: He said Dallas residents aren’t placing enough value on improving education. However, Rawlings expressed confidence that once the community makes it a priority, public education will improve.
“The only way we can do great things is to get smarter, and I don’t feel that passion. I don’t feel it from the grass roots,” he said. “The minute the city rises up and says we want the best urban school system in the world, we’ll do it.”
