Pandemic Changes Congestion Until the pandemic, people’s choices were largely shaped by their workplaces and commutes. A 25-minute drive to work could become an hour and a half at rush hour. One might have to wait 60 minutes to get their 7:00 p.m. reserved table for a 90-minute dinner. A 15-minute quick trip to buy…
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The recent challenges from the coronavirus force us to shelter at home and think of our home in whole new ways. Traditionally, when a buyer looks for a house to purchase, they are usually thinking about practical and financial criteria, like the square footage cost of the investment, how much house can they afford, are…
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Should the direction of Dallas urban growth continue to grow north? Does inserting low-income housing in North Dallas create an inclusive urban growth direction for Dallas? Does the direction of Dallas and its current goal of moving low-income wage earners closer to higher wage jobs in North Dallas increase or decrease wealth for low-income families? …
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In the 1920s, Northern Hills was described by the McNeny brothers much like I described the Northern Hills neighborhood in the 1986 book I wrote on the older neighborhoods in Dallas and in my 2020 video on Northern Hills. Regardless of where Northern Hills was in its evolution, in its infancy in the 1920s, re-emerging…
As cities increasingly become enclaves for the rich and reservations for the poor, the debate rages on how to create inclusive urban growth to make cities less economically segregated and more vibrant. In Dallas, the Trinity River gives a geographic definition to the high income and low-income neighborhoods, dividing the historically prosperous northern half of…
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Who would think low-taxed Texas would have tax on aesthetics, curtailing the construction of architect-designed homes? There are many unintended consequences of high taxes such as impeding economic growth or high tax rates reducing tax revenue collected (i.e., New Jersey and Connecticut). Only now do I realize that Texas’ high property taxes impede the building…
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What constitutes “super high-end homes” in the Dallas area? Recently Steve Brown reported in the Dallas Morning News that one part of the D/FW market that shows no sign of a slowdown is the super high-end homes. However, that depends on how you define super high-end homes. Three years ago I wrote that there was at least a…
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In 1990, when Dallas was going through its great economic depression, it actually had a chance to have more than just backyards and trees. It had a chance to have a version of New York’s Central Park. Southland Corporation had assembled 200 acres one small lot at a time. After the devastating economic downturn, this…
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Density is the Holy Grail of New Urbanism, from creating new zoning for granny flats, rooming houses, townhouses, duplexes, fourplexes and backyard two-story rental houses in established neighborhoods to encouraging dense mixed use development on undeveloped or redeveloped land. The advantage of urban density and the idyllic effect of density has been the battle cry…
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The Dallas Morning News editorial, A Blow to Affordable Housing, illuminates the opposition to the affordable housing apartment complex by the historically Black neighborhood, Hamilton Park. They are joined by the ethnically diverse neighborhood area of Stults Road in their opposition to this proposed apartment complex named Cypress Creek at Forest Lane. The Dallas Morning News…
Max Levy, FAIA, helped save an architecturally significant home, the Stretto house designed by New York architect Steven Holl, from being torn down. This architecturally significant home built in 1991 was offered for sale for less than its 1.5 acre Preston Hollow land was valued. The house was headed for destruction. Its demise kept inching…
The Dallas city manager and housing director are proposing a devastating blanket zoning change: allowing ADUs (additional dwelling units), better known as granny flats, actually backyard rental houses, in single-family zoned neighborhoods. This change would allow a 44-foot wide by 30-foot tall rental house to be built on the back of a standard 50‑foot wide…
Which city will Amazon select for their second headquarters? It is easy to understand that Trinity Groves and Dallas surpass other cities in Amazon’s corporate requirements for Amazon HQ2. More important to Amazon employees, Trinity Groves surpasses the high expectations and anticipation they have for their Amazon HQ2 location. One of five favorite reasons that Amazon will select Trinity Groves…
Architects’ work pushes modern design forward on AIA Dallas home tour 2017.
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Meet architects, see architecture, explore emerging and established neighborhoods on AIA Dallas home tour.
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