The Oak Cliff Equalization Initiative
What would it take to make the Oak Cliff sector of Dallas economically equal to the
northern sector?
A recent article in the Dallas Morning News stated that if Oak Cliff were a city, it
would be as big as Kansas City and would be the poorest city in the United States. On the
other hand, the northern sector of Dallas has historically been better off economically.
This document contains ideas for creating parity between the two halves of Dallas. Your
input is appreciated. Please take these ideas and share them with others, and inform your
governmental representatives of this initiative.
Transportation:
- Double the lanes of traffic over the Trinity River to help connect the people of Oak
Cliff to the rest of Dallas.
- Upgrade Red Bird Airport to accommodate jet cargo transportation and update facilities
to handle large transportation projects.
Education:
- Encourage more master’s level instructors to teach in Oak Cliff through financial
incentives and begin a program of cooperation with local universities to provide
instructors for critical programs such as math, science, and English in Oak Cliff High
Schools. Evaluate effectiveness by comparing SAT scores in Oak Cliff vs other Dallas High
Schools.
- Encourage high school students to enter careers in science, math, business, and
education.
- Create a university in the southern sector with strengths in high-tech careers such as
engineering, business, health sciences, math, and sciences.
Housing:
- Adopt an immediate moratorium on apartment building in the southern sector. Allow new
apartments only in proportion to old ones being demolished, and require all new apartments
to meet high standards of construction and safety.
- Adopt an immediate moratorium on undersized houses in the southern sector. Require all
new houses to be 2000 sq. ft. or larger with appropriate brick construction. Allow new
smaller houses to be built only as old ones are demolished.
- Strictly enforce city codes for cleanliness of neighborhoods and vigorously pursue
landlords whose rental housing is in disrepair.
- Provide incentives for the demolition of apartments and houses that are in disrepair,
and encourage the renovation of historic buildings.
Business:
- Redefine downtown Dallas to encompass the area just across the Trinity by creating a
business park on the southern bank, possibly beginning with the old Burnett Field area.
Provide sufficient financial incentives for location of high tech, banking, insurance, or
other similar businesses in Oak Cliff.
- Encourage the creation of convention sized hotels to locate on the southern bank of the
Trinity River.
- Encourage businesses in the Dallas area to build their new projects in Oak Cliff. This
might include such large industries as Texas Instruments, E-Systems, Nortel, JC Penney,
etc.
Retail:
- Target three areas of Oak Cliff with incentives to bring in nationally known franchise
businesses (i.e., Gap, Starbucks, Garden Ridge, etc) – in the Jefferson Boulevard
area, the Red Bird area, and the Lancaster-Kiest area. Provide financial and tax benefits
to nationally branded new businesses to locate in these areas.
Entertainment
- Create a southern botanical garden, possibly near the site of the zoo.
- Create a fine arts pavilion in Oak Cliff that would house drama, music, and other
cultural programs and exhibits.
- Explore the creation of other entertainment complexes in Oak Cliff including ones for
professional sports, entertainment parks, and recreation.
Comments? Please e-mail me at ace@alanelliott.com.