A toolkit for helping Dallas' neighborhoods

Why it matters: The demographics of many of Dallas' neighborhoods have been completely altered by what Builders of Hope CEO James Armstrong calls "disruptive development." With more projects coming, the West Dallas organization is concerned about their potential impacts.

• "Although the southern sector is poised for growth, it's extremely important that we are strategic on how we grow because the neighborhoods are at high levels of vulnerability," Armstrong tells Axios.

The big picture: Builders of Hope has created a toolkit with strategies and policies that could help developers, nonprofits and city officials mitigate displacement in Dallas' neighborhoods.

Context: Builders of Hope says gentrification happens when new investment "floods" a historically marginalized neighborhood, property values increase, high-end projects are built, higher-income residents move in, and lower-income residents can no longer afford to live there.

• The changes often alter the neighborhood's "cultural character," the group's report says.

The intrigue: The Builders of Hope toolkit took seven years to compile, using historical context, census data, input from dozens of people and a 10-year study tracking neighborhood change.

• "[The toolkit] really is a roadmap on how you bring the necessary investments to a neighborhood without it tipping over and you displacing the residents that you are trying to help," Armstrong says.

Threat level: Around 10% of Dallas neighborhoods are in the "dynamic" or "late stages" of gentrification, where the demographics have changed drastically. 

• West Dallas, Vickery Meadow and South Dallas are among the most vulnerable neighborhoods, Builders of Hope found.

By the numbers: Black and Latino residents are more likely to be displaced from their neighborhoods than white residents. And there aren't enough affordable housing units for people to move to, Builders of Hope found.

• In 2012, a Dallas family earning $42,000 per year could afford 44% of the housing stock. In 2022, a typical Dallas family with a $64,000 income could only afford 12% of the homes sold that year.
• The typical renter could afford 50% of homes in 2012 and just 30% in 2022.

• Based on the current trends, only 2% of the houses in Dallas and only 21% of the rentals could be affordable by 2032, the nonprofit says.

Zoom in: Here are some strategies that Builders of Hope says can help …

• Voucher programs in gentrifying neighborhoods to cover the gap between market-rate rents and what low-income renters can afford to pay.
• Grassroots organizing to help vulnerable residents understand their rights and how they can take part in neighborhood revitalization efforts.
• Building new affordable housing on public land.
• Ensuring that new housing developments in gentrifying neighborhoods are appropriately priced for low- and moderate-income families.
• Offering property tax assistance through education about exemptions or short-term loans.

What's next: Builders of Hope plans to present the toolkit at neighborhood association and City Council meetings. The group also wants city leaders to adopt an anti-displacement resolution.

The bottom line: "You have to also understand what you lose with those people. You lose the culture, you lose that sense of identity and as a city we can't afford to lose the richness of our culture and history that is found in our neighborhoods," Armstrong says.