Poverty an overwhelming issue in Dallas

by Larry James of Urban Daily

The stats on the differences between poverty-stricken parts of Dallas and elsewhere tell you all you need to know about quality of life issues and the city.

The children of Dallas, Texas grow up in at least two very different communities.

At a meeting not long ago, I sat transfixed, staring at the E. T. look-alike outline of the map of our city. The red portion of the city map indicated areas of high poverty. The green sections marked out the affluent parts of town.

The red overwhelms the green, as well as the "in between" sections of blue.

The facts back of the colors startle anyone who cares about quality of life issues and the city.

Consider:

Poverty among households with children -- almost 50% of the households in South Dallas proper; over 25% in the much larger Southern Sector; and a little above 15% in the Northern Sector.

Jobs per 1,000 people -- a little under 300 in South Dallas; right at 200 in the Southern Sector; almost 900 in the Northern Sector.

Annual payroll (in billions) -- way, way under one in the South Dallas; a little above 4 in the Southern Sector; a bit above 35 in the Northern Sector.

Houses older than 50 years -- over 60% in South Dallas; just under 40% in the Southern Sector; 20% in the Northern Sector.

People with less than a high school diploma -- right at 50% in South Dallas; 45% in the Southern Sector; a click above 20% in the Northern Sector.

Average SAT scores -- to the north, 1102; in the south, 777.

Care to venture a guess as to which sector is doing better?

Our city's history of racism, classism and segregation, as well as our unwillingness to confront our past and to craft just policies and provide adequate resources to address these crippling problems, explains much of this hard reality.

We've much work to do. Much needs to change in the way things are set up and systematized.

[SOURCE: Institute for Urban Policy Research, University of Texas--Dallas]

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Kay Leaks, says:

Larry, thanks for this article. The facts speak for themselves. Even beyond what you've stated those of us who live in the southern sector notice that things like city services differ. For example, we get less in the way of enforcement for code problems and street repairs than those in the northern sector. Just a ride through any neighborhood in the south compared to a ride through the north will give you the facts. The Dallas City Council person for one of the southern districts came to one of our crime watch meetings and one of the streets the person came out on was so rough the Council person went back to the office and requested street repairs.

Additionally, how about the recent crime stats on violent crimes and the fact that the DPD has announced the 3 highest neighborhoods were NORTH of the Trinity. They were not South as many would have assumed.

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CitizenKane, says:

We have known these (and other) statistics for decades. The issue is not "there is a problem" but what are the solutions.

Early on the prevailing wisdom was that changing the make up of the city council (from citywide to district representation) was the solution. It apparently wasn't.

I suspect that the Urban Policy Research center would call for more government, not less. That approach hasn't worked either.

We need more local initiatives, private sector involvement, less government programs, more faith-based NGO invovlement, and more emphasis on individual responsibility.