As the culmination of an extensive regional visioning effort in North Central Texas called Vision North Texas, North Texas 2050 imagines a future that is better than ‘business as usual’ and action steps to achieve the goals. Now 10 years after the release of North Texas 2050, local governments and other partners are working diligently to build a region that provides high quality transportation, land use and development, housing choice, access to the environment and recreation, and improve health.
North Texas 2050 contains information and research on the range of issues affecting the lives of the people who live and work in North Texas now and in the future. It was developed through a collaborative research effort including experts in fields from housing to forestry to urban design. The report establishes a baseline of information about the current characteristics of the North Texas region. It summarizes the region’s current plans for its future and projections of growth trends, both of which generally describe the expected future under ‘business as usual’. It also describes efforts that are already underway that are changing those trends. Lastly, it suggests four possible alternatives to the ‘business as usual’ future.
The Vision for North Texas (Chapter 4) describes a future that current residents would like to achieve and the Action Package (Chapter 5) proposes tools and techniques that can be used by many different private and public decision-makers to help achieve this regional vision.
North Texas is recognized worldwide as a region that sustains its economic success and vitality because it contains many distinctive and highly desirable communities, supports innovative people and businesses and nurtures its varied natural assets.
It supports resilient and effective responses to change.
In early 2009, the Vision North Texas Research Team used this stakeholder input to finalize a set of five alternative futures for the region. In all cases, the region was expected to have about 9.5 million residents and 5.6 million jobs in 2030 and almost 12 million residents and over 7 million jobs in 2050.
The physical pattern of development in North Texas is both shaped by and served by the area’s investments and infrastructure. The areas discussed below are the focus of important investments by public, private and other decisionmakers in North Texas. Each of these areas plays an important role in the region’s future, so action in each area is important to achieve this preferred future. These investment areas also interact with one another. Coordination and integration of investments and decisions across these areas is also essential – these choices must be aligned to create synergy and support a sustainable region.
It is important to understand the value and importance of the region’s undeveloped rural and natural areas and to consider these when development and investment decisions are made. The result of this approach to development is an investment framework that protects the vitality of the environment and the health of the region’s residents because the ecosystems are themselves an essential part of the region’s investments and infrastructure.
North Texas is expected to continue adding residents and jobs, but the region’s success at attracting and retaining people depends on maintaining or enhancing its appeal to newcomers and to long-term residents. North Texas 2050 envisions a future with many neighborhoods and communities, all thriving but each different. In this way, the region as a whole will offer choices that are attractive to all the diverse households that are expected to live here. The North Texas 2050 physical development pattern describes the general character and location of development in the region.
The North Texas 2050 Vision is based on a sustainable, thriving economy. This economic focus for the region:
With millions of additional residents expected in North Texas in the coming decades, there is little doubt that housing will be important. More important than providing basic shelter, though, the housing choices we make as a region today will impact almost every aspect of our future. Having a mix of housing types and styles – from single family homes on large lots to smaller units close to transit to housing for seniors who want to ‘age in place’ – will better match the region’s expected market demands. Every city should strive for a variety of housing types and sizes. Successfully aligning these housing choices with job locations will decrease commutes, increase productivity and reduce air pollution. Infill of today’s employment-rich areas with housing choices will create mixed use areas that also achieve these objectives. Support for strong, diverse neighborhoods will restore many communities to economic vibrancy while retaining the individual character that makes them special.
The ability to move from place to place – mobility – is an essential part of a livable, sustainable and successful region. Many efforts to provide mobility over the past 50 years have focused on building more and larger roads for automobile travel and this mode of travel will continue to be an important part of the region’s mobility in the future. But the most recent Mobility 2045, the regional transportation plan, stresses the importance of providing a variety of efficient mobility options.
Ensuring the North Texas region is resilient to future changes in climate and preparing for these changes is important to the long-term viability and livability of the region. Policy recommendations aimed at reducing vehicle miles traveled and lowering energy consumption in building construction and operation, help support continued growth in a way that is environmentally responsible.
All North Texans should have access to the resources and opportunities that lead to long-term success. Providing opportunities for all North Texans to have access to the schools, people and technology they need for success in learning throughout their lives and investment in educational institutions, at all levels, is essential to providing this access. Narrowing the achievement gap is imperative if the region is to successfully compete at the state, national, and international levels.
Health is more than the absence of illness or the quality of medical care. Health includes issues of aging, air and water quality, economics and environmental concerns. People are healthiest when they live in nurturing environments, have living wage jobs, access to good educational opportunities, are safe and are involved in the life of their community – in other words, when they live in healthy communities. North Texas 2050 supports actions that creates a living environment that promotes health.
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