Forward Dallas Comprehensive Plan

VISION

Core Values: Education, Public Safety, Healthy Environment, Job Growth, Convenient Transportation, Quality of Life

Core Values - Healthy Environment: A beautiful city with healthy air, water, trees and parks

Residents strongly value the area’s natural assets and want to

protect air quality, water quality and trees. Access to nearby parks

is important for public health and livability of neighborhoods.

Ideal: The city’s natural resources are conserved and protected

for current and future generations.

Key Initiatives

• Create strong and healthy neighborhoods.

• Ensure environmental sustainability.

• Encourage new development patterns.

Ensure Environmental Sustainability

This initiative focuses on protecting Dallas’ water quality

and watersheds, promoting energy efficiency, increasing

the urban tree canopy, improving air quality, protecting and

enhancing open space, planning for more parks and maintaining

important views and vistas. Residents want a healthier natural

and urban environment and forwardDallas! builds from existing

plans, such as the Renaissance Plan and the Friends of the Old

Trinity Trail Master Plan, by establishing policies for open space,

recreational trails and restoration of degraded natural areas. Central

to this Key Initiative is identifying, inventorying and protecting

important natural resources, sensitive ecosystems, open spaces

and cherished views. Included are policies to mitigate the urban

heat island effect, improve storm water management within the

city, reduce smog, expand the absorption capacity of floodplains

and allow the restoration and rehabilitation of Trinity River

riparian corridors. City-funded infrastructure will meet national

“green building” standards through the Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design program established by the U.S. Green

Building Council. Dallas residents will enjoy better access to new

recreational areas and trails through the acquisition and protection

of environmentally sensitive lands in floodplains, riparian areas

and within the escarpment. In addition, long-range planning for

parks and open spaces will ensure residents can enjoy access to

quality natural areas and recreational opportunities in the decades

to come.

Encourage New Development Patterns

In order to achieve the Vision, new development patterns,

called Building Blocks, have been developed. These Building

Blocks, which address transportation, urban design and housing,

incorporate both existing and future development. They arrange

housing and employment opportunities in ways that can decrease

the use of cars, increase the use of public transit, and decrease the

overall amount of land developed to promote open, green spaces.