In most North Texas cities, economic development primarily revolves around financial incentives — paying companies and providing tax breaks for them to relocate or expand and create jobs.
But Dallas, under a relatively new economic development leader, is taking a much different approach. Eric A. Johnson, chief of Economic Development and Neighborhood Services for Dallas, started in that position in March and started working on the document called the Community Transformation Action Roadmap soon after.
The roadmap aims to generate economic spending, introduce new programs to foster creativity, bring about regulatory and policy changes to fuel social and economic advancement and create a more powerful brand for the city of Dallas.
The document sets out a path to connect the city’s work in the areas of economic development, housing and community regeneration. It lays out a three-year timeline for action.
Johnson discusses the roadmap in the interview that follows and explains why a more holistic approach to economic development is a better than one that focuses heavily on financial incentives.
What is the most important thing about this roadmap?
The most important thing about the roadmap is, number one, it’s not a plan. Two, it’s action-oriented. Three, it really connects the dots. Fourth, it’s working to put in place some building blocks that I believe will help Dallas over the course of the next 36 months and on the other side of where this community can go within the next 36 months. And, its focus is more on the ‘why’ than on ‘what’ we do.
Click here for more on this story.
