This Thursday, the Dallas Planning & Urban Design Department will host a virtual event to update the community on the ForwardDallas Comprehensive land-use plan that was launched in Aug. 2021. It was created to ensure Dallas land-use policies actively promote equity, economic vitality, and environmental sustainability. It’s been billed as a date-driving planning process with a focus on outcomes and metrics to establish an implementation program to monitor annual progress.
Dubbed ForwardDallas Live!, the event will also discuss equity in land-use planning and provide information on how people can get more involved. Panel speakers include Dr. Lorin Carter, Suzan Kedron, and Theresa O’Donnell.
O’Donnell currently serves as the director of planning & general manager of planning, urban design, and sustainability in Vancouver, B.C. She’s a Dallas native who spent 16 years working in her hometown, including stints as planning director and assistant city manager. She has worked as the planning director in Arlington as well as Las Vegas.
Kedron is a partner with Jackson Walker. She represents real estate developers, landowners, and public entities in various land use and real estate development issues. She is also the chair of Jackson Walker’s diversity & inclusion committee and the chair of the Dallas office’s business development committee.
Carter is the founder and CEO of C-Suite Consulting, where she works to make urban spaces equitable places to live, work, and play. She says that she is excited for C-Suite to be represented in the event.
“My comments will be about looking at current conditions and past practices and then providing some solutions moving forward,” Carter said.
Among the issues she plans to emphasize is ensuring that community input is taken into consideration when final policies and plans are enacted. She also plans to discuss the importance of making sure leaders are truly implementing what those plans call for.
“If community members; ideas were incorporated, or if there were equitable principles or solutions that were included in plans, that means lifting them up off the shelf and actually putting them into practice and being able to move forward in an actionable and impactful way that positively benefits communities and allows residents that live in the area, and who have been its historic residents, to actually benefit from the growth that is happening,” she says.
ForwardDallas Live! Will be held from noon to 1:15 p.m. on Jan. 27.
For more information and to register to attend, visit the eventbrite page.
