THE STORY THAT BUILT DALLAS
Lines That Divide
Understanding Dallas Housing History and Zoning Legacy
For much of the 20th century, Dallas’ development patterns were shaped by exclusionary zoning, racially restrictive covenants, and discriminatory lending practices. Even after formal and legal segregation ended, the persistence of single-family zoning in large portions of the city has limited housing diversity, reinforced inequities in access to schools and transportation, and constrained economic mobility.
As Dallas and its surrounding cities grapple with housing affordability crises and rising displacement pressures, understanding this history is critical to advancing equitable policy and inclusive development.
Our City,
Our Legacy
This project will help Dallas residents, policymakers, and advocates better understand how housing policies and zoning decisions have shaped the city’s social and economic landscape. By examining the historical and contemporary impact of single-family-only zoning, we will explore how land use policies have created and sustained patterns of racial and economic segregation across Dallas.
This project proposes the development and presentation of an educational and community-centered experience designed to deepen understanding of Dallas’ housing history and its enduring patterns of segregation. By tracing policies, practices, and structural inequities that have shaped the city’s residential landscape, this initiative aims to illuminate the relationship between housing, policy and people, and to spark community dialogue about different futures.
Through a facilitated learning process, the project will connect historical policy decisions with present-day housing outcomes, empowering residents, advocates, and policymakers to recognize the legacy of exclusion and imagine strategies for repair, reinvestment, and justice. The goal is not only to educate but also to spark critical dialogue and inspire community-driven action toward more equitable housing policies
A People’s Guide
Our city’s history is complex and complicated.
Let’s sort it out.
From the Indigenous land we live on to present-day, read in our People’s Guide the roads that have led to and shaped the city we know and love today.
download your copy (coming soon)
Created by
the hawkins archives & works
Release
07/ 2026
Through the Grapevine
Our stories have always existed within these spaces, carried through memory, community, and lived experience. For too long, they have been overlooked, unheard, or spoken for by others. Now, it is time for our voices to take up space, to reclaim our narratives, and to share the histories that continue to shape our future. Watch as these stories come to light.