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Sunday, April 18, 2004

The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS AT THE TIPPING POINT:

The peer cities at a glance

Dallas
Population in 2000: 1,188,580 Population change, 1990-2000: +18% Racial-ethnic mix: Hispanic, 36%; white, 35%; black, 25%; Asian, 2.7%; two or more races, 1.1% Area in square miles: 342.6 Form of government: Council-manager

FROM THE EDITOR

Austin
Population in 2000: 656,562 Population change, 1990-2000: +41% Racial-ethnic mix: White, 52.9%, Hispanic, 30.5%; black, 9.8%; Asian, 4.7%; two or more races, 1.5% Area in square miles: 251.5 Form of government: Council-manager

Baltimore
Population in 2000: 651,154 Population change, 1990-2000: -11.5% Racial-ethnic mix: Black, 64%; white, 31%; Hispanic, 1.7%; Asian, 1.5%; two or more races, 1.3% Area in square miles: 80.8 Form of government: Mayor-council

Columbus, Ohio
Population in 2000: 711,470 Population change, 1990-2000: +12.4% Racial-ethnic mix: White, 67%; black, 24.3%; Asian, 3.4%; Hispanic, 2.5%; two or more races, 2.4% Area in square miles: 210.3 Form of government: Mayor-council

o our readers: In 2000, The Dallas Morning News asked two world-class urban planners to study and report on the current and future health of our metropolitan area. They raised important, disturbing, hopeful and provocative questions for our readers to consider. At that time, I promised you our readers that our journalists would keep after the issues raised by these great urban thinkers. We have the largest and most experienced news-gathering staff in this region, and our continued focus on these issues is one of our most fundamental obligations. The report you are about to read today represents a significant step in our commitment to keep you informed about the areas strength and well-being. In this case, we focused exclusively on the city of Dallas. After all, most of us realize that for a strong metropolitan area to be most successful, it needs a vital urban core. We asked ourselves: How is Dallas doing? To help us answer this question, we teamed a group of Booz Allen Hamilton consultants with several of our very best reporters and editors. We wanted to work with a premier consulting firm like Booz Allen because it is accustomed to moving with great speed, rigor and expertise in studying complex subjects.

Intense months-long research offers a sobering, important update about our citys health and prospects for the future
Three fundamental questions were posed to our project team: o What key challenges are facing the city of Dallas? o How well is the city positioned to cope with these challenges? o What does the city need to do to position itself for longterm success? I think you will find the teams conclusions, reached after months of intense research, to be both sobering and important. We present this report to you with the hope that it will stimulate citizens and public officials to ask the right questions and seek answers to the performance gaps in city government. We also promise to periodically review the citys performance and report back to you on how it is doing. The News has existed in this community for nearly 120 years. We care deeply about the citys current and future well-being. And it is from that perspective that we publish this report today. Robert W. Mong Jr. President and Editor

Detroit
Population in 2000: 951,270 Population change, 1990-2000: -7.5% Racial-ethnic mix: Black, 81.1%; white, 10.5%; Hispanic, 5%; Asian, 1%; two or more races, 2% Area in square miles: 138.8 Form of government: Mayor-council

SECTION CONTENTS
Introduction ......................................................... 2
o From the editor o Methodology and peer cities o Information on the Web

ON THE WEB
Log on to DallasNews.com/tippingpoint to find these Web extras: o Read the complete Booz Allen report. o Read the questions and answers from the survey of city residents, and see how your perceptions compare. o Quiz yourself on the content of this report. o Read the full transcript from The Dallas Morning News Editorial Page roundtable with key civic leaders, and listen to selected audio excerpts of their conversation. o Watch video from the WFAA-TV (Channel 8) special, Dallas at the Tipping Point: Road Map for Renewal. o Send us feedback on what youve read and your ideas for fixing the problems. Return to DallasNews.com/tippingpoint for updates on the state of the city and suggestions for its future.

Houston
Population in 2000: 1,953,631 Population change, 1990-2000: +19.8% Racial-ethnic mix: Hispanic, 37.4%; white, 30.1%; black, 25%; Asian 5.3%; two or more races, 1.2% Area in square miles: 579.5 Form of government: Mayor-council

Indianapolis
Population in 2000: 781,870 Population change, 1990-2000: +6.9% Racial-ethnic mix: White, 67.5%; black, 25.4%; Hispanic, 3.9%; Asian, 1.4%; two or more races, 1.4% Area in square miles: 361.5 Form of government: Mayor-council

Dallas .................................................................. 3-5 City Hall ............................................................. 6-7 Economy ............................................................ 8-9 Police ............................................................... 10-11 Schools ........................................................... 12-13 Community ....... 14-15 Decision Time ... 16-17 Leadership ........ 18-19 Ideas ........................ 20
o Editorials o Viewpoints

Jacksonville, Fla.
Population in 2000: 735,617 Population change, 1990-2000: +15.8% Racial-ethnic mix: White, 62.2%; black, 28.7%; Hispanic, 4.2%; Asian, 2.7%; two or more races, 1.6% Area in square miles: 757.7 Form of government: Mayor-council

Memphis, Tenn.
Population in 2000: 650,100 Population change, 1990-2000: +6.5% Racial-ethnic mix: Black, 61.2%; white, 33.2%; Hispanic 3%; Asian, 1.4% Area in square miles: 279.3 Form of government: Mayor-council

METHODOLOGY
ow do you measure Dallas? Booz Allen Hamilton took on that challenge when The Dallas Morning News engaged the firm to study the effectiveness of Dallas city government. News reporters Victoria Loe Hicks, Angela Shah, David Dillon and Tanya Eiserer and researcher Larry Derrick worked alongside the Booz Allen team led by Dallas-based vice president Andrew Clyde and project manager Keo Rubbright. Booz Allen vice president Bob Lukefahr and senior vice president Harry Quarls worked with the team in developing Dallas at the Tipping Point: A Road Map for Renewal, the report that emerged from the teams research. The report served as the launch pad for this special section. A copy of the report is online at DallasNews.com/tippingpoint. Booz Allen approached Dallas as both a major urban center and a business, employing many of the techniques that it uses for corporate-strategy projects. To benchmark Dallas against similar cities, Booz Allen included cities with populations equal to Dallas, give or take 50 percent. That yielded a set of 13 peers. Houston a smidgen too large to meet the test was added because its too close and too significant to ignore. Since Booz Allen compared Dallas with other central cities, familiar Dallas competitors such as Denver and Atlanta didnt make the cut. Their metropolitan areas are comparable to Dallas, but the core cities are much smaller. The city-vs.-region distinction is important. First, urban experts have long understood and Booz Allens research confirmed that healthy center cities are essential for healthy regions. Second, although cities and their suburbs benefit mutually from each other, cities can capture tax money only on property and sales within their borders. Cities do compete with their suburbs, former Mayor Ron Kirk told the reporters. Were defined by winners and losers, defined by where people choose to pay property taxes. Thus, its important to understand whats occurring inside the city, which wasnt always easy. Many of the federal governments data series arent kept at the municipal level. And City Hall maintains few of its own measurements, even of its own performance.

Philadelphia
Population in 2000: 1,517,550 Population change, 1990-2000: -4.3% Racial-ethnic mix: Black, 42.6%; white, 42.5%; Hispanic, 8.5%; Asian, 4.4%; two or more races, 1.6% Area in square miles: 135.1 Form of government: Mayor-council

Measuring Dallas, as a business and as a city

For some statistics, Booz Allen had to start from scratch. One key example: The consulting team calculated the size of the gross city product for Dallas and all its peer cities. That measure of economic activity is akin to the gross domestic product computed for the United States. It is seldom generated for areas as small as a city. But it was one of many steps in Booz Allens exhaustive analysis of financial, economic, educational and other data from Dallas and the peer cities. To determine what matters most to Dallas residents, The News conducted a citywide poll using its longtime polling firm, Blum & Weprin Associates Inc. of New York. Project team members and the Dallas-based consulting firm Velocity Ventures also interviewed more than two dozen Dallas-area business leaders for their views on Dallas. The findings from the poll and the business survey flowed into the Booz Allen report. This special section quotes liberally from the Booz Allen report, which consists of an executive summary plus a section of detailed findings. But the stories here are built on independent reporting, too from interviews with Dallas city leaders, business executives, academic experts and others, as well as extensive research. The reporters on the project team also visited other cities to see how their operations look from the inside. The News used Booz Allens findings to probe deeper in some areas as well, generating data and charts beyond those in the report. Charts that reflect Booz Allens research alone are marked with the notation Booz Allen analysis in the source line. Finally, a word about language. Some of the quotations in this section reflect Booz Allens decision to present its findings in business terminology. In a world where Main Street and Wall Street move ever closer together, Booz Allen reasoned that simple business terms would make this exploration of city government accessible to the widest possible audience. So, to borrow from the reports preface: Here then, is a report to the management team (City Hall) and the shareholders (the community) of Dallas Inc. Edward Dufner Project editor

Phoenix
Population in 2000: 1,321,045 Population change, 1990-2000: +34.3% Racial-ethnic mix: White, 55.8%; Hispanic, 34.1%; black, 4.8%; Asian, 1.9%; American Indian, 1.6%; two or more races, 1.6% Area in square miles: 474.9 Form of government: Council-manager

San Antonio
Population in 2000: 1,144,646 Population change, 1990-2000: +22.3% Racial-ethnic mix: Hispanic, 58.6%; white, 31.8%; black, 6.5%; Asian, 1.6%; two or more races, 1.1% Area in square miles: 407.6 Form of government: Council-manager

San Diego
Population in 2000: 1,223,400 Population change, 1990-2000: +10.2% Racial-ethnic mix: White, 49.4%; Hispanic, 25.4%; Asian, 13.4%; black, 7.6%; two or more races, 3.1% Area in square miles: 324.4 Form of government: Council-manager

San Francisco
Population in 2000: 776,733 Population change, 1990-2000: +7.3% Racial-ethnic mix: White, 43.6%; Asian, 30.7%; Hispanic, 14.1%; black, 7.6%; two or more races, 3% Area in square miles: 46.7 Form of government: Mayor-council

San Jose, Calif.

Population in 2000: 894,943 Population change, 1990-2000: +14.4% Racial-ethnic mix: White, 36%; Hispanic, 30.1%; Asian 26.6%; black, 3.3%; two or more races, 3% Area in square miles: 174.9 Form of government: Council-manager
Note: Racial/ethnic groups representing less than 1% of the population are not shown. Some figures do not add up to 100 because of rounding. SOURCES: Booz Allen Hamilton research; U.S. Census Bureau; Dallas Morning News research

PROJECT TEAM
The Dallas Morning News: Victoria Loe Hicks, Angela Shah, David Dillon, Tanya Eiserer, Larry Derrick and Edward Dufner; Booz Allen Hamilton: Keo Rubbright, Andrew Clyde, Harry Quarls and Bob Lukefahr.
Art direction: Chris Morris Design: Chas Brown, Kathleen Vincent Photo editor: Chris Wilkins Copy editor: Don Holt

Photography by David Leeson Graphics by Sergio Pec anha