The City of Dallas joins national racial equity network focused on creating equitable economies

DALLAS – The City of Dallas is now a member of a nationwide program that works toward enhancing equitable economies. 

The program, called Closing the Gaps Network, aims to eliminate racial disparities in income and wealth. By being members of the program, cities show their commitment to transforming government policies, practices, and operations to create economic activity that benefits all residents. 

“The City of Dallas is committed to advancing equity through all City policies and enhancing efforts aimed at understanding, addressing, and dismantling racism and how it affects the delivery of human and social services, economic development, infrastructure, and public safety,” said City Manager T.C. Broadnax.  

Closing the Gaps Network is an initiative led by Living Cities, a network of foundations and financial institutions that work together to close racial income and wealth gaps in the US. 

There are 21 cities participating in the program. These municipalities share a vision of what a racially equitable city looks like and have worked individually on initiatives that focus on closing the racial income and wealth gap.  

This is reflected in the ongoing work the City of Dallas is doing.   

The Office of Equity and Inclusion is spearheading several efforts to address racial and ethnic disparities, such as the development of Dallas’ first Racial Equity Plan, a strategic framework to support the City in understanding and addressing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities across Dallas. 

In the Closing the Gaps Network, members will design equitable strategies to address income and wealth disparities in their cities. This will include establishing interventions that support the increase of homeownership and entrepreneurship rates among communities of color. 

“As a member of the Closing the Gaps Network, the City of Dallas will continue to be intentional around addressing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities highlighted in the Dallas Equity Indicators Report and other data sources,” said Dr. Lindsey Wilson, Interim Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion. 

The 2019 Dallas Equity Indicators report provides a two-year snapshot of data on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities across five themes: Economic Opportunity, Education, Neighborhoods and Infrastructure, Justice and Government, and Public Health. The report serves as a comprehensive tool to help Dallas understand, address, and measure progress toward equity across the various communities it serves.