The list below lays out some of the sub-issues comprising each of these selected issues under consideration by Vision North Texas. For each heading, you can click on it to expand and reveal a list of bullet items:

• Community Form - Click here to expand/contract

  • Development form of the region (sprawl vs. compact)
  • Land use patterns within the region
  • Location of mixed use, more intense development centers
  • Preservation and reclamation of natural and agricultural areas
  • The definition of ‘community’ – physical, online, etc.
  • The region’s cultural and arts assets
  • The opportunities for revitalization or sustaining the vitality of developed communities
  • The potential for creation of new communities or areas of development within the region
  • The opportunities and challenges facing communities of various types (core cities, inner tier, outer tier, separate)
 
• Demographics - Click here to expand/contract

  • The amount of growth expected in North Texas
  • The changing character of the people who will live here and the households they will live in
  • The income mix of future households
  • The aging of the population
  • The impacts of immigration (legal and illegal) on the region
  • The values and interests of the ‘millennials’ and other generational trends
  • Global demographic trends (such as the growth of the 3rd world middle class and male population in China)
  • The mobility of residents and stakeholders
 
• Economics - Click here to expand/contract

  • National and global economic trends
  • The amount of job growth expected in North Texas
  • The industry sectors expected to contribute the largest share of jobs and economic value in the region
  • The types of jobs that will be in highest demand in this region
  • The location of major employment centers within the region
  • North Texas’ role in the national and global economy
  • The region’s economic competitiveness compared to other regions
  • The economic viability of agriculture
  • The nature of work, and the ‘office of the future’
  • Economic operation of ‘mega-regions’
 
• Education - Click here to expand/contract

  • The anticipated skill sets future residents are expected to have
  • The ability to have a workforce with skills needed by the businesses of the future
  • Alternatives in the way education and training are delivered
 
• Energy - Click here to expand/contract

  • The price of gasoline
  • Availability of energy resources to meet the demands of residents and businesses
  • Economics and availability of alternative energy sources
  • The potential for energy conservation within the region
  • Changing opportunities for energy production within the region
 
• Environment - Click here to expand/contract

  • Anticipated air quality in the region
  • Climate change and its effect on the region
  • Anticipated water quality in the region’s lakes, streams and rivers
  • Availability of sufficient supplies of water
  • Extent and role of the urban forest in the region
  • Greenprint analysis (framework results)
 
• Governance & public policy - Click here to expand/contract

  • Federal policies and funding programs for infrastructure, housing and other urban issues
  • Proliferation of jurisdictions within the region
  • Identification of the attractions that succeed only at a regional level
  • Effects of ‘globalization’
  • Methods to address the competition for resources in the region (natural, energy,
    financial, etc.)
 
• Health - Click here to expand/contract

  • Food availability
  • Obesity
  • Health improvements that lengthen life
  • Ability of the region to be a center for medical research, health care & ‘health tourism’
  • The system of health care provision and its funding (in the region and nationally)
 
• Housing - Click here to expand/contract

  • The housing stock available in the future that already exists today
  • Anticipated housing stock, in terms of housing type and location
  • Market demands for various types of housing based on future household
    characteristics
  • Need for (or lack of) affordable housing
 
• Infrastructure - Click here to expand/contract

  • The infrastructure networks that will be constructed based on current plans, and their ability to serve anticipated growth (roads, transit, water, etc.)
  • Changes in patterns of transport for freight and goods
  • Anticipated traffic congestion and related costs to the region
  • New transportation options
  • Definition of other regionally-significant infrastructure components (such as those related to health or education)
  • Opportunities to use natural systems to provide ‘green infrastructure’
  • Availability of natural resources (such as water) needed to meet demands of residents and businesses
 
• Innovation and Resilience - Click here to expand/contract

  • The region’s ability to lead innovation and to take advantage of innovative discoveries
  • The region’s ability to adapt and to be resilient in response to unanticipated changes
 
• Security - Click here to expand/contract

  • Global conflict and its impact on this region’s people and businesses
  • Management of the world’s food supply
  • Issues of identity theft
 
• Technology - Click here to expand/contract

  • Changes in computer & communications options
  • New materials production
  • Nano- and bio-technology
  • Effects of technology on social and work interaction

View a Powerpoint file of Selected Issues