Dallas Area Habitat For Humanity commissioned UNT researchers to identify the most blighted areas of Dallas. Their findings were released on Thursday. Using physical and socioeconomic characteristics from city, U.S. Census, and Dallas Central Appraisal District data, they created a “composite blight index.” The idea was to note the areas with the greatest number of rundown or abandoned properties.
The median property value in high-blight areas is $79,600, compared to $236,050 in low-blight areas. You can see from the map at right that the majority of the high-blight areas, which comprise 16 percent of the city, are in the southeastern quadrant of Dallas. KERA reported on some of the other key findings:
Over four years, Dallas demolished nearly 1600 residential and commercial properties. And it’s expensive. The recent demolition of 400 houses cost the city $1.6 million.
Over the past two years, Dallas filed $10 million in liens against properties for city mowing and cleaning, boarding-up abandoned property, and demolition. But the city’s only collected about $1.5 million of that total.
The UNT researchers will discuss the results at 8:30-11:30 a.m. Aug. 29 at the Communities Foundation of Texas. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. To receive registration materials, contact Jane Massey at [email protected].
