How to Rebuild Dallas’s Fair Park

Dallas' Fair Park is not what it once was. "Over time, Fair Park's original Art Deco buildings have suffered from benign neglect and are now vacant, while many of the museums and performance halls have relocated," Michelle Corson and Nan Ellin write in Dallas Morning News. They argue that the park remains a resource to the city and need not be funded by a bond issuance.

"If we are going to step away from asking taxpayers to fund 100 percent of the redevelopment of Fair Park, we will need to incorporate revenue-generating elements into the redesign," Corson and Ellin write. The city could rent parking spaces and use some of the park's many buildings as event spaces. The city could also solicit donations and build solar panels on refurbished structures and parking facilities, they suggest. Whatever the funding structure, the park presents a great opportunity for the growing city.