West Dallas was officially annexed into the City of Dallas in 1954. West Dallas has always been a low-income area that struggled to find economic stability. During the 1920s, it was hit hard by the Great Depression and lead to increases in the crime level as people resorted to crime as a way to make money. There wasn’t a lot of infrastructure and West Dallas was one of the last areas to get City of Dallas services like sewage and new construction (Collins, n.d.).
Because of it’s late incorporation, West Dallas has always felt like an outsider to Dallas, especially due to its location across the Trinity River. More recently, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge was built connecting downtown Dallas to West Dallas to make it more accessible. Although the area is becoming more popular now, it was referred to as the “bridge to nowhere” showing that West Dallas has always felt separate from Dallas as a result of their late annexation (Collins, n.d.).
Citations:
Collins, C. (n.d.). The Story Of West Dallas From Bonnie And Clyde To Margaret Hunt Hill. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from http://stories.kera.org/no-place/2017/04/23/the-story-of-the-place-on-the-other-side-of-the-trinity/
Drilling down on a big plan to add housing in Dallas’ most in-need areas—Dallas Business Journal. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2021, from https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2021/09/14/aging-housing-stock-dallas-affordable-trec.html