Our reporters and editors will closely follow these important issues for years to come. Dallas will not escape these trends. Once believed to be immune from Rust Belt-style decay, Dallas at the start of the 21st century clearly is not. The region's outer reaches will not escape unharmed. Leapfrog growth already has created nightmare commutes for many workers in the fast- growing northern suburbs.
Violence seems commonplace in some suburban enclaves.
For many, these are confusing times. This is not a period to retire to the comfort of gated communities and security alarms. Cooperation must replace rivalry. Caring must be substituted for indifference. Most large American cities now are engaged in an escalating cutthroat competition to attract new residents, jobs and firms and to retain or achieve prominence in the new global economy that is continuously being defined in front of our eyes.