Building good cities is complicated. Towns seek new businesses and residents so they may grow and thrive, but how can they convince new business owners of their future success? Providing people with transportation, water, schools, parks and public safety is a huge endeavor. Failure drives people away to other places. The cities of Dallas County successfully faced these challenges, with a few learning opportunities along the way. 

Prosperity and opportunity were not distributed equally among county residents. Women did not have equal political voices. They were also limited in professional opportunities, as were many men based on their race, religion, or ethnicity. People who worked at jobs with lower pay and less prestige felt exploited and excluded from better lives. Local people followed national trends in demanding change to the unfair parts of the existing order, and their early efforts brought improvement.