L I V E , WO R K , P L AY The Dallas International District gives new meaning to global city Story by RENEE UMSTED
WHEN DALLAS-NATIVE SUZANNE SMITH WAS GROWING UP, THE MALL WAS “A BIG DEAL.” But with societal shifts, Valley View and others like it started losing relevance. “We need to figure out how to make it an epicenter again, but in a new way,” Smith says. Located at the intersection of two major highways and not too far from
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the airport, Downtown Dallas or our city’s growing suburbs, the Valley View-Galleria area has been identified as the site of the future Dallas International District. Smith’s consulting firm, S ocial Impact Architects, was brought in by the City to help with the project. The company calls itself a “social change agency” and partners with organizations to create better mar-
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keting and strategy, foster collaboration, encourage agreement and make decisions. “As a social entrepreneur, the goal is that you go to places where society is stuck, and you unstick them,” she says. The Dallas International District will cover 450 acres bordered by the LBJ Freeway, the Dallas North Tollway, Preston Road and Alpha
