Downtown Hyperlocal Conversation – First Meeting / Leader Training

Introducing Hyperlocal Conversations

“If it takes you many words to explain what you do, it's probably not real.”

My uncle taught me that as a teen. Despite my chatty nature, I write by dumping all my thoughts onto paper and cutting until nothing can be removed without losing meaning. If it ends up long, it’s only because I didn’t have more time to shorten it. This works for most things. But not everything.
Some things take time to explain—and longer to understand. Some things need many explanations and many voices—through dialogue, stories, art, and experimentation. Even after understanding comes belief and action, which take repetition. This describes both the purpose and nature of our new program: Hyperlocal Conversations.

Dallas is in a constant state of change, and we need more neighbors aware of what’s happening and how to improve it. In my years advocating for walkability, housing, and transit, the core problem has been too few people both aware and informed about decisions before it’s too late. Often, informed neighbors miss chances to act—like an Uptown cyclist who overlooks bike lane surveys. Additionally, those who attend public meetings are often misinformed—like a Lake Highlands neighbor opposed to affordable housing near a DART station over unfounded fears of crime and traffic.

Our vision is a hyperlocal conversation in every Dallas neighborhood, with neighbors ready to speak up for walkability whenever opportunities arise. Hyperlocal Conversations is our extension of Strong Towns’ Local Conversation program: recurring neighborhood gatherings where residents apply Strong Towns principles locally. Dallas Urbanists hosts the citywide bimonthly meeting (next: March 21), while Hyperlocal Conversations are monthly, neighborhood-led meetups.

Our vision is an HLC group in every Dallas neighborhood with 25, 50, or even 100+ active members, but since this is our first year, our strategy is to launch gradually in a few neighborhoods, with each group starting small with anywhere from 3-15 participants at a gathering.

To kick things off, we’re launching the Downtown Hyperlocal Conversation with our first meeting this Saturday, February 21, at 4:30 PM at Pegasus City Brewery.
Each Downtown HLC meeting will also serve as a training workshop for new and prospective leaders. Downtown residents are invited to participate, and anyone interested in starting a group in their own neighborhood is welcome to attend, observe, and learn.
Please RSVP for Downtown Hyperlocal Conversation.

Continue reading to learn more about the Hyperlocal Conversation program.

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What is a Hyperlocal Conversation?
A hyperlocal conversation is a casual, neighborhood-specific monthly gathering of like-minded neighbors who care about walkability, bikeability, affordability, sustainability, and livability. Each meeting begins with 45–60 minutes of guided discussion, followed by open social time.
At each meeting, you can expect to:
Learn about your neighborhood

• Meet neighbors who care about walkability
• Share stories about life in the neighborhood
• Learn new local history
• Identify what’s working
• Identify what needs fixing

Stay informed

• Hear about important elections* and referendums
• Learn about surveys and public comment opportunities, with guidance on how to participate
• Discover other advocacy groups and activities

Get educated on the issues

• Learn the basics of an urbanism topic each meeting (e.g., transit funding, zoning, bike lane economics, road diets)
• Ask questions and share experiences
• See how the topic applies to Dallas and your neighborhood
• Learn who represents you and how to contact them, with guidance on what to say
• Find resources for further learning (readings, documentaries, courses, events, Dallas Urbanists content)

Be inspired to take action

• Hear examples of successful initiatives
• Continue discussion and idea-sharing after the guided portion
• Get guidance on next steps when participants pursue an initiative together