Fort Worth has grown consistently for two decades. From 2020 to 2023 , we added 54,866 residents, bringing the total to over 988,000 — making Cowtown the 12th-largest city in America.
Amid its growth phase, Fort Worth launched a 2050 Comprehensive Plan in mid-2023. The plan, which heavily involves feedback from residents, is used as a guide to identify budget priorities, establish development standards, and help create functional long-term plans for historic preservation, public art, and parks — like the Gateway Park master plan.
There are five community engagement phases that the 2050 plan will go through over the next few years. . Phase 1, now completed, was a series of conversations with residents in eight different neighborhoods. Phase 2,where we are now,aims to collect more feedback and ideas from residents, both in-person and online. The remaining phases, which includes the community working with policy makers and draft reviews, is expected to occur over 18 months.
An influential event of Phase 2 was held last week. Entitled the Vision Summit, it brought together 150+ Fort Worthians — and one enterprising FTWtoday City Editor — to discuss four major issues:
- Fort Worth’s current identity
- Quality of life
- Economic growth
- Mobility and transportation
Organized by the city’s FWLab, the format allowed for several residents to present their ideas to the entire room after a discussion at their table.
The answers were also inputted into the city’s online survey, which will remain active through Sunday, June 30.
While transportation emerged as the biggest issue in Phase 1 neighborhood workshops with a desire for better walkability + more bike lanes, the overarching atmosphere of the Vision Summit pertained to the potential identity shift that comes from growth.
“Growth is good, but brings worry and concern. Fort Worth needs to stay Fort Worth,"said Mayor Mattie Parker at the opening of the Vision Summit.
Residents expressed similar concerns at the discussion tables.
“Fort Worth is still a small town despite being a big city,” said A.J. Jameson, a federal government employee who lives downtown. “At events, you still always see people you know. We don’t want that to change.”
Now, we’d like to know what you think. Take our three-question survey and tell us what you’d like to see the city focus on in the 2050 Comprehensive Plan — and see what others think on the final results screen.
