Our City, Our Future

My kink is making graphics and videos to inform the people of Dallas that a better future is possible.

Human-Centered Designer

As a UX designer, I use my powers for good, and in collaboration with my OCOF peers, we created a survey to get the people of Dallas in conversation with the city.

2021
Engagement

2020
Dallas First People’s Budget and supporting artwork

As a collective of women and gender non-conforming Dallasites, “Our City, Our Future” expects leaders to govern with courage and moral clarity — not to operate within the same archaic framework that has perpetuated and maintained white supremacy and racism for so long.

Libraries, cultural centers, and recreation centers are essential in these times to work through the grief that comes with isolation and the loss of family members. In this moment of crisis, we’re calling on Dallas’ elected officials and leadership to put people first.

In 2019, Our City, Our Future (OCOF) held community meetings with Districts 2, 3, and 6 to discuss what public safety meant to Dallas residents and how they would spend the $36 million that the Dallas Police Department was asking for in order to hire new officers. Community members had other ideas about what to do with the money.

2020, we went even deeper. We created a bilingual ambassador program where residents throughout the city held vision sessions to discuss their dreams for Dallas.

We equipped our ambassadors with a toolkit that outlined current city spending and offered ways to think critically about how the City could better meet their needs and wants.

After weeks of vision sessions throughout the city, we are happy to present the 2020 OCOF Budget Report. We analyzed participant data—gathered constituents’ brilliant ideas for the city, goals, and needs to be met--and created a comprehensive view of what the people of Dallas desire and deserve.

Our WOrk

WE SURVEYED AND ANALYZED DATA TO CREATE THE FIRST DALLAS PEOPLES BUDGET. 

In total, we received input from 728 people through a combination of our Ambassador Program, which had 212 participants, and an online Budget Survey, which was completed by 516 individuals. We return these observations to the community, however, it is not rigid.

We believe this to be a living document, that will be updated as we move forward in the budget process and more Dallas residents make their voices heard. 

WE CHALLENGED THE CITY OF DALLAS TO ADOPT A PEOPLES BUDGET. 

Divest from Police and invest in community initiatives.
• Civilian First Responders
• Rental Assistance for Dallas residents
• Senior, Youth, and Family Homeless Housing
• Youth Specific 311
• Fully Restore Funding for Office of Arts and Culture
• Save OC3
• Assistance for Formerly Incarcerated Residents
• Double Sidewalk and Street Repair Funding
• Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training for Neighborhood Groups • Victim Assistance & Compensation
• Revitalize Public Spaces