Photo courtesy of Dallas Housing Coalition.

The Dallas Housing Coalition (DHC) is bringing the “Be My Neighbor” campaign to the Tenth Street Historic District on Saturday, Oct. 24. The Tenth Street block party is the final stop of three neighborhood block parties hosted to help educate neighbors on zoning and the campaign.

The “Be My Neighbor” campaign launched in July 2026 with the aim to raise awareness about Dallas’s need for “more attainable and diverse housing options, allowing more walkable retail and home-based small businesses in residential neighborhoods and neighborhood preservation,” according to a press release. The campaign kicked off to coincide with the City of Dallas’s zoning reform currently underway, which has a draft expected to be released before the end of the year.

Evelyn Mayo, a community organizer with DHC, said the goal is to bring the campaign to different areas of the city through block parties to make the initiative more widely known and accessible before the draft is released.

One of the issues with the current zoning she raised is the lack of housing types. A majority of Dallas residential land is single-family housing type.

“So through the code … we’re trying to make the residential districts more flexible to allow for different types of housing, like duplexes, quadplexes, having accessory units in neighborhoods,” she said. “There’s lots of other types of housing besides just single-family and large luxury apartments, and we’re trying to make more options available to the public.”

Mayo said that while the Tenth Street Historic District has a historic overlay, the new code likely will not directly impact the neighborhood, but pointed to Tenth Street as “a really good example of how the city initially was built.”

“It’s one of our oldest communities, and if you look at the actual way the neighborhood is structured, it’s far more aligned with the scale and types of land uses that meet the community’s needs today,” Mayo said.

Shaun Montgomery, president of the Tenth Street Residential Association, began learning about how zoning impacts her historic neighborhood around 2018. She has also attended meetings regarding the upcoming changes to zoning since the campaign launch over the summer.

She said that her neighborhood in particular is going through a lot of revitalization, and noted the increase of apartments around Oak Cliff.

“There needs to be a balance, and that’s why I think this is so important because there should be a balance of housing. It shouldn’t be just small apartments for professionals. It should be housing for everyone,” Montgomery said. “Those people who want a house, who want a backyard, we have parks and things like that, that draws in families. That’s children, and also a legacy for generations to come.”

Both Montgomery and Mayo emphasized the importance of understanding how zoning can impact you and your neighborhood.

“It’s very important to be in the decision-making process of whatever is going on in your community,” Montgomery said. “I do want to make sure that I point that out because a lot of people feel like they don’t have a voice and they say, ‘Oh, they’re gonna do whatever they want.’ When they make that comment, that’s meaning, ‘Oh, the City is gonna do what they’re gonna do, and they won’t listen.’ But not all the time. Sometimes we just don’t educate ourselves enough and know how to do that. And this particular event is going to help.”

Mayo also highlighted that people don’t usually think about code until they run into an issue with it. Keeping informed and active in this new zoning update process could help prevent more of those instances. 

The “Be My Neighbor” Block Party will take place at 1208 E. 10th St. in the Tenth Street Historic District from noon to 4 p.m. The event will include custom, interactive zoning education tools created by Better Block, along with food, vendors, live music, performances, and games. 

“We want everyone to come out and just let this be fun, a fun activity for everyone, and learn as much as you can, and take this back and work in your communities as well,” Montgomery said. “If you’re not from the Tenth Street area, other areas, we are welcoming you to come out, and so that you can take these things back and you can bring these to your communities and get more involved in your communities if you’re not already.”