The Institute for Urban Policy Research participates in the Mayor's Task Force on Poverty

In Spring 2014, Mayor of Dallas Mike Rawlings gathered the Dallas community and created a Task Force to advise him on substantive, short-term plans to take action against poverty within the city. Dallas, which has the third-highest poverty rate for a city with a population of more than 1 million in the country, faces unique poverty challenges, which continue to disproportionately affect people of color.  From 2000 to 2012, Dallas’ poverty increased by 41%, while the population of the city itself overall grew only by 5%. Dr. Tim Bray of the Institute for Urban Policy Research was among the core cabinet of people recruited to take part in the Task Force and helped to provide a series of recommendations. The Task Force recommended focusing on initiatives that lessened blight; taking a leadership role in establishing a higher minimum wage higher wage; placing a greater emphasis on early-childhood education; and more investment in encouraging residents to pursue tax credits. Ultimately, the Task Force put forth an implementable action list for the Mayor to pursue that acts like a beginning point for the City in the long-term fight against poverty.