Residents disheartened after comparing before-and-after photos of city's transformation: 'Where did the trees go?'

A recent Reddit post is getting a lot of attention after showing just how much one Dallas neighborhood has changed, and not everyone's loving the update.

In a post shared to r/Dallas, a local Redditor posted two aerial photos of East Dallas, taken 22 years apart. The first, from 2001, shows a neighborhood full of trees and green space. The second, from 2023, shows the same area packed with newer, much bigger homes, and way fewer trees.

This is not a post about a specific, uncommon case — this is the kind of transformation that's happening in many cities across the U.S. With the increasing housing demand and evolving buyer and renter preferences on size, available lots are being filled with larger homes and less green space. 

These homes shown in the post look larger and, while they may not be extreme outliers, they're clearly leaning into a more-is-more approach: more square footage and more concrete. And even when some want to present this as the only alternative, people don't fail to notice that the cost is clear: fewer trees, hotter streets, and neighborhoods that just feel different.

Trees provide shade, support wildlife, and help cool down urban areas. When they're removed, the local temperature can rise, and homes need more energy to stay cool, especially in places like Dallas, where the summer heat is intense.

The main question now is: What can be done to turn this around?

Well, one way to make the situation better is to protect tree coverage with stronger local planning policies. Supporting green building efforts and choosing smaller, more efficient homes can also help the case. 

And if you already own a home, regardless of its size, switching to solar energy is one way to reduce your footprint and cut down on energy bills. Platforms like EnergySage make it easier to compare options and figure out what might work for your home.

It didn't take long for people in the comments to speak up. One person asked, "Where did the trees go…?" Meanwhile, another added, "Looks like the only thing that stuck around were a few apartments."

Another pair of commenters talked about how densification can be more OK if the city is designed to be walkable and there is sufficient mass transit to other areas.

Do you think your city has good air quality? Definitely 🥰 Somewhat 😮‍💨 Depends on the time of year 😷 Not at all 🤢 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

As one of the pair said, "Densification is great if public transportation improves along side it. Else, it's just further clogging our f****** awful road systems." They then cited how driving in Austin is a frustrating experience (it's worth noting that Austin, at least, has been promoting a growing electric bike and scooter ridesharing network, despite having a bad reputation for lacking public transit options). 

Yes, bigger cities are often going to see urban growth to accommodate the number of people who want to live and work there, and there is something to be said about how apartments can foster an economy of space — and sharing of heating and, to a lesser extent, cooling — by building vertically. But as this Dallas post reminds us, it's worth asking how we can grow in a more sustainable, less harmful way.

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