“Wholeness” means that there is an interrelatedness of purpose and concern about the wellbeing of citizens, an awareness of the impact of policies across neighborhoods, and a willingness to act on behalf of all communities within the city. Wholeness means there is a relative lack of disparities across the various sectors of Dallas regarding education, crime and safety, health, housing, civic engagement, and income. A city lacks wholeness when the disparities are large and chronic.
Over time, these disparities result in:
- increasing numbers of persons lacking the education and skills to succeed
- declining supply of skilled workers to meet local workforce demands
- increased public burden to meet the housing, healthcare and social service needs of those who lack equal opportunity to be self-sufficient
- more and more citizens each year who fall short of their potential
FCE was established on the belief that in whole cities, people have equal economic opportunities, are equally self-sufficient, and participate equally in political and civic life regardless of their socio-economic status.