What Will Fort Worth Look Like in 2050?

From a swelling population to expanding city limits and a shift toward walkable neighborhoods, Fort Worth’s future is unfolding at breakneck speed. Will Cowtown embrace its evolution into a world-class city, or will growing pains get in the way?

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In hindsight, Nostradamus, the famous prognosticator from the 16th century, might have had it easy. He wrote his predictions in rhyming, cryptic quatrains, which included only vague assertions as to what would happen — “global conflict,” “natural disasters,” “technological breakthroughs,” “economic turmoil” … pick a year, they all apply.

We are taking no such shortcuts in this article.

When one wants to know what the future holds, they want specifics, and they want specifics that are not in rhyming quatrains — we hope.

How much will artificial intelligence change the world? Will we have flying cars? Will said flying cars come with a hybrid option? Will the Cowboys make it to the NFC Championship? You want answers, and we’re going to try to give them to you.

Except, in this piece, we’re going to keep our predictions within city limits — limits that will likely grow by 2050. That said, predicting Fort Worth’s future is no easy task.

It’s been repeated many times and for many years: Fort Worth is at a crossroads. A rapidly growing city trying to cling to the quaintness that differentiates it from the town to the east, the next turn Fort Worth takes is one that will define it for decades.

In June 2024, the city government hosted the Reimagine Fort Worth-2050 Comprehensive Plan Vision Summit. The two-hour meeting included presentations and brief discussions about planning for Fort Worth’s future. What would an ideal Fort Worth look like in 2050? In July, the planning division launched a website (connectfw.com/comprehensive-plan) asking for contributions from the public. The objective of the 2050 Comprehensive Plan is to create a road map for Fort Worth to “establish a shared vision for the city.”

While this plan, which the city will likely release sometime this year, might have an effect on Fort Worth’s direction, we’re going to confer with our proverbial crystal ball before receiving such assistance and predict 2050. After all, city leadership has been pretty transparent about where they see the city going. And, no surprise, it’s a combination of progress and preservation.

As an aside, we will warn that the following predictions have a generally positive bent. So, we apologize to those seeking prognostications that might reference extreme turmoil. We just happen to be natural optimists.

IN THE YEAR 2050, FORT WORTH (’S)…

POPULATION WILL EXCEED 1.4 MILLION

(GROWTH)

For you claustrophobic types, this prognostication could be concerning: Things will start getting a little crowded in Cowtown. But such a prediction shouldn’t come as a shock to the system. After all, this is the trajectory Fort Worth has been on since 2000, and news about the city’s rapid climb up the rankings of most populated cities continues to make headlines.

Fort Worthians gave a collective hoorah in early December when the Texas Demographic Center showed the city had officially jumped those pesky Austinites in population, becoming the fourth most populous city in Texas and 11th in the country.

It’s a bit of a flex and favorite pastime of Fort Worth locals to tout our city’s growth over the last several years — perhaps to further distinguish ourselves from our neighbor to the east. And here’s the kicker: It ain’t slowing down anytime soon.

Jacksonville? San Diego? Dallas? We’re coming for ya.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Fort Worth will hit the “Population: 1,000,000” mark by 2028 and surpass Dallas by 2045. That’s right. In 20 years, Dallas will become Fort Worth’s little brother — so long as we keep population density out of the discussion. That said, the DFW metroplex, as a whole, is also projected to surpass the size of Chicago’s metroplex sometime in the 2030s. This will make our consolidated area the third largest in the nation.

Like Edwin Hubble said of the cosmos, this town is going to expand on a near perpetual level. And the source of this growth isn’t Fort Worthians birthing new Fort Worthians. In fact, Mr. Stork will have very little to do with the population increase. Instead, the city will continue luring out-of-towners with its jobs, vast options for higher education, opportunities in diverse industries, relatively — at the moment — low cost of living, and a welcoming culture that embraces newcomers. And, as these transplants flood the town like a broken spigot, the population will also continue to get younger and more diverse. With population shares of Hispanic and Asian Americans doubling over the last 30 years, and Fort Worth’s median age clocking in at five years under the national average, one can expect these trends to continue.

But what does this growth mean for prices, politics, infrastructure, and utilities? Ultimately, this continued boom of new Fort Worthians will have the greatest effect on everything that follows in this article.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS:

  • More people means heavier traffic, pressure on the grid, and maybe even a third area code. But we all know what matters most: your pocketbook. It’s going to get pricey to live in this town.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK:

  • As Fort Worth grows, it will also embrace growth in the right ways, leading to Cowtown’s designation a world-class city.

GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND

(ANNEXATIONS) 

In this version of “The Twilight Zone,” I’m traveling west of the Loop, across the vast open skies of what was once Amon Carter’s domain, where the Fort Worth Star-Telegram boasted an extensive distribution network — throwing newspapers to homes and at pump jacks in West Texas’ major population centers on the rolling plains, including Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, and Amarillo.

Much of this is now Fort Worth in 2050.

OK, yes, this alternate reality is more an imagination run amok.

However, the city’s geographic footprint will expand in the generation to come, much as it has over the preceding 25 years, moving even more significantly into Parker, Johnson, Wise, and Denton counties through the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, the 5-mile-wide zone that borders the city limits in unincorporated areas.

In 1997, the city was 296 square miles. Today, the city is 347 square miles, an increase made through the annexation of its extraterritorial jurisdiction. There’s still a significant amount of ETJ remaining before incorporated suburbs start encroaching on Fort Worth.

Today, the city’s ETJ is 265 square miles. So, Fort Worth will outgrow its brother Dallas — 385 square miles and nowhere to grow — in terms of square miles by 2050.

Fort Worth in the 1980s and 1990s gobbled up ETJ in the Alliance corridor along Interstate 35, one of the city’s most forward-thinking decisions, rivaling those of any of its most visionary leaders in its history.

Fort Worth has always kept its options open on expansion, a mindset completely different from what Dallas did in the 1970s, when that city declined to annex northward. Plano cut them off.

City leaders grappling with unprecedented population growth will likely continue on the path of expanding its borders.

The city’s projected urban sprawl will eventually impact to an even greater degree its edge cities, like Aledo, Benbrook, and Haslet. As Fort Worth expands outward to accommodate population growth, corporate relocations, and infrastructure improvements, the suburbs north, west, southwest, and continuing to the south — did you know Burleson has a population over 50,000? — will be poised to evolve into urban center cities themselves with a blend of business hubs, residential areas, and retail spaces.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS:

  • An expanding city must extend utilities, roads, public transit — more traffic! — and emergency services to newly incorporated areas. Upgrades are — surprise — costly.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK:

  • Conversely, an expanded city will increase the tax base, generating more revenue for public services, infrastructure, and schools. New commercial development increases economic activity, attracting businesses and creating more jobs.

NEIGHBORHOODS WILL BECOME MORE WALKABLE

(CITY PLANNING)

As Fort Worth gobbles up land like a Pac-Man ingesting ZIP codes, the city and its residents will fight their natural urge to fall into the trappings of the urban sprawl. This inclination to build out instead of up is a common habit among cities in the Central Time Zone. But it’s a pattern Fort Worth will break.

Instead of space making — an obsession with five-figure-square-footage homes and large acreage lots that place extra burdens on the grid and water supplies — the city’s residents, both new and old, will embrace placemaking. New communities with condos, apartments, townhomes, grocery stores, retailers, movie theaters, concert venues, coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and, most importantly, sidewalks will start to sprout up. Diverse groups of people who earn a wide range of incomes will inhabit these densely populated areas, where they can work, eat, sleep, and play without adding pressure to the city’s infrastructure.

In fact, such pockets of hyper-convenience are already beginning to take shape. The South Main Village in the city’s Near Southside is priming itself to be an example that future communities can follow. Located within walking distance of T&P Station and the fancy new digs of Texas A&M School of Law, the area has multistory buildings filled with 500-square-foot studio apartments as well as larger complexes that offer multiroom condos and amenities out the wazoo. And multiple coffee shops, bars, restaurants, breweries, concert venues, an apothecary, and even a bodega with great sandwiches reside within walking distance of anyone who calls this village home. We aren’t exaggerating when we say one could reside in this community and have every one of their needs met without having to own a car. Dare we say, “No car? How un-Texas of South Main Village.”

It might sound like an against-the-grain idea that flies in the face of Fort Worth’s wide-open West and a cowboy’s inherent need to “own land,” but for the city to achieve sustainable growth and become an inviting place for young talent, such urban communities will exist in multiples. Yes, even in the Stockyards.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Urban density will strip Fort Worth of its “big city with a small-town feel” charm, leading to a metropolitan area overrun by young, overcaffeinated techies who’ve never milked a cow in their lives.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • Successfully combating the spawl, the city’s advocacy for placemaking has resulted in Fort Worth becoming a haven for young, skilled workers, and three Fortune 500 companies are considering a move to Cowtown.

WILL HAVE STREETCARS AND LESS CAR CARS

(PUBLIC TRANSIT AND INFRASTRUCTURE)  

In this seesawing political climate, we wouldn’t dare share any conjectures on the future of electric vehicles or previously promised federal funding for public transit projects. We can, however, say with certainty that exponentially more Fort Worthians will be hopping around the city via some form of public transit in 2050.

Despite more homegrown oil drilling and dipping into the billions upon billions of barrels of U.S. oil reserves, gas prices are likely to continue to outrage, and the city’s penchant for widening highways, byways, and country roads won’t have the slightest effect on decreasing congestion. Sick of high prices and a concrete infrastructure that never had a chance to keep up with population growth, it’s likely that some folks will take refuge in the public transit system — whether by the soon-to-expand TEXRail, bus, or rideshare. And as ridership increases, the demand for a more robust public transit system could become the order of the day. And with densely populated urban villages now speckled throughout the city, natural stops for a streetcar line have emerged.

The city is no stranger to streetcars, having once been home to over 40 miles of streetcar lines that operated throughout the city between 1876 and 1937. And in 2010, the City Council revisited the streetcar but ultimately voted down a proposed line that once seemed likely to pass.

Ideal for tourists and locals alike, the 2050 line will connect most of the city’s inner residential and entertainment districts, and we suspect young Fort Worthians will have already embraced the system as a popular alternative for work commutes; museum days; Stock Show events; and night-time treks for dining out, concerts, Bass Hall performances, and social gatherings.

Now, with more streetcars and fewer car cars, congestion will decrease, making any additional concrete driving paths unnecessary. Thus, the fight for an improved infrastructure will shift from roads to rails. And with an increased population, rise in median income, and the potential for a city budget that prioritizes transit, Trinity Metro, Fort Worth’s transit agency, could obtain the funding necessary for a light rail. While it’s wishful thinking that such a scenario could unfold before 2050, it’s not out of the question. After all, this is an area in which Fort Worth is playing catch-up.

Add to this the proposed $30 billion high-speed rail line connecting Fort Worth to Dallas and carrying on to Houston, come 2050, the way Fort Worthians get around will be unrecognizable.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Streetcars and light rail systems that resulted from the uptick in urban villages won’t service anyone in the suburbs, so most people are paying for something they never use.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK:

  • A robust public transit system does far more than provide affordable transportation for urban dwellers, it will also improve Fort Worth’s air quality, increase property value resulting in higher revenue for the city, and attract young talent to the city.

WILL BECOME THE SILICON VALLEY OF THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

(TRIED AND TRUE INDUSTRY)

They’re still testing aircraft near the old Carswell Air Force Base, but that’s no longer the F-35 you hear screaming through the sky, but a different jet fighter altogether. Something we suspect causes a sigh of relief.

Not long after President Donald Trump’s reelection, his then-recent appointee to head the newly christened Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, put Fort Worth into a frenzy when he suggested the Department of Defense put an end to the F-35 program. For those who don’t know, the F-35 is a fifth-generation combat aircraft made right here in Fort Worth by Lockheed Martin. While his criticisms were not directed at the craftsmanship of our fellow Fort Worthians, his suggestion that the aircraft amounted to little more than wasteful spending put at risk the jobs of 16,400 Lockheed Martin employees at its Fort Worth facility.

While this shows the potential for tumult due to political winds, regardless of what happens to the F-35 program — very unlikely to be canceled, by the way — Fort Worth will remain a mecca for the aviation and aerospace industries. In addition to Musk’s punching bag, there’s another aircraft soon to come equipped with a “Made in Cowtown” sticker. In December 2024, Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter announced plans to construct a $632 million factory in Alliance to build the Army’s next-generation assault helicopter, the V-280 Valor.

If you’re keeping score, that means Fort Worth will soon be the manufacturing hub of the two preeminent combat aircraft for all branches of service — the Air Force, Navy, and Marines all use the F-35.

In the coming years, the U.S. Army will deploy the V-280 in 2031, and government purchases of the F-35 are set to end in 2044 — though the aircraft will operate through 2070. However, decades before the aircraft retires, a sixth-generation fighter will already be on deck to take its place. And with China threatening to become the first nation with a sixth-generation fighter, the Navy and Air Force are on a consolidated plan to select an aircraft in the next few years. Lockheed Martin, which won the last two government contracts for combat fighters, might be the odds-on favorite to come out on top.

Whether the F-40-somethings are manufactured in Fort Worth or elsewhere, a win for Lockheed is still a win for Fort Worth.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS:

  • Fort Worth continuing to thrive in the era of the military industrial complex is not the best of looks.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • Fort Worth’s research and development tax credit will lead to an expansive and diverse field of aerospace companies calling Cowtown home.

WILL BECOME THE HOLLYWOOD OF TEXAS

(NEW INDUSTRY)

According to his Wikipedia page, which we have on record is entirely inaccurate, Taylor Sheridan will be 80 years old in 2050. While many successful writers and directors continue to work, sometimes even at a prolific rate, into their golden years — Scorsese, Eastwood, Spielberg, and Coppola to name recent examples — we’d say it’s fair to avoid putting the weight of an entire city’s film industry on the shoulders of someone entering their ninth decade of life.

And while Sheridan could feasibly be amid another batch of popular shows streaming on whatever service is bound to have replaced Paramount+ — are we going to follow John Dutton II into a war-torn 1942? — by now, he would have built a sturdy-enough foundation and lured multiple filmmakers into producing films almost exclusively in Fort Worth.

But, for this to happen, a key domino must fall.

In the Texas film world, a lot is happening right now — the state senate is proposing a $500 million investment into incentives for Texas-based film productions, more than doubling the current incentive program; Matthew McConaughey is headlining Super Bowl commercials in favor of said incentive program; and devastating wildfires are bound to leave Southern California reeling for some time.

Concerning the investment, a number that would exceed the annual $330 million cap in California, those who proposed the bill aren’t mincing their words. Their objective is to make Texas the “motion picture capital of the world.” Yet, budget-conscious lawmakers aren’t thrilled about the high price tag — no matter how charmingly persuasive McConaughey might appear. Perhaps a better way to convince such legislators is to point to Sheridan’s impact on the Fort Worth economy — $700 million since 2015. Of note, Sheridan along with Mayor Mattie Parker spoke to the Texas Senate in October 2024, urging for more incentives.

Our crystal ball is saying the senate passes the bill, opening the flood gates of filmmaking to the Lone Star State. And with a likely gold rush for filmmakers to carve out a piece of that $500 million investment, we suspect many will be keen on choosing the city where the state’s most well-known showrunner filmed the most-watched Paramount+ show ever. Yes, we’re talking about Fort Worth.

In 2050, don’t be shocked if clapboards become a familiar sight.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • That’s a lot of my hard-earned money going to the “Hollywood elite.” I thought we were trying to keep Cali out.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • More jobs, more tax revenue thanks to the expenditures of cast and crew, and few things bring more attention to a city than a popular motion picture. Why wouldn’t we want more of those made here?

DATA CENTERS WILL OUTNUMBER GROCERY STORES

(TECHNOLOGY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE)

Not sure if you’re aware, but artificial intelligence (AI for short) is taking over the world. And the world happens to include Fort Worth; you do the math.

The possible outcomes of such a wrinkle, one that movie directors and cynics long anticipated, are innumerable and mind-boggling. But we can say with 100% certainty that AI and generative AI — the tool most now use to generate “original” text, images, and videos — will have a massive effect on our lives and the city we call home.

We suspect there are two distinct and dissimilar ways in which this new technology will most impact Cowtown.

First, Fort Worth — and by Fort Worth, we mean every facet of the city and how it operates, from police to utilities to waste management — will harness artificial intelligence to improve its residents’ quality of life. Getting assistance from AI to monitor and collect massive amounts of data around traffic flow, air quality, energy usage, criminal activity, and just about everything in-between, the city will become privy to patterns that will greatly influence every decision the city makes, down to the number of nanoseconds a light remains green.

No longer will any ineptitude of city services be chalked up to the very human quirk of making mistakes. Rather, any city errors will be the consequence of software malfunctions or spotty Wi-Fi. No more human brains operating on whims or half-guesses, y’all.

But how does all this artificial intelligence get powered and generated? That brings us to the second way artificial intelligence will change the landscape of Fort Worth.

Over the next two decades, the demand for data centers, facilities full of computing infrastructure necessary for such technology to exist, will continue to increase, and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex will become a hub of these massive, power-hungry facilities. In fact, the writing is on the wall.

With dozens already in the area and two new data centers now under construction, the metroplex is the second-largest data center market in the U.S. And with Texas’ friendliness toward the energy industry unlikely to wane, North Texas will become Data Capital,  USA. In other words, as Houston is to oil, Dallas/Fort Worth will be to data.

Even more jarring, with the popularity of online shopping extending to our food, grocery stores will become fewer and more niche. And, in 2050, those data centers powering your online shopping will outnumber physical grocery stores in Fort Worth.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Have you not seen “The Terminator”?

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • While our reliance on the digital can be depressing, the city will become more efficient, and the new data centers will also employ Fort Worthians and pay taxes, generating revenue for the city.

ECONOMIC GROWTH WILL OCCUR ON BOTH SIDES OF I-35 WITH MINIMAL DISPLACEMENT

(GENTRIFICATION)

One of the biggest concerns when one speaks of economic growth directly east of I-35 is gentrification. When new businesses arrive, new developments get green-lit, new housing gets built, and property values increase and rent prices go up. Suddenly priced out of their residences, lower-income and disadvantaged families and individuals are forced to leave. While this is a natural cycle and evolution of neighborhoods, there are ways to boost economic growth within a particular neighborhood while minimizing displacement.

And Fort Worth might already have the blueprint.

A new urban village at Evans and Rosedale is set to reshape a large chunk of the Historic Southside and Hillside neighborhoods of Fort Worth. However, the developer had to meet certain stipulations defined by the city, such as the inclusion of affordable housing and use of minority subcontractors. According to the upcoming urban village’s Milwaukee-based developer, Royal Capital, the final design of the Evans and Rosedale development included significant input from the community.

Ultimately, a development with mixed-income housing and shops, eateries, and entertainment options tailored to the community that exists instead of one they’re trying to attract, could provide new options and opportunities for locals, lower crime rates, and improve infrastructure without significant increases in cost of living. Yes, Fort Worth is having its cake and eating it, too.

In this prediction of the future, this handsome and walkable urban village will become a shining example of how to develop a neighborhood with a disadvantaged population. And you’ll see several more developments just like it throughout the city.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Putting such stipulations on new developments will only stymie growth. And with no increase in property taxes, the city is getting no additional revenue for its trouble.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • Some types of growth needn’t be stretched beyond certain boundaries. And staying within those limitations will centralize growth and promote population density, which is precisely what the city needs.

WILL EMBRACE ENERGY IN ALL ITS FORMS

(OIL AND GAS AND RENEWABLES)

Fort Worth was once home to an office of every major oil company, had seven oil refineries, and reaped massive benefits from the seven-year boom of the Barnett Shale. This boom, which once provided 40% of the natural gas in the U.S., kicked off the shale revolution in the early aughts and led to the U.S. becoming self-sufficient in oil and gas. There are no two ways about it, Cowtown wasn’t just an oil and gas town, it was at the center of the industry.

Eventually, the Barnett Shale gas production slowed — it now accounts for less than 2% of U.S. natural gas — the oil refineries closed shop, and many oil and gas companies left town. But with alternative forms of energy becoming more necessary and reliance on oil and gas decreasing, Fort Worth has a unique opportunity to reclaim its title and become a hub of new forms of energy.

We suspect, by 2050, that Fort Worth’s old moniker of being an “oil and gas town” will expand to the much broader “energy town.” And, according to the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, the city is already taking the steps necessary “to build an ecosystem that spans the full energy spectrum — from generation and production, to distribution, storage and other downstream applications.”

On the docket is a new facility by Siemens that will produce the low-voltage switchgear that will power those previously mentioned data centers. Elsewhere, a rare earth manufacturing factory is near completion in North Fort Worth, which will produce materials critical to power electric vehicles. And, speaking of EVs, in January 2024, LG opened its first U.S. factory to produce EV charging stations.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Alternative forms of energy might remain just that, alternative forms of energy. Fort Worth might be building an ecosystem for something that people simply don’t want.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • With little return from the shale these days, Fort Worth is better off embracing new forms of energy. The upside, getting a leg up in the industry, is far greater than any downside.

CONSERVATION OF UTILITIES WILL BE FRONT OF MIND

(WATER AND THE GRID)

By 2050, your utility prices will go up. Way up. Sorry, but the inevitable increase in population will lead to the inevitable increase in the cost of utilities. Increased demand = increased prices.

But beyond the basic economics of the issue, Fort Worth will soon have to address hurdles with water and electricity supply. Tarrant Regional Water District, which covers 11 counties, operates the four reservoirs from which Fort Worth gets most of its drinking water (Lake Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain Lake, Cedar Creek Lake, and Richland-Chambers Lake). But if Fort Worth’s growing population continues to expand outward into high-water-usage areas, new water restrictions could become a city ordinance.

While TRWD has taken steps to combat the potential for water shortages, including the 150-mile integrated pipeline that taps into existing reservoirs outside TRWD’s service area, the region will require 1.3 million acres of water supply by 2080 to meet water demand. Fortunately, the potential for two new reservoirs, both to be completed by 2050, could put a dent in that.

On the electricity side, demand in Texas is expected to double — the result of population increase and the potential for greater EV use. Such projections have put state officials in a tizzy to incentivize the development of new natural gas-powered generation plants. While natural gas isn’t renewable, these plants could be a necessity if the state and ERCOT want to avoid the frequent brown outs like those experienced in California.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • The unreliable grid will remain just that, unreliable. Let us not forget the freeze of 2021.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • The TRWD remains a proactive, forward-thinking water district with great foresight and has earned trust. But long-term solutions for Texas’ grid remain to be seen.

WILL TURN BLUE. POLITICALLY, THAT IS

(LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS)

With migration to Fort Worth occurring at a record pace, it stands to reason the population — projected to be around 1.5 million by 2050 — will reflect an increased diversity.

That will naturally lead to more diversity of thought and an electorate comprising a larger percentage of Hispanic, African American, and Asian voters, groups that historically lean Democratic.

Add to that an expected surge in young voters with Fort Worth and Tarrant County fast becoming a hub for research and university offerings and you likely have a blue city, a trend that has already begun with statewide candidates.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz hasn’t won Tarrant County since 2012. Donald Trump is two for three. In other words, if turnout is high, it’s a struggle.

Those downtown and urban neighborhoods, already Democratic, will likely become even more solidly blue as the population density increases and young professionals, students, and diverse communities are predominant in those areas.

The suburbs in the county still lean heavy Republican. Those areas are what got Republican Betsy Price beat in her primary against County Judge Tim O’Hare in 2022. Will there be a shift? More than likely. Urban sprawl will make them more competitive. Moreover, new suburbs may develop more diverse, middle-class populations that tend to favor more centrist politics, pushing these areas toward a purple hue.

Four factors will in all likelihood significantly impact the political direction: climate change and sustainability, and water scarcity. Two, affordable housing. And, three, policies surrounding public transportation. Lastly, public education.

National political dynamics will also serve to influence where we all stand in 2050.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Does a Democratic-led city that knows how to deal with all the issues of urbanity exist? Housing, homelessness and social services strains, crime and public safety, and business and tax policy. If they’re out there, they hide very well.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • Blue cities tend to be economic powerhouses, attracting tech, finance, health care, and creative industries. See Austin and Silicon Valley.

WILL GET EDUCATED ON EDUCATION

(SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES) 

Texas A&M’s emerging campus on the southeast side of the downtown — once so desolate and sleepy a place, I saw a panther hibernating down there … I swear — is representative of our own little renaissance on the Western frontier.

The transformation of that quiet corner into full bloom as the campus of Fort Worth-Texas A&M is something much more than that. Business and innovation have already begun to invest and locate to Fort Worth because of what is happening down there.

That’s not all that’s going on.

TCU’s medical school is off the ground and running, doing its part to see that the burgeoning Medical District expands into a regional health care leader with cutting-edge hospitals and research facilities. Theirs and A&M’s presence will lead to biotech companies looking for a home here. Texas Wesleyan is refining course offerings to better suit professionals in search of additional education. And UT Arlington, seeing the demographic writing on the wall, is making a huge investment in Fort Worth, plotting to build a 51-acre campus to serve a booming portion of North Texas region to serve up to 10,000 students when finally built out.

By 2100, Aledo, with a population of 6,200, as of 2023, is expected to be the population center of the region. Egads!

They’ll have a choice to go to school nearby.

Tarrant County College, too, will continue to ramp up offerings for those whose not on a traditional college path. Its HVAC program is already one of the best in the state.

The expanded educational presence will foster a more educated workforce and ensure Fort Worth’s future is one as a hub for research and innovation.

Primary and second education? Only the good Lord knows. We’re hopeful the kids can start reading and doing the maths at grade level in Fort Worth. It will likely depend on the social issues, namely, familial units with strong leadership.

Our fingers are crossed.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Finding a negative is difficult, unless, of course, the public schools don’t get their stuff together.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • Fort Worth becomes something akin to Florence and Venice on the Western frontier, producing a ready workforce for all the industry clamoring for space.

NEWS OUTLETS (HOWEVER THEY EXIST) WILL CONTINUE TO DO THEIR JOBS

(MEDIA)

Twenty-five years ago, a somewhat sensible person could have logically predicted daily newspapers would have gone the way of the Tasmanian tiger by now. At the forefront of digital communication — a new, shiny thing at the time — it seemed possible that the online blog wouldn’t just take a bite out of traditional news, but completely supplant it.

Of course, any such predictions would have been very wrong. While we’re saddened to admit that journalism and city dailies are far from thriving — this isn’t the Star-Telegram of the Amon G. Carter days — we are, however, surviving. And if the last 25 years is any proof of the media’s resiliency, news outlets will continue to evolve, adapt, and survive.

While it’s difficult to predict digital trends, it is likely that social media, and this includes all the never-ending global feeds of infinite and instantaneous content, will somehow become even more prevalent in our daily lives. These channels will morph into the ecosystems by which we do absolutely everything — work, communicate, pay bills, learn, shop, watch TV, listen to music, etc.; their algorithms feeding you everything you want to see and hear. And media — newspapers, magazines, broadcast channels, and digital news outlets — no matter the medium, will be right there vying for your attention.

While the Star-Telegram has taken some hits and no longer prints daily, we’re not counting them out in the year 2050 quite yet. It’s still a name that carries emotional weight in Cowtown, and we suspect someone will carry on the Star-Telegram title. It’s unlikely to go back to being a daily, and it might even go completely digital, but they’ll remain in your social media feeds, or wherever you’re consuming content.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • The bigger problem is the fact few trust major media sources anymore, and regaining that trust is essential for its survival.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • Glaring conflicts of interest aside, Jeff Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post is of high interest for two reasons. First, it’s positive he sees potential growth. Second, how will that growth come?

THE MEDICAL DISTRICT WILL ADD CUTTING-EDGE TO ITS LEXICON 

(HEALTHCARE)

Fort Worth becoming a medical hub isn’t a prediction awash in wishful thinking or niceties. No, Fort Worth becoming a medical hub is a necessity. After Cowtown eclipses Dallas in population, such a city shouldn’t require anyone to leave town, even if only across the metroplex, for treatment or a medical procedure. While the city has a robust medical infrastructure and a nationally ranked public hospital system that ensures the long and healthy lives of its residents, where it falls behind is in medical research and cutting-edge technology and procedures.

Over the last half-dozen years, Fort Worth’s health care industry has been on a growth trajectory that has largely kept up with its population boom. The astronomical growth of the UNT Health Science Center, the recent establishment of the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, the opening of the Moncrief Cancer Institute, and the expansions of both JPS and Cook Children’s Medical Center, are all positive developments and incredible institutions that serve a community. Over the next 25 years, one can expect Fort Worth’s health care infrastructure to continue to grow as needed.

TCU’s Burnett School of Medicine serves as the biggest opportunity for research and innovation in health care. Most cutting-edge medical advancements happen at clinics tied to well-regarded medical schools and, while the newness of TCU’s program means it might take a while, the potential for it to become a major player in the medical industry can’t be overstated. The school’s current location in the Near Southside gives it great access to all the area’s major hospitals to research and perform clinical work. And we posit that, one day, TCU will be slapping its name on one of those hospitals.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Despite JPS’s high national ranking, how is Fort Worth still home to the ZIP code (76104) with the state’s lowest life expectancy?

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • As TCU’s Burnett School of Medicine becomes more recognized and its reputation continues to improve, the school will become a positive influence on an already strong  medical district.

CULINARY SCENE WILL ATTRACT FOOD TOURISTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

(RESTAURANTS AND ENTERTAINMENT) 

It might take a few years, but those disappointed in Cowtown’s lack of Michelin stars during the guidebook’s visit to the Lone Star State will get their frowns turned upside down. Absorbing some culinary lessons, the city’s chefs and restaurateurs will lead Fort Worth into a major dining boom.

This foodie revolution will be the result of a perfect storm of inspiring cuisines from local chefs, an influx of curious and cultured incoming residents willing to try wild dishes, and the city of Fort Worth making some revisions to its arduous 63-regulatory-step process to open a new restaurant — don’t worry, the cuts won’t affect food quality or health and safety.

While we predict this will happen long before 2050 rolls around, the newly minted world-class dining scene will have some staying power.

To date, no Fort Worth restaurant has ever been honored by the two most prestigious groups that make it their duty to judge eateries: James Beard Foundation and the Michelin Guide. While our crystal ball isn’t granting us any exact figures, we do predict by 2050, Fort Worth will have multiple restaurants honored by both.

And, yes, Cowtown will still have the best barbecue.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Can we please not lose the charm of our local dining scene by inviting foodie tourists to the table?

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • A city’s food scene is indicative of a city’s diversity, energy, prosperity, and general good taste. Improving the quality of Fort Worth’s restaurants cements its status as a world-class city.

SUNDANCE SQUARE WILL BE AT FULL OCCUPANCY

(DOWNTOWN)

Just a few months ago, we never thought the magnificent Victorian street clock in front of the downtown location of Haltom’s Jewelers would ever disappear. Nor did we suspect Haltom’s Jewelers itself would ever close.  And yet, the corner of Main and Third is now void of timepieces and jewelry stores.

Then again, it’s easy to argue the shuttering of Haltom’s shouldn’t have come as a surprise. When it comes to Sundance Square, the 35-block jewel of Fort Worth’s downtown, predicting vacancies and occupancies is a fool’s errand. The area is a vortex where logic has no residency and leases have no staying power. It’s become routine for long-standing and popular institutions to close their doors for good as quickly as it takes them to turn the lock.

As disturbing as the trend is, we don’t see it lasting till 2050. And the reason is simple: It’s bad business. Having that many vacancies and a revolving door of businesses would make one think this area is in a rough part of town, not one of the most walkable and highly trafficked areas of the 11th largest city in the United States. So, regardless of what’s happening now, the bottom line will eventually dictate getting great, popular tenants to occupy every available space in Sundance Square.

Concerning the rest of downtown, reuse and urbanization will result in more living spaces, office spaces, and maybe even a few new skyscrapers. Downtown will continue to push west, where you’ll see vacant lots and single-story office spaces become high-rise office buildings, condos, and urban apartments.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Sure, Sundance Square might be at full occupancy, but spaces full of obscure art galleries and plant shops aren’t going to lure many downtown.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • Bass Performance Hall, Sundance Plaza, and the walk down Main Street. If those things still exist in 25 years, Fort Worth has one of the most incredible downtowns regardless of who occupies the spaces.

PANTHER ISLAND WILL BE DELAYED, BUT IT WILL EXIST

(PANTHER ISLAND)

According to recent reports, those at the helm of the Central City federal flood control project, colloquially referred to as Panther Island, are still holding out hope for a 2032 completion date.

The project, which has been in the works since 2001, is a $1.16 billion canalization of the Trinity River just north of downtown that will give way to a massive urban village on an 800-acre island. The new island will be the result of a bypass channel built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will reroute part of the Trinity. The bypass is also supposed to relieve stress on Fort Worth’s 21 miles of levees and protect thousands of acres from flooding — hence how the city managed to secure the federal funding.

It’s an ambitious project that has long been hindered by changes to the plan, changes to funding — Congress authorized over $500 million in federal funding, but the project had received only $62 million through 2022 — and changes in leadership.

If the channels are, in fact, completed by 2032, the island will now be visible and ripe for construction at a location that would have any developer licking their chops. The current plan calls for mixed-use buildings, green spaces, hotels, sports facilities, and a heck of a lot more. It’s a dense urban village that will need a solid infrastructure of roads, potential rail lines, and utilities and will take years upon years to develop and build. Of course, the above plan is also sure to be tweaked.

At the moment, there’s no set timeline for the island’s eventual development. But with the Army Corps of Engineers promising completion of the bypass by 2032, we feel confident Panther Island will exist by 2050. And we’ll go one step further and say that developments — apartments, restaurants, retailers, etc. — will exist, in some capacity, on the island. After taking so long to get the bypass done, we doubt anyone drags their feet to develop this prime piece of real estate.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • $1.16 billion? So, is this the going rate for swamp land?

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • Needing urban development, Panther Island provides 800 acres-worth of mixed-use development that will become one of the hottest spots in town.

DFW AIRPORT WILL HAVE A TERMINAL G

(AIR TRAVEL)

Terminal F, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s sixth terminal that comes with a $1.6 billion price tag, is set to open in 2027. And don’t expect this to be the sole addition before 2050 rolls around.

According to forecasts from the Federal Aviation Association, DFW Airport ‘s passenger traffic and airline flights could grow by as much as 80%. While the metroplex’s population boom is partially to blame for this increase, most of the traffic will come via connecting passengers. As aviation becomes more accessible to the global population, the demand for flights will increase.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, air traffic is expected to double over the next 20 years. And, with Love Field legally constrained to 20 gates, no airport exists that can take the load off DFW. This, of course, means more gates — the airport likes to add them four or five at a time into connecting areas between terminals — more Skylink stops — which itself will get a facelift — and likely another terminal. Terminal G.

The airport will also have some new electric-powered, or perhaps hybrid, planes taking off, landing, and parking. While Airbus’ previous electric airliner program (E-Fan X) failed to achieve liftoff thanks to COVID, we wouldn’t be shocked if they pick up the pieces, give it another go, and sell a couple planes to more adventurous airlines doing shorter trips.

Perhaps our most confident prediction for the airport in 2050 is a halt of all paper tickets to board planes. That’s right, like everything else, the airport will fully embrace your touch-screen mobile device, making those tracing-paper-thin tickets only good for emergency tissue.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • The fact the airport will become 80% more crowded means DFW will be ground zero for the next pandemic and will give a large chunk of Fort Worth’s population even more reason to avoid air travel.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • With two new terminals, this might also mean two more TGI Fridays.

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS WILL REMAIN EAST OF FORT WORTH

(PRO SPORTS)

[NOTE: For the sake of this argument, we’re electing to put aside the notion that most Fort Worthians likely consider any squad with Dallas in their name a “home team.”]

The average lifespan of a professional sports team stadium is 30 years. If this statistic holds true, this means all four of the metroplex’s major sports franchises (Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, Stars) will be playing in new arenas, domes, or ballparks by 2050 — with the Rangers set to debut their new digs.

With the prospect of a new stadium comes handwringing among city officials; there’s always that slight threat a team could pack their bags and go elsewhere. It’s no mistake that a team’s lease with the city typically lasts 30 years.

So, let’s imagine for a second that each of the four professional teams in the metroplex, upon completion of their 30-year leases, are considering a new home. Could Fort Worth, with its climb up the population rankings and acres upon acres of unused land, be an attractive option? There’s no doubt the city could make a push for it. After all, snagging one of these teams that already exists within Fort Worth’s media market might be the city’s best chance to get a professional sports franchise.

While it’s feasible the Rangers could make the leap to Fort Worth, despite their stadium being 30 years old in 2050, their lease with Arlington technically doesn’t expire until 2054 due to their building the new park four years before their previous lease expired in 2024. Thus, their new 30-year lease goes to 2054. Also, the Rangers have had a long history in Arlington and are unlikely to leave town.

The Cowboys, perhaps still owned and managed by Jerry Jones in an iron lung, have never had a problem with switching up cities yet retaining the name “Dallas.” Their lease with Arlington expires in 2039, and some land in the exploding Alliance Corridor might make for a great new Jerry World. But it’s doubtful the Cowboys will want to move that far away from the metroplex’s main population center, which, even in 2050, will be Dallas. However, Jerry did take a glance at the Alliance Corridor 25 years ago.

The Mavericks, who sold their team to a family of Las Vegas natives and just traded away arguably the best player in the NBA, could very well move. Anything is possible. But, like the Stars, a move to Fort Worth doesn’t do anything for them.

Perhaps the best way for Cowtown to get professional ball is for the metroplex to grow to such an astronomical size that it warrants two franchises, and one of the leagues awards Fort Worth an expansion team — a la Los Angeles. This is not our prediction, mind you, but it is fun to imagine.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • At least require a team’s name to include the city in which they play, not the city next to it.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • With Arlington likely to remain the metroplex’s  hotbed of professional sports, at least Fort Worthians won’t have to return to the days of traveling to Dallas for games.

WILL REMAIN THE CAPITAL OF COWBOY CULTURE

(PRESERVING OUR ROOTS)

Some people say their greatest fear is public speaking. Others might say loneliness, rejection, or failure. Indiana Jones says it’s snakes. But for Fort Worthians, they fear losing their identity, losing the thing that distinguishes them from others — those charming cowboy yeehawisms carried down from generation to generation that make them uniquely Fort Worthian.

While this Fort Worth culture is rooted in its people, it’s also represented in things like the Stockyards, the Herd, Billy Bob’s Texas, and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. So, when people catch wind of urban dwellings around the very un-urban Stockyards, or a fast-food joint rubbing up against Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, it’s only natural to get a little worried about the future of our hometown.

Truth is, these very un-Fort Worth developments — we call them un-Fort Worth because they fly in the face of our small-town vibe — are inevitable and ultimately important for the growth and sustainability of the city. The Stockyards are going to change. Some of the changes we’ll like, and others we won’t. But the Herd will still walk down the bricks of East Exchange Avenue twice a day and Billy Bob’s Texas will still have line dancing on Tuesday. Yes, both will be happening in 2050.

With cowboy fashion and the world of Western culture experiencing an en vogue renaissance, the fad of pearl snaps, Stetsons, and bandanas is likely to fade in the next few years. No, in 2050, rodeos won’t be nearly as celebrated around the U.S. as they are right now, so enjoy.

But we also predict that in 2050, rodeos will be just as cool in Fort Worth as they have always been. Despite newcomers from every other state in the union and developers going scorched earth on Cowtown lore, Fort Worth isn’t going to lose the things that made it Fort Worth.

NAYSAYING NOSTRADAMUS SAYS: 

  • Urban apartments within one’s eyeline while watching the Fort Worth Herd is just plain wrong no matter how you slice it.

THE ROSE-COLORED OUTLOOK: 

  • Successfully straddling the line between progress and preservation, Fort Worth graduates to world-class-city status while sticking to its Cowtown roots.

CONCLUSION

The following might be obvious, but we’re going to say it anyway: It’s impossible to predict the future. New technologies, political strife, international conflict, asteroids threatening our very existence, or, if you’re into astrology, specific planets in retrograde — we live in an erratic and uncertain world full of events that can affect the trajectory of our lives. Each of these predictions is simply a shot in the dark.

So, if in 25 years you find your robots dusting off your old Fort Worth Magazines and your AI pal reading aloud the words from this article, please don’t judge these predictions too harshly. Like a 5-year-old writing about what they want to be when they grow up, we’re approaching this with just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Perhaps we should have approached a modern-day seer as a subject matter expert, or maybe our grasp was limited by a refusal to use generative AI. Regardless, when we revisit this — whether in 10 or 25 years — we’re open to the possibility that it could induce a mighty cringe. But such is the nature of predicting our future.

---FOO BAR