Dallas and Fort Worth, team of rivals

Regionalism is simply more effective, according to experts and politicians in Fort Worth.

More than 100 key metro Atlanta leaders heard that message today at the start of a four-day look at that region’s progress and how it has confronting many of the same issues challenging Atlanta.

“What is good for Fort Worth is good for Dallas, and vice versa,” said Betsy Price, mayor of Fort Worth.

The Atlanta group includes political, business, transportation, economic development and philanthropic leaders and is organized by the Atlanta Regional Commission, its 20th LINK trip. It is also the second time that LINK has done Dallas, however it has been more than 15 years since LINK’s last look at the Big D.

“You have to find a common interest you have to paint a picture of a common interest,” the group was told by Timothy Bray, director of the Urban Policy Research Group at the University of Texas. “Because it is not always in our nature.”

Much of the change in Dallas and Fort Worth is a bow to reality, said Mike Eastland, executive director of the North Central Texas Council of Governments. “The world has forced us to act regionally.”

Dallas and Atlanta, arguably the two largest business hubs in the southeast United States, are perceived by leaders in both cities as both rivals and peers. So the LINK group hopes to get a clear sense of how Dallas and Atlanta are similar, as well as how they differ.