The Douglass has been here since before Plano was much of anything. Families built homes, a school and churches on these few blocks, and many of them never left. Others moved away and still drive back every Sunday.
This fall, the Douglass Community Neighborhood Association asked those people what life is like here now and what should happen next. Some filled out the paper form at church. Some talked it through out loud with a voice guide on their phone. Here’s what they said.
Each dot is one person who took the survey.
Color them by how long they’ve been connected to The Douglass, and the neighborhood’s memory shows up right away.
Deep roots are people here 20+ years or who grew up here. Settled is 6 to 20 years. Newer is under 5. Connected means they work, worship or have family here.
43% of people who answered have deep roots. That’s the biggest group by far.
A lot of them don’t live here anymore. 66 grew up in The Douglass and moved away, and they still cared enough to answer.
Now just the people who live here today. The filled dots own their home.
Among long-time residents, 72% are homeowners. Among newer residents, it’s 30%. Most newcomers rent.
We asked everyone to rate the quality of life in The Douglass from 1 to 5.
Newer residents are the happiest (average 3.8). The people with the deepest roots rate it lowest (3.3).
They love this place. They’ve also watched it change.
The biggest need isn’t a mystery. Its size is.
Everyone could pick up to five needs that feel biggest in the community right now. Before we show you, make a guess.
Show as a table
Affordable housing wasn’t close. More than half the people who answered put it on their list. Home repair and youth programs come next, nearly tied.
Those first two are really the same worry. When a house needs a new roof and property taxes keep going up, a family that’s been here 60 years starts getting calls from developers.
Five issues. Twenty choices. Pick carefully.
This was the question that matters most for DCNA’s next five years. Of 20 possible priorities, each person picked five and put them in order.
Switch between groups. Watch what moves.
Show as a table
Two neighborhoods, one list
Put the ranking from people with deep roots next to the ranking from newer residents. Most priorities hold their place. A few jump.
Newer residents push childcare way up. Many are young parents renting their first place here. Deep-roots residents lift arts, culture and history. They want the story kept, not just the houses.
Neither group is wrong. A five-year plan has to hold both.
“If you could make one change…”
This was the one question people were asked to take their time on. Most talked it through out loud. We sorted every answer into the themes that came up again and again.
Tap a theme to read what people said. Quotes are illustrative, written to match the mock data.
Newer neighbors feel less at home
Most people feel safe in The Douglass and connected to it. Those numbers drop for people who arrived in the last five years, on both counts.
Only 36% of newer residents feel connected to the community, against 73% of people with deep roots. The neighbors most likely to need a way in are the ones with the fewest ties. That’s a job for block parties and porch conversations as much as programs.
The good news: people want in.
Here’s how they said they’d show up.
What happens next
These results feed DCNA’s 2026–2031 plan. The top priorities become the programs and grant requests DCNA goes after first, and the people who raised their hand become the volunteers who run them.
We’re also taking the findings to the front porch. Front Porch Conversations, a community conversation series hosted in The Douglass, is planned to start October 10.
About this data
These are mock responses. The survey is still open, so this story runs on 412 generated responses shaped like the real questionnaire. Every question, option and scoring rule matches the live form, so real results can drop in without changing the page. None of the numbers or quotes here should be cited.
- Groups come from “How long have you lived in or been connected to The Douglass?” Deep roots is more than 20 years or grew up here. Settled is 6–20 years. Newer is under 5 years. Connected is people who work, worship, attend school or have family here.
- Priorities show the share of each group who put a priority anywhere in their top five (Q30).
- Needs (Q10) and ways to help (Q38) allowed several picks, so shares add up to more than 100%.
- “One change” (Q33) answers are open-ended. Each is sorted into one theme.
- Mock data comes from
scripts/make_mock_data.py(seeded, so it’s repeatable).