Matt Goodman
@goodmoine.bsky.social
Co-founder and editor of The Lab Report Dallas, independent journalism from the Child Poverty Action Lab. Previously @dmagazine.bsky.social. On notepads I scribble. matt(at)labreportdallas.com
The mayor of Just Asking Questions.
November 6, 2025 at 4:17 PM
The mayor of Just Asking Questions.
And @joshuafechter.bsky.social's analysis of how the suburbs are fighting the bill is a must-read for you housing heads. www.texastribune.org/2025/09/03/t...
Texas suburbs resist new state law allowing more apartments
Suburban officials in the Dallas-Fort Worth region have enacted rules aimed at curtailing a sweeping new state law to allow more apartments.
www.texastribune.org
September 5, 2025 at 5:55 PM
And @joshuafechter.bsky.social's analysis of how the suburbs are fighting the bill is a must-read for you housing heads. www.texastribune.org/2025/09/03/t...
I wrote about the bill for @labreportdallas.bsky.social
(Social accounts will come to life soon!) About how Dallas planners are embracing the new reality while suburbs seek to limit the developments. And, of course, how it quiets public opposition to multifamily. labreportdallas.com/p/senate-bil...
(Social accounts will come to life soon!) About how Dallas planners are embracing the new reality while suburbs seek to limit the developments. And, of course, how it quiets public opposition to multifamily. labreportdallas.com/p/senate-bil...
The New Law of Building in Texas
State lawmakers passed a bill that makes it legal to build multifamily or mixed-use developments in areas zoned for commercial use. How will this change Dallas-Fort Worth?
labreportdallas.com
September 5, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I wrote about the bill for @labreportdallas.bsky.social
(Social accounts will come to life soon!) About how Dallas planners are embracing the new reality while suburbs seek to limit the developments. And, of course, how it quiets public opposition to multifamily. labreportdallas.com/p/senate-bil...
(Social accounts will come to life soon!) About how Dallas planners are embracing the new reality while suburbs seek to limit the developments. And, of course, how it quiets public opposition to multifamily. labreportdallas.com/p/senate-bil...
The bill, SB 840, has no requirements for affordability. There is also no designation for rental or ownership, which means condos and townhomes are fair game. Developers can now build housing on about 43 percent of land in Dallas that previously required a zoning change.
September 5, 2025 at 5:53 PM
The bill, SB 840, has no requirements for affordability. There is also no designation for rental or ownership, which means condos and townhomes are fair game. Developers can now build housing on about 43 percent of land in Dallas that previously required a zoning change.
ForwardDallas, the city’s updated land use plan that Council approved last year, envisioned density along transit corridors. And transit corridors have a lot of commercial zoning. Here’s a heat map from our data scientists showing commercial properties near job centers.
September 5, 2025 at 5:52 PM
ForwardDallas, the city’s updated land use plan that Council approved last year, envisioned density along transit corridors. And transit corridors have a lot of commercial zoning. Here’s a heat map from our data scientists showing commercial properties near job centers.
The full website goes live in the fall. We’ve hired @kellixsmith.bsky.social, one of Dallas' best reporters, as a staff writer. Email newsletters go out every Wednesday. We want to help Dallas understand what’s working, what’s not, and why. Join us! (Also it’s free.) labreportdallas.com/subscribe
July 18, 2025 at 6:16 PM
The full website goes live in the fall. We’ve hired @kellixsmith.bsky.social, one of Dallas' best reporters, as a staff writer. Email newsletters go out every Wednesday. We want to help Dallas understand what’s working, what’s not, and why. Join us! (Also it’s free.) labreportdallas.com/subscribe
The Lab Report is an editorially independent division of the nonprofit Child Poverty Action Lab, which does critical work to help Dallas curb childhood poverty and make the region better for families. Our publisher, Alan Cohen, introduced the idea here. labreportdallas.com/p/publisher-...
Why CPAL is launching a nonprofit newsroom with Sharon Grigsby & Matt Goodman
The Lab Report is co-founded by longtime local journalists Sharon Grigsby and Matt Goodman. This is why the Child Poverty Action Lab is investing in a new publication.
labreportdallas.com
July 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM
The Lab Report is an editorially independent division of the nonprofit Child Poverty Action Lab, which does critical work to help Dallas curb childhood poverty and make the region better for families. Our publisher, Alan Cohen, introduced the idea here. labreportdallas.com/p/publisher-...
Dallas County's jail is near capacity, so we examined a program aimed at diverting people before they're booked. Cops can take some would-be defendants to a deflection center/mental health provider instead of jail. That isn’t happening. Why is complicated. labreportdallas.com/p/dallas-cou...
If Not Jail, Then Where?
The district attorney believes too many people are being taken to jail who need help more than punishment. Doing something about it is a different story.
labreportdallas.com
July 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Dallas County's jail is near capacity, so we examined a program aimed at diverting people before they're booked. Cops can take some would-be defendants to a deflection center/mental health provider instead of jail. That isn’t happening. Why is complicated. labreportdallas.com/p/dallas-cou...
One of our earliest questions: how the hell do you run a nonprofit right now? Most of the two dozen people Sharon spoke to were too spooked to go on record. (Including the country’s first school dedicated to philanthropy.) She still found hope amid chaos. labreportdallas.com/p/the-safety...
The Safety Net Has Ripped
The Lab Report's first story is an inside look at how nonprofit service providers in North Texas have weathered half a year of 'unprecedented' funding cuts.
labreportdallas.com
July 18, 2025 at 6:14 PM
One of our earliest questions: how the hell do you run a nonprofit right now? Most of the two dozen people Sharon spoke to were too spooked to go on record. (Including the country’s first school dedicated to philanthropy.) She still found hope amid chaos. labreportdallas.com/p/the-safety...