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The cast of Dallas
Dallas has come a long way since the TV show that bore its name. Photograph: Fotos International/Rex Photograph: Fotos International/Rex Features
Dallas has come a long way since the TV show that bore its name. Photograph: Fotos International/Rex Photograph: Fotos International/Rex Features

Can Dallas, Texas ride the New Cities Summit towards a new self-image?

This article is more than 9 years old

The legendary oil city is hoping its impending urbanism conference sheds light on the cultural and technological shifts going on there. As ever, we’d like you to be part of the debate

We've been cheering along the competition to find the best urban app. At last, as the third incarnation of the New Cities Summit kicks off in eight days' time, that contest will end in victory for one of the three finalists: the ride-share service Djump, the biking app Social Cyclist or the borrowing-from-the-neighbours tool Peerby.

The summit isn't just about apps, though. Ninety-odd speakers, including mayors of cities in Africa, Asia and Europe, as well as starry academics, corporate reps and more, will gather over three days (17-19 June) in Dallas, Texas. One strand we're particularly looking forward to, a hit of previous events, is WhatWorks. This is a miniseries of 10 speakers discussing their urban innovations, across sectors such as farming, crime, waste, energy and design.

One example is NextDrop, an app that monitors urban water distribution from source to tap, in order to minimise shortages. There's also Strawberry Tree, a public solar charger for mobile devices. Its creators call it a "piece of green urban furniture", and it acts as a Wi-Fi station and phone recharger, using solar energy stored in batteries to feed out juice regardless of the weather or time of day.

Strawberry Tree
Glass ceiling ... the solar-powered mobile phone charger Strawberry Tree Photograph: Strawberry Energy

Dallas will hope the summit dispels any remnants of its 80s reputation for big hair and shoulder pads (just as they're becoming fashionable again, too) and underlines its ambitions as a cultural and technological hub. The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth – two urban districts that combine to form the fourth-largest in the US – will both be holding court, and the summit is being staged at the Winspear Opera House, part of a 20-square-block area of cultural venues known as the Dallas Arts District.

Blogs such as Patrick Kennedy's award-winning Car Free in Big D (part of the Guardian Cities network of city bloggers) have been banging on about reinventing Dallas for years. But with Austin seemingly in firm control of the Texas heavyweight title for arts, all eyes will be on whether the New Cities Summit's subtitle – Re-imagining Cities: Transforming the 21st Century Metropolis – applies first and foremost to the host city itself.

During the summit, Guardian Cities will be chairing the Shared City workshop on Tuesday 17 June, which – considering the current controversy surrounding Uber and Airbnb – ought to be a good ol' rodeo. Molly Turner, Airbnb’s director of public policy, is on the panel, along with the likes of Michael Dixon, general manager of IBM’s Smarter Cities, and Corey Zehngebot, senior urban designer at the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

We’d be delighted to feed your thoughts, concerns and criticisms about how we share our cities into the discussion: is the burgeoning “sharing movement” a success, a scam, or both? And where should it go next? Give us your thoughts for the panel in the comments below, or @guardiancities, and follow the debate itself on Twitter using #ncs2014.

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