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Forty years ago, the urban core of a typical Texas metropolis was viewed as a collection of office buildings with little else of interest outside of work hours. Indeed, suburbia held court for decades as the uncontested ultimate goal for homeowners: a place they sped away to as quickly as possible at the end of every work day.
But by the mid-nineties, urban planners had begun to change their tune, pointing to America’s most celebrated cities and their enduring popularity among tourists: New York,…