Dallas has a way of doing big things in bad times. It passed the bond election for the Dallas Museum of Art in the midst of raging inflation in 1979. It opened the Meyerson Symphony Center during the collapse of real estate, banking and oil and gas in 1989, and now, in 2009, it's about to launch the Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theater, in the middle of the chronicle of a crash foretold. Every ten years, with catastrophe on every front, Dallas has a way of renewing itself.

It's a tale of two cities, in a way. The race that's shaping up next May for City Council District 13 pits the best of Dallas as we have known it against Dallas in a great wave of becoming.

The future of any city depends on its ability to attract and keep bright and innovative people. So said Richard Florida of the University of Toronto. If he is right, and I suspect he is, then one thing that will really make Dallas a Mecca for young talent is the Katy Trail- Arts Loop. This is a walk-and-bike promenade that connects the Katy Trail not only to the Arts District but also to Victory Park, the Harwood buildings and, eventually, the Trinity River. Using existing streets, it would separate cars from walkers and bikers in a way that keeps everybody safe and happy. How often can you do that? More often than we know.

That was a song from the Dallas Press Club's Gridiron Show years ago, when Turtle Creek was threatened by annihilation, or death by development. Now the Katy Trail, the second treasure in this lovely, leafy part of Dallas (the creek itself, of course, is the first), may be about to come under siege, and some at City Hall seem oblivious to the danger.

What lies ahead in 2008? A new president elected for the country, to be sure. A new presidential library settled, finally, for Dallas, in all likelihood. What else? Here are a few predictions of things to come.