Craftsmanship and the Soul of Cities with Top Real Estate Developer Mike Ablon

More than half the world already lives in cities—and the UN projects that share will rise to 68% by 2050, adding roughly 2.5 billion more people to urban areas. At the same time, the “experience economy” has reshaped what people value in places: not just what a city has, but how it feels to live, work, and gather there. Against that backdrop, fast-growing metros like Dallas–Fort Worth are being forced to answer a high-stakes question: how do you scale growth without losing authenticity?

So what does it actually take to build a city with a soul—one made of neighborhoods people name, remember, and choose across the seasons of their lives?

On this episode of Tuesdays with Morrisey, host Adam Morrisey sits down with Mike Ablon, Principal at PegasusAblon, for a wide-ranging conversation about craftsmanship, urban identity, and the long game of building places where culture and commerce reinforce each other. Together, they explore Mike’s counter-cultural view of entrepreneurship, the ingredients for great cities, and how authenticity, neighborhoods, and talent migration will shape the future of American cities.

Top Takeaways:

1. Mike’s path to entrepreneurship came after decades of working with great real estate developers such as Robert Venturi, and he saw starting his own firm as the best way to continue his pursuit of becoming a master craftsman. I find this to be a refreshing view on entrepreneurship as our culture has become more and more fixated on founders, and anything less than that can be seen as playing small. Mike’s journey is a story of taking the long road and a focus on craft.

2. Great cities are defined by distinctive neighborhoods, such as New York’s SoHo, West Village and Meatpacking District, and by their ability to support people through different seasons of life from early career and family formation to later years.

3. Mike places a lot of emphasis on the space between the spaces, and how walkability is more than sidewalks, it’s how you feel when spending time in a particular area. People remember how a place makes them feel more than the buildings they were in or around, and they intuitively know which places are authentic versus manufactured. In the Dallas Design District, Mike implemented a “no nationals” policy so the neighborhood would be made up entirely of local stores and restaurants, preserving its creative character.

4. The future of cities will be shaped by talent migration. The old model was that people went where the jobs were. The new model is that talent goes where it wants to live, and the jobs follow. The cities that will win over the next 100 years will be the ones that create places people actually want to be part of, with real culture, character, and a sense of belonging.

Full List of Topics Covered:

• Mike’s counter-cultural view of entrepreneurship as a byproduct of craft

• Why founder identity is overrated and mastery is underrated

• The role of mentorship in becoming a master craftsman

• What actually makes a great city

• Why neighborhoods matter more than skylines

• The space between the spaces and why it defines urban life

• Authenticity versus manufactured development

• How Dallas evolved and what young cities can still become

• Experience economy versus ownership economy

• Density, walkability, and suburban urban cores

• Why talent now moves first and jobs follow

• What gives a city soul

• Building places that make people feel they belong

• Long-term thinking in decades, not development cycles

• The responsibility of builders in shaping culture

Mike Ablon is the founder of PegasusAblon, a Dallas-based real estate development firm behind the transformation of the Dallas Design District, and a former Dallas mayoral candidate. Mike has spent his life striving to “build things that matter,” focusing on places where culture and commerce intersect, through a deep commitment to craftsmanship and long-term thinking.