Charity Profile

Advocates for Community Transformation makes Dallas neighborhoods safe for kids

Advocates for Community Transformation helps empower local residents to become dedicated advocates for their own neighborhoods.

Photo courtesy of Will Graham

While mentoring a child through a West Dallas ministry, Reid Porter had a transformative experience that led to a keen understanding of how run-down and abandoned properties affect a community. The recent law school graduate soon left private practice to create Advocates for Community Transformation (ACT). His 5-year-old, faith-based organization helps empower local residents to become dedicated advocates for their own neighborhoods.

ACT is focused on inspiring inner-city residents, through legal advocacy, to seek resolution for crime-ridden properties. “Drug houses adversely affect the quality of life for people living around them and are the root cause of criminal activity in the neighborhoods,” says Porter. “These houses harbor individuals who use the property for criminal activity of all kinds. Neighbors are left feeling like prisoners in their own homes.”

The results are inspirational: Children are able to walk safely to school, property values for residents and businesses are increasing, and there’s less demand for law enforcement and emergency medical services.

Vote now for Advocates for Community Transformation — or any of the other worthy local nonprofits — in the CultureMap Charity Challenge.

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Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty is pleased to support the outstanding work of ACT.

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Fun times in the city

Dallas swings a spot on new list of most fun cities in U.S. for 2024

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Dallas just wants to have fun, according to WalletHub's new ranking of the most fun cities in America in 2024.

The annual report ranked Dallas No. 31 out of 182 U.S. cities.

WalletHub's experts compared each city using 65 metrics to determine their level of "fun." Metrics were split among three main categories: entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and cost.

According to the study's findings, Dallas was 24th nationally in the category for nightlife and parties, and ranked No. 39 in the "entertainment and recreation" category. That may be especially alluring for anyone who wants to explore the city's vast entertainment opportunities (especially during the holiday season), family-friendly recreational activities, top dining destinations, and more. Plus, Dallas is home to entertainment juggernauts like the State Fair of Texas and TopGolf.

Dallas performed poorly in the overall cost category, earning No. 114 out of all 182 cities. However, this category mostly compares flat costs rather than affordability based on local cost of living.

Potential new Dallasites should do their research before deciding to move here, rather than basing their decision on short trips and vacations alone. But we won't blame them for wanting to live in one of the best cities in the world.

"The top cities offer affordable options for year-round fun for their residents, which is good for residents’ wallets and their mental health," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo in the report.

Austin (No. 6) and Houston (No. 9) were the only Texas cities to earn a spot in the top 10 most fun U.S. cities list. Austin moved up one spot from last year, while Houston made a 10-place jump.

Other fun-filled Texas cities that made it in the top 100 are El Paso (No. 53), Fort Worth (No. 55), Plano (No. 78), Arlington (No. 79), and Corpus Christi (No. 99).

The top 10 most fun U.S. cities are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Miami, Florida
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – New Orleans, Louisiana
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 9 – Houston, Texas
No. 10 – New York City, New York

Cities were evaluated based on the number of attractions per capita, nightlife activities per capita, the average prices for eating at a restaurant or buying a movie ticket, and more. Data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, The Trust for Public Land, and the Council for Community and Economic Research, among others.

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