top of the line

Dallas carves out spot on list of America's top 20 best cities

It's a solid ranking for Dallas.

Photo by R K on Unsplash

Dallas is earning praise for its prosperity, lovability, and livability in a prestigious new report by Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors Resonance Consultancy.

The annual "America's Best Cities" report ranks qualities like cultural diversity and economic prosperity for U.S. cities with metropolitan populations of 500,000 or more. These top 100 cities are "the engines of their regional and national economies and, importantly, the global economy," according to the report.

Dallas ranked No. 16 on the list. New York City (No. 1), Chicago (No. 2), and Los Angeles (No. 3) claimed the coveted top three spots.

Resonance refers to its 2023 report of the "World's Best Cities" when describing Dallas' achievements, specifically reiterating how the city's cultural footprint has substantially improved over time with the growth of its arts institutions like the Dallas Museum of Art, the Crow Museum of Asian Art, various theaters, and opera venues. The report also reminds that Dallas is home to the sixth-largest LGBTQIA+ community.

Two additional standout factors in the report were Dallas' reputation for its strong economy and job market (driven by the multiple major employers recently hailed the best companies to work for by U.S. News and World Report), combined with "connectivity" advantages from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

"Home to more than 10,000 corporate headquarters — the largest concentration in the U.S. — and ranking No. 4 in the nation for Fortune 500 companies in town, [Dallas] is easy to get to," the report said. "Dallas Fort Worth International Airport tops our Airport Connectivity subcategory, with a planned $3-billion Terminal F project possibly back on the table, given DFW’s rebound of almost 82 million passengers in 2023 — making it the third-busiest airport on earth."

Continuing with Dallas' major transportation projects, the report highlighted the new 2.5 million square foot convention center, and the rebuilding of a major highway through the city.

"[2028] should see the trenching of the city’s car-worshiping Interstate 345 that cut off Black neighborhoods when it was built in the early 1970s," the report restated.

The only city in Texas to make the top 10 was Houston, which came in at No. 10. Austin beat Dallas by one point, coming in at No. 15. San Antonio ranked at No. 32.

The top 10 best American cities, according to Resonance Consultancy, are:

No. 1 – New York, New York
No. 2 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 3 – Los Angeles, California
No. 4 – Miami, Florida
No. 5 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 8 – Washington, D.C.
No. 9 – Seattle, Washington
No. 10 – Houston, Texas

The full list of cities and the report's methodology can be found on worldsbestcities.com.

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Weed News

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over decriminalization of marijuana

Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

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The City of Dallas has been sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for its efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

According to a release, Paxton has sued the city for adopting a city charter amendment that would decriminalize marijuana-related offenses and prohibit police from enforcing Texas law.

That amendment was Proposition R, or Dallas Freedom Act, which decriminalizes possession of four ounces of marijuana or less. Voters passed the amendment in the November 5 election, with 67 percent voting in favor.

The lawsuit, filed against the Dallas City Council, alleges that Proposition R is unconstitutional and violates Texas drug laws criminalizing any amount of marijuana.

Paxton says that cities can't "pick and choose which state laws to follow." He's proposing a permanent injunction to stop Proposition R from going into effect.

"The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them," says Paxton in a statement. "This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”

Before the recent election, possession of two to four ounces of marijuana could result in a punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Ground Game Texas, the activist nonprofit that has also helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in elections across Texas, first got the issue on the ballot in July with the necessary 50,000 signatures.

Dallas is not the only city to be sued; Paxton also filed lawsuits against five other cities in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos in January for their ballots and policies decriminalizing marijuana.

Both Austin and San Marcos had a judge overturn their cases, according to a FOX 4 report.

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