ArtPlace is — take a deep breath — “a collaboration of 13 leading national and regional foundations, eight federal agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts, and six of the nation’s largest banks” all working to “accelerate creative placemaking across the U.S.”

And in their collective wisdom, Dallas is #2 (alphabetically) on their list of top Artplaces for 2013. UPDATE: And when we finally read through the whole 35-page PDF, we found that Arlington Heights in Fort Worth is included in ArtPlace’s secondary, more expanded, Top 44 neighborhood list.

Anyway, it’s their first shot at an annual list, so they overshot the whole ‘Top 10″ thing and went for 12. Many locales are pretty much the ones you’d expect: the Mission District in San Francisco, the Pike-Pine Corridor in Seattle. These are the “communities that have most successfully combine[d] art, artists and venues for creativity and expression with independent businesses, retail shops and restaurants, and a walkable lifestyle to make vibrant neighborhoods.”

I know, the “walkable lifestyle”and “retail shops” brought me up short, too. Are we talking about Dallas — and the Arts District? We’re a community “where the arts are central to creating places where people—residents and visitors—want to be”? But the relevant point is that we’re talking the Arts District — and, according to the official list, “parts of Deep Ellum and Exposition Park.” And the circle (above) also conveniently ropes in a good chunk of Uptown as part of the Arts District. So that must be how the walking and the retail got in there.

Anyhoo, attached down there is  the complete list. And, if you read ArtPlace’s complete PDF file, you’ll learn that Arlington Heights in Fort Worth — the neighborhood right next door to the Culture District — is one of ArtPlace’s Top 44 communities.

In fact,  that PDF proves this isn’t some quickie collection cooked up by a trend-obsessed magazine editor or some overworked, website content provider looking to boost eyeball numbers with yet another list. The rankings reflect a complex variety of factors with consideration given to  “Percentage of Workers in Creative Occupations” and “Number of Mixed-Use Blocks” and, believe it or not, “Cell Phone Activity.”

So some actual thinking and research went into it. And the list is attached:Brooklyn, NY / The intersection of Downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Park Slope and Prospect Heights
Dallas, TX / The Dallas Arts District, with parts of Deep Ellum and Exposition Park
Los Angeles, CA / Central Hollywood
Miami Beach, FL / South Beach
Milwaukee, WI / East Town and a portion of the Lower East Side
New York, NY / Manhattan Valley
Oakland, CA / Downtown, including Chinatown, Old Oakland and Jack London Square
Philadelphia, PA / Old City
Portland, OR / The Pearl District and a portion of Downtown
San Francisco, CA / The Mission District
Seattle, WA / The Pike-Pine Corridor
Washington, DC / The intersection of Adams Morgan, U Street, and Dupont Circle