Best new city neighborhood: Barrio Santa Rosa

The category: New city neighborhoods forming their own identities while still respecting their heritage - though gentrification's a challenge.

The stats: It's one of 15 small historic neighborhoods that flank the city center. A handful of local architects and builders have transformed the area. Their homes, which range from 600 to 2,700 square feet, are adobe, rammed-earth, straw-bale, concrete-block, and industrial-style metal-sided structures.