Winner: Central Gardens

Central Gardens, with its stately homes along quiet, tree-lined streets, resembles one of those idyllic shuttered-away hamlets from TV shows like “Gilmore Girls.” But it’s a vital, diverse community in the center of a large urban area. That it can maintain that balance between small-town charm and big-city living is no small part due to the efforts of the people who live there.

Finalists: High Point Terrace, Cooper-Young