8. Masters of the pre-built communities: There might be a cache to living inside the Loop, but Houston has some of the best master-planned communities in the nation. The Woodlands, Riverstone and Bridgeland are three of the eight communities recently recognized.  Photo: Smiley N. Pool/Houston Chronicle
See the other highly ranked communities in Houston Photo: Smiley N. Pool, File / © 2013  Houston Chronicle