Fort Greene is perhaps the choicest example of what a boomtown Brooklyn has become. It's best known for its lovely brownstones, which had fallen into disrepair before being revitalized by middle-class African Americans in the late-1980s.

And while the historic brownstones remain (and cost, on average, about $1.5 million), Fort Greene has evolved into one of Brooklyn's busiest shopping districts. With the reconstruction of Atlantic Center and the renovation of the Atlantic Avenue station -- which connects most subway lines with the LIRR -- people flock to Fort Greene to shop at major chains like Target and DSW.

Condos have taken the neighborhood by storm, including Forte (230 Ashland Place), a 30-story tower with one-bedrooms starting at about $575,000, and One Hanson Place, a conversion of the notable Williamsburgh Bank building, where a clocktower residence has been listed for nearly $6 million.

Plus, even bigger changes are afoot. Both the expanded Brooklyn Academy of Music "cultural district" and the controversial Atlantic Yards complex -- which will bring the Nets, as well as thousands of new residential units, to Brooklyn -- will reinvent the area close to Flatbush Avenue.