It was hard to choose which great house to showcase this week because this area has quite a few.

What is this area? We’re looking at three different neighborhoods — Blue Hills, North East, and Upper Albany — that come together around the southern section of Keney Park. The house we finally selected is on the corner of Ridgefield Street and Westbourne Parkway.

The narrative, too often, is that the “north end” of Hartford was left in complete shambles following “white flight,” and if our readers have bought that one wholesale, we urge each person to head over — walk, take the bus, get on a bike, whatever — to this area and take a look for themselves. Large portions of Hartford have been trashed over the years, but beautiful parts remain. Walk around Ridgefield and Westbourne. Check out Granby Street. Most of the homes on streets running between Granby and Ridgefield are also still in good shape. You just have to slow down and look.

Greenfield and Edgewood have a few houses that have been maintained well over the years, though as you move away from the park, you can see conditions deteriorate. That is when to ask why. As in, why are vacant lots like the City-owned one at 105 Enfield Street, and many others, allowed to persist, knowing that these overgrown, unattractive spaces detract from the neighborhood when neglected? How do you feel when you see a well-maintained home surrounded by healthy trees? How do you feel when you see a vacant lot barricaded by concrete blocks, filled with weeds, broken glass, and dime bags?

What is not on level right now, that needs attention and some long range planning, whether we are talking community gardens, pocket parks, or to be cleaned up and sold off for development. In the meantime, perhaps we could revisit a Suggestion Box item from last year. We know that the City of Hartford’s free summer movies are not happening this year, so the idea would have to be reworked a little, but in a nutshell: someone selects six of the most rundown, neglected, and generally awful vacant lots in Hartford. Each one will feature a major volunteer clean up, preferably led by organizations and people who are based in that neighborhood. Following the clean up, refreshments and a free outdoor film are provided. It’s short term and does not solve a problem, but it alleviates some of it and shows that a negative space can be put to better use. Surely this is something that the insurance companies and banking institutions could sponsor.