Columbia

Columbia is a planned community that has influenced suburban development since its creation in the mid-1960s. This city of 100,000 grew out of rural farmland, patterned by the best thinkers of its time, including visionary developer James Rouse and a team of consultants such as sociologist Herbert Gans and transportation planner Alan Voorhees. World-famous architect Frank Gehry designed key buildings. Oakland Manor, featuring a barn that is a historical landmark, is one example of the structures preserved to give roots to the new town. Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Michael Chabon grew up in Columbia and has said it altered the course of his life, making him into the writer he is today.