Book Description:
Reston Town Center is a model downtown for the 21st century. The dynamic urban culture of dramatic high rise condos, lofts, and apartments overlooking urban parks and nearby office towers has the feel we want from our cities. Yet it was built on virgin dirt in Virginia's suburbs. The Reston Town Center story highlights the achievements of visionaries Robert E. Simon, James Cleveland, Kenneth Himmel, Thomas J. D'Alesandro IV, Robert C. Kettler, and others. Talented designers Sasaki Associates, Robert A. M. Stern, RTKL Associates, and The Smith Group have placed the town center in the forefront of urbanism. The U.S. economy's shift to 'creative' enterprises has produced a demand for lively places near work ideally, within walking distance, where people can relax or socialize, eat or drink during the day and into the night, go from store to restaurant without an annoying commute, visit an art gallery and then sit at an outdoor caf . <P>A new urban lifestyle is redefining suburban living. The next 25 years will add 60 million people to the U.S. population. Much of this growth will be housed in America's 21st century downtowns built out of centerless suburban communities. Reston Town Center's vibrant 24 hour neighborhood is a place to be emulated. <P>Reston Town Center is a collected work written by key players, notably Robert E. Simon, Robert A. M. Stern, Thomas J. D'Alesandro IV, Robert C. Kettler, Alan Ward, and Raymond A. Ritchie. Noted authors on the subject; Charles C. Bohl, Philip Langdon, and Tom Vanderbilt, write about this successful place based on new research. Alan Ward is a principal at Sasaki Associates, a planning and design firm based in Watertown, Massachusetts. Mr. Ward is author and photographer of American Designed Landscapes: A Photographic Interpretation (2003).
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