For nearly 150 years, The Irvine Company has been entrusted with the stewardship of some of the most beautiful and valuable land anywhere. Stretching from the Pacific Ocean all the way to the Cleveland National Forest in eastern Orange County, The Irvine Ranch^® covers 90,000 acres. The forces of history and the changing nature of man have resulted in different uses of the land over time, from ranching to agriculture to master-planned community development.

Working with government agencies and residents over the past 40 years, The Irvine Company has been planning and building balanced sustainable communities. Its comprehensive master-plan for the Irvine Ranch ensures thoughtful, balanced development and sets "the Ranch" apart from the type of urbanization that has consumed much of the Los Angeles Basin. The Ranch has become a unique place to live, work, shop, play and learn. Its communities - including Tustin Ranch^®, Irvine, eastern Orange, parts of Newport Beach, and Newport Coast - are examples that planning works. Every year, hundreds of urban planners, architects and landscape designers from around the world tour the Ranch to see and study what is widely regarded as the largest and most successful master-planned environment in the United States.

Our planners have developed a set of community planning principles based on the development and implementation of more than a dozen villages during the past 40 years. We also continually evaluate the neighborhoods we've built in the past to help guide our current and future planning.

So What Makes a Good Community Plan?

Identity. Open space, parks, trails, recreation facilities and distinctive entries should assist in creating a special sense of community character. Many times, this character is created by natural landforms. This sense of character sets the community apart from neighboring villages.

Distinct edges. Each community's edge should help create strong identity, and should only be interrupted a minimal number of times for traffic to enter and exit. This reinforces the community's identity, and helps improve traffic flow both inside and outside the community.

Neighborhoods. Larger villages are organized into neighborhoods with small parks as their focus.

Village center. Each community should have a unifying feature that serves as the heart of the community. Sometimes it is a pedestrian-oriented park, shopping center, school or daycare center.

Streets. Streets are designed as public, landscaped spaces, for both pedestrians and autos.

Home design. A wide variety of home designs and neighborhood site plans should contribute to the character and quality of the village.

Landscaping. Landscape in a community provides an overall fabric and texture that ties the community together as a cohesive place. The landscape and open space design should be responsive to the uniqueness of the site conditions and opportunities.

A careful balance. The blending of development and open space should be balanced and thoughtful.