Columbia/Barbara Kellner

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.