25 Years Later, 'Cookie Cutter' Suburbia Gains Grudging Respect

"They mocked Highlands Ranch as the epitome of sterile suburbia, with garages but no front porches, a multiplex but no museum, a Wal-Mart but precious few mom-and-pop shops...But as the community celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, praise for the Ranch is coming in from some unexpected quarters...Indeed, for all the carping, Highlands Ranch may turn out to be a model for master-planned developments, said Robert Fishman, a professor of urban planning at the University of Michigan...

The community started out as your typical cul-de-sac heaven, but its new, mixed-use neighborhoods lend it more variety and texture, said Fishman, who envisions a similar evolution in Southern California suburbs such as Irvine...

Robert Bruegmann, a professor of urban planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says criticism of Highlands Ranch must be put in historical context..."