From Edge-City to Real City

"Tysons will get a real alternative to driving when the Washington, D.C., metro rail system comes to the area in a few years.

With the makeover, Tysons could be a model for change across the country.

'This is your classic drivable suburban place that is anchored by a regional mall, just like Perimeter Center in Atlanta; King of Prussia, outside Philadelphia; Schaumberg, west of Chicago; Newport Beach; and Costa Mesa south of Los Angeles,' says Chris Leinberger, a developer turned academic and urbanist who is now at the Brookings Institution. 'This is, however, one of the biggest, if not the biggest concentration of retail, office and hotels in the suburbs, in the country.'"