---
title: 'How America''s #1 Best Place to Live Got to Be That Way'
description: 'MONEY''s #1 Best Place to Live in America, Columbia Md., didn''t get that honor by accident. Here''s the story behind the planned community.'
authors:
  - name: wordsthatecho
    url: https://money.com/author/wordsthatecho/
    at_money_since: 2015
    articles: 44
    covers:
      - Lifestyle
      - Career Advice
      - Education
      - Housing
      - Insurance
      - Investing
      - Loans
      - Personal Finance
      - Retirement
    former_staff: true
published: '2016-09-22T13:50:15.000Z'
modified: '2024-04-17T03:49:32.000Z'
section: Lifestyle
tags:
  - Best Places to Live
  - Money
  - video
canonical: https://money.com/collection-post/americas-best-places-to-live-columbia-md-history-got-to-be-that-way/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![293884104_5133581982001_5133578615001-vs](https://img.money.com/2016/09/293884104_5133581982001_5133578615001-vs.jpg)

Number One in [Money's Best Places to Live in America 2016](https://money.com/best-places-to-live/) is a planned community: Columbia, Md.

Here's how it got to be that way.

Fifty years ago, James Rouse, a city architect, started to think about the suburbs. Rouse wanted to give people a taste of city life, but combine it with the beauty of wide-open spaces of towns and the country. The result was Columbia.

A small city nestled between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Columbia has a lot of green space for parks and bike paths; lakes for fishing and wading, and city centers where Columbia residents can shop and dine without traveling too far from home.

Rouse wanted residents to be united and to know one another. Mailboxes are grouped together so that you can talk to your neighbors. Rouse wanted the community to make money, so he created centers where stores, restaurants and other amenities could live. There's a homeowner's association that makes sure the community continues to thrive.

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/americas-best-places-to-live-columbia-md-history-got-to-be-that-way/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Home",
          "item": "https://money.com"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Lifestyle",
          "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Places to Travel",
          "item": "https://money.com/places-to-travel/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 4,
          "name": "How America's #1 Best Place to Live Got to Be That Way"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://money.com/#website",
      "url": "https://money.com",
      "name": "Money",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/americas-best-places-to-live-columbia-md-history-got-to-be-that-way/#webpage",
      "url": "https://money.com/collection-post/americas-best-places-to-live-columbia-md-history-got-to-be-that-way/",
      "name": "How America's #1 Best Place to Live Got to Be That Way",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#website"
      },
      "datePublished": "2016-09-22T13:50:15.000Z",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/americas-best-places-to-live-columbia-md-history-got-to-be-that-way/"
      },
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/americas-best-places-to-live-columbia-md-history-got-to-be-that-way/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "dateModified": "2024-04-17T03:49:32.000Z"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "How America's #1 Best Place to Live Got to Be That Way",
      "articleSection": "Lifestyle",
      "image": [
        {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/09/293884104_5133581982001_5133578615001-vs.jpg",
          "width": 1280,
          "height": 720,
          "caption": "293884104_5133581982001_5133578615001-vs"
        }
      ],
      "author": [
        {
          "@type": "Person",
          "name": "wordsthatecho",
          "url": "https://money.com/author/wordsthatecho/",
          "@id": "https://money.com/author/wordsthatecho/#author"
        }
      ],
      "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization",
      "datePublished": "2016-09-22T13:50:15.000Z",
      "description": "MONEY's #1 Best Place to Live in America, Columbia Md., didn't get that honor by accident. Here's the story behind the planned community.",
      "abstract": "MONEY's #1 Best Place to Live in America, Columbia Md., didn't get that honor by accident. Here's the story behind the planned community.",
      "@id": "https://money.com/collection-post/americas-best-places-to-live-columbia-md-history-got-to-be-that-way/",
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "dateModified": "2024-04-17T03:49:32.000Z",
      "keywords": [
        "Best Places to Live",
        "Money",
        "video"
      ],
      "about": [
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Lifestyle",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle"
          ]
        },
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "World Tourism rankings",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```