Orange County Line
Irvine Celebrates 50 Years of Good Living
How the Orange County city has influenced surburbia worldwide — and how it's changing.
By Gustavo Arellano • • 4m ListenFifty years ago this week, residents moved into the first so-called village in what would become the city of Irvine. University Park was a self-contained neighborhood with walkable streets, pathways, HOA's and residents looking for the good life. This design by the Irvine Company would be copied numerous times around the United States and beyond, transforming Irvine into an aspirational city for some, Stepford suburbia for others. But a funny thing happened on the way to the 50th anniversary. What was once almost exclusively white is now one of the most diverse cities in Orange County, and it remains a pocket of Democratic politics in a sea of red. How did Irvine change Orange County — and what's going to happen next?
