Рестон, Вирджиния: История и современность города-новатора.

Reston is a census designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, and a principal city of both Northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U. S. census, Reston's population was 63,226. The intent of Reston's founder, Robert E. Simon, was to build a town that would revolutionize post–World War II concepts of land use and residential/corporate development in suburban America. In 2018, Reston was included in Money magazine's "Best Place to Live in Virginia" ranking. Reston is known for its expanses of parks, lakes, golf courses, and bridle paths, and Reston Town Center, a shopping mall with several restaurants.

In the early days of Colonial America, the land that is present day Reston was part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a vast grant by King Charles II to Lord Thomas Fairfax that extended from the Potomac to the Rappahannock rivers. The property remained in the Fairfax family until they sold it in 1852.

Carl A. Wiehle and William Dunn bought 6,449 acres in northern Fairfax County along the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad line in 1886, later dividing the land between them, with Wiehle retaining the acreage north of the railroad line. Wiehle envisioned founding a town on the property, including a hotel, parks, and community center, but completed only a handful of homes before his death in 1901. Simon officially launched Reston on April 10, 1964 (his 50th birthday) and named the community using his initials. [7] He laid out seven "guiding principles" that would stress quality of life and serve as the foundation for its future development. His goal was for Restonians to live, work, and play in their own community, with common grounds and scenic beauty shared equally regardless of income level, thereby building a stronger sense of community ties. or often was memorialized onto Reston merchandise as, "Live, Work, Play." Simon envisioned Reston as a model for clustered residential development, also known as conservation development, which puts a premium on the preservation of open space, landscapes, and wildlife habitats. Reston was the first 20th century private community in the U. S. to explicitly incorporate natural preservation in its planning. Simon hired the architectural firm of Whittlesey, Conklin, & Rossant to design his new community. The plans for Reston were designed by architect James Rossant, who studied under Walter Gropius at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and his partner William J. Conklin. From the outset, Rossant and Conklin's planning conceptualized the new community as a unified, cohesive, and balanced whole, including landscapes, recreational, cultural, and commercial facilities, and housing for what was envisioned to be a town of 75,000. For Lake Anne Plaza, the first of Reston's village centers, the architects combined a small shopping area with a mix of single family houses, townhouses, and apartments next to a manmade lake featuring a large jet fountain. Close by were the cubist townhouses at Hickory Cluster, designed by modernist architect Charles M. Goodman in the International Style. Lake Anne also included an elementary school, a gasoline station, two churches, an art gallery, and several restaurants. The first section of a senior citizens' residence facility, the Lake Anne Fellowship House, was completed several years later. Reston welcomed its first residents in late 1964. During the community's first year, its continued development was covered in such major media publications as Newsweek, Time, Life, and The New York Times, which featured the new town in a front page article extolling it as "one of the most striking communities" in the United States. Nikki Hornsby, who performed an hour long paid concert, singing with her guitar outside for this new Reston Community. Simon ran into financial difficulties as sales in the new community flagged. To keep his project going, he accepted a loan of $15 million from Gulf Oil that allowed him to pay off his creditors. Even so, sales were sluggish as Simon's reluctance to compromise on his high standards for building designs and materials meant that a townhouse in Reston could cost as much as a single family house elsewhere in Fairfax County. By 1967, Gulf Oil forced Simon out and formed Gulf Reston, Inc., to manage the community. Gulf retained many of Simon's employees and continued to adhere largely to the spirit of the original Reston master plan as envisioned by Simon. During the 1970s, Gulf built the Reston International Center near the intersection of Sunrise Valley and Reston Parkway and added low to moderate income housing to the community's residential mix, including the Cedar Ridge, Laurel Glade, and Fox Mill apartment developments. Gulf also constructed housing for employees of the U. S. Geological Survey headquarters, located on Sunrise Valley Drive. As Reston Town Center continued to develop, Boston Properties emerged as a leading player. The company became the sole owner of the core mixed use tracts in Reston Town Center when it completed the purchase of the Fountain Square office/retail complex in 2012.

Reston is located in northern Fairfax County at Neighboring communities are Great Falls to the north, Wolf Trap to the east, Franklin Farm, Floris, and McNair to the southwest, the town of Herndon to the west, and Dranesville to the northwest. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, Reston has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.10%, is water.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Reston has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Reston is divided into three separate planning areas: the original Planned Residential Community (PRC) area that governs the majority of residential areas in the community; the Reston Town Center (RTC) District, which includes all of the high density, high rise portions of Town Center; and the Transit Station Area (TSA) on either side of the Dulles Toll Road. From Reston's inception, planning and zoning in the PRC area has emphasized the inclusion and integration of common grounds, parks, large swaths of wooded areas with picturesque runs (streams), wildflower meadows, golf courses, public swimming pools, bridle paths, a bike path, four lakes, tennis courts, and extensive foot pathways. Reston was built in wooded areas of oak, maple, sycamore, and Virginia pine, and remains heavily wooded. Extensive canopy guidance protects tree cover throughout the PRC, and homeowners are prohibited from removing trees larger than 4 inches in diameter without written permission from Reston's Design Review Board. Total zoning density throughout the overall PRC area is currently capped at 13 persons per acre. The village centers and the town center are an important part of Reston. Each village center, all of which (save North Point) predate the Reston Town Center, was intended to be a short walk from most homes and incorporate the daily retail and community service needs of residents. Moderately denser developments, such as apartments and townhouse clusters, as well as some single family homes, encircle each center. The first to be built was the critically acclaimed Lake Anne, followed by (in chronological order) Hunters Woods, Tall Oaks, South Lakes, and North Point.

During Mobil's ownership period, the corporation worked with Fairfax County to create a new Town Center District to govern planning and design for existing and new development in the core Town Center area and to remove it from the oversight of Reston Association's Design Review Board. Review and comment of all RTCD development proposals is limited to members of the RTC District Association, which is overseen by the 9 member Board of Directors, 7 of whom represent commercial property owners.

A special tax district within Fairfax County was created to fund various recreational, educational, and cultural activities in Reston. The Reston Community Center (RCC) is a core element, with its main building in south Reston at Hunters Woods Plaza and featuring a theater, indoor heated swimming pool with Jacuzzi, ballroom, meeting rooms, and classroom space. A smaller RCC branch is at Lake Anne Plaza. Reston is home to several performing arts groups. The Reston Community Players (originally known as Reston Players) has been in operation since 1966 and performs at Reston Community Center's Center Stage in Hunters Woods Plaza. The Reston Chorale was founded in the late 1960s as a mixed voice chorus comprising both professional and amateur singers. The Reston Community Orchestra, launched in 1988, also offers regular performances throughout the year, generally at the Reston Community Center. In the summer, free public concerts are offered at both Reston Town Center and at Lake Anne Plaza. The Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE), founded by local artists, is home based at Reston Town Center and sponsors the annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. The privately owned Reston Art Gallery at Lake Anne Plaza includes both regular art exhibits and artist studio spaces. Reston's sole museum, the Reston Historic Trust & Museum, is also located in Lake Anne Plaza. It has maps, photos, and books that provide a detailed look at Reston from the 1960s on. The Washington West Film Festival is an autumn event in Reston center. The festival, co founded by Mark Maxey and Brad Russell, offers a juried array of feature films, shorts and documentaries.

Building on Robert Simon's emphasis on preserving green space and providing recreational opportunities, Reston features over 55 miles of walking and hiking paths for residents, with currently about 250 acres of woodlands and open space. Reston is noted for its tree canopy, which currently covers about half of Reston's total area. It is one of only 8 American localities to be a member of the worldwide Biophilic Cities Organization, which promotes the importance of protecting and promoting nature within urban areas. The centerpiece of Reston's focus on nature is the Vernon J. Walker Nature Education Center. The Nature Center's of hardwood forest include a picnic pavilion, campfire ring, and other facilities that support its outreach programs. Its LEED gold certified Nature House offers exhibits, an on site naturalist, and various programs for children; it may also be rented for community or private meetings. Two golf courses are located in Reston. The 166 acre Reston National Golf Course in south Reston is certified by Audubon International as a Cooperative Sanctuary on the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Hidden Creek Country Club was purchased in 2017 by Wheelock Communities, a real estate development company. The Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) trail, which runs through Reston, is a 45 mile (72 km) pathway built solely for pedestrian and bicycle traffic along the former W&OD train line. Reston contains four manmade lakes: Lake Anne, Lake Audubon, Lake Newport, and Lake Thoreau. Also within Reston's area is the Lake Fairfax Park, operated by Fairfax County and which features boat rentals, a large outdoor pool complex called "The Water Mine", overnight campground facilities, and picnic areas. The 30 acre (120,000 m2) Roer's Zoofari is located on the northeast edge of the community. It is dedicated to family friendly animal interaction with bus rides and feeding stations. Animals include lambs, camels, zebras, antelope, bison, cheetah, emu, camels, goats, reptiles, horses, buffalo, and waterfowl. On 8 March 2021, Roer's Zoofari suffered a fire in the barn area, killing Waffles the giraffe and his unnamed giraffe companion. Reston has an assortment of pools, including a year round indoor pool at the Reston Community Center. Ice skating is available year round at SkateQuest, a privately run indoor rink, and during the winter on an outdoor rink at Reston Town Center's Pavilion.

Reston is an unincorporated area in Fairfax County, and its schools, roads, and law enforcement services are provided by Fairfax County. Parks, recreation facilities, and common grounds, as well as the extensive trail system, are overseen by the Reston Association under the provisions of the Reston Deed, the community's basic governing document. A standard assessment is levied on each apartment or lot (for townhouses and houses). The Deed also allows for reduced assessments for those who "qualify for real estate tax reduction by Fairfax County Ordinance; (ii) their units are subsidized by the federal or state government; or (iii) their units are designed and used primarily for elderly congregate care or assisted living facilities and occupied by low or moderate income residents." Reston's individual clusters or neighborhoods have their own neighborhood associations which also levy assessments to cover grounds upkeep, snow removal, trash pick up, and other maintenance. Each cluster has its own elected board of directors who report to the residents of that cluster. The majority of Reston lies within Virginia's 11th congressional district and is currently represented in Congress by Representative Gerry Connolly (D). It is represented by Ken Plum (D) in the Virginia House of Delegates, and by Janet Howell (D) in the State Senate. While Reston has, from its inception, been an unincorporated area, several efforts have been made to achieve town status, primarily to gain more control over zoning and development decisions, which now are the purview of Fairfax County elected officials and staff. Robert Simon initially explored the option of incorporation as a town but was blocked by Fairfax County. Simon asserted to an interviewer that Fairfax officials informed him they would deny Reston access to Fairfax's water and sewer lines if he sought incorporation for his new community. In 1980, a group of Reston residents were successful in pushing for a referendum to incorporate Reston as a town, but the referendum failed in 1980 by a 2–1 margin. A similar initiative in 2005, which was publicly supported by Robert Simon, also failed.

Reston has several higher education resources, including a satellite campus of NVCC (Northern Virginia Community College), the University of Phoenix – Northern Virginia campus, and Marymount University – Reston Center.

Fairfax County Public Library operates the Reston Regional Library. Also located in Reston is the United States Geological Survey Library, a federal research library that is open to the public with over 3 million items, ranging from books and journals to maps and photographs, as well as field record notebooks.

Reston is served primarily by the Washington, D. C. media market. The community lies within the local distribution area for two national newspapers, the Washington Post and the Washington Times, as well as two local publications, the Fairfax Times and the Reston Connection. All four also offer digital subscriptions. A third local paper, the "Observer," which covered Reston and nearby Herndon, closed in 2010 and transferred coverage to AOL's Patch service of local digital news sites, which launched a Reston site in August 2010. Website Reston Now provides daily local news coverage. In addition, multiple television and radio stations in the Washington metropolitan area provide coverage of local developments.

Reston sits astride the Dulles Toll Road, 9 mile (14 km) from Tysons and the Capital Beltway to the east, and 5 mile (8 km) from Washington Dulles International Airport to the west. Four roads cross the community from north to south: Fairfax County Parkway on the western side, Reston Parkway through the center of town, Wiehle Avenue through the northeastern residential section, and Hunter Mill Road on the eastern border. The Metro's Silver Line, which runs along the Dulles Toll Road, opened its first Reston station, Wiehle Reston East, on July 26, 2014. Two additional stations, Reston Town Center and Herndon, opened on November 15, 2022 and serve the western half of Reston as part of an expansion towards Dulles International Airport. The Reston Internal Bus System (RIBS) provides five regularly circulating routes connecting Reston's village centers, using Reston Town Center as a hub. Fairfax County's Fairfax Connector and Metrobus service both link commuters in Reston to Metro stations as well as points throughout Fairfax County.

A filovirus, at first suspected to be Ebola virus (EBOV), was discovered among crab eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis) within the Covance Primate Quarantine Unit in 1989. This attracted significant media attention, including the publication of the popular 1994 book The Hot Zone (book) and the subsequent development of the National Geographic Channel TV Series The Hot Zone (television series). The filovirus was found to be distinct from EBOV and to be nonpathogenic for humans. It was named after the community, and is now known as Reston virus (RESTV). Macaques found to be or suspected to be infected with RESTV were euthanized, and the facility was sterilized. The facility was located in an office park near Sunset Hills Road and Wiehle Avenue. It was eventually torn down, and a daycare was built in its place.