Congratulations, Irvine, on a golden anniversary – Irvine Standard

Seeing the community come together this holiday season hiking on trails or strolling through retail centers with family and friends is especially rewarding knowing that 50 years ago next week, Irvine formally incorporated as a city.

That historic moment, on December 28, 1971, made it possible for the new City of Irvine and Irvine Company to fulfill the Master Plans vision of balanced and responsible growth while preserving 60% of the Irvine Ranch as open space.

It isnt every day a reporter gets a chance to observe the birth of a new city, the Daily Pilots George Leidal wrote at the time. Somehow the past few weeks have led me to feel like Ive just been assigned to cover, via time capsule, the sailing of the Mayflower.

Unlike any other in history, Leidal predicted, Irvine may indeed set the standard for a new city.

And it has. Today, Irvine ranks nationally as the best place to live for its parks, safety, fiscal strength and schools, all surrounding a world-class university.

In recognition of this, the Los Angeles Times recently published At 50, New City of Irvine is Evergreen, describing Irvines Master Plan as a Blueprint for a Green Utopia that, decade-after-decade, has created a diverse and sustainable city with a tremendous quality of life.

As 2022 approaches, we look forward to seeing you on the trails and throughout our community as we cover the people, places and experiences that make Irvine such a wonderful place to live, work and play.

Happy Holidays!

The Irvine Standard

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Congratulations, Irvine, on a golden anniversary - Irvine Standard