Reston, uninc. city (1990 pop. 48,556), Fairfax co., N Va., a residential and commercial suburb c. 20 mi (32 km) W of Washington, D.C. A planned community, it was established in 1961 by real estate developer Robert E. Simon as an alternative to the postwar cookie-cutter suburbs that had sprung up across the country, and it inspired a revival of community planning in the United States. Reston is organized in a series of residential villages, commercial areas, and open spaces; the extension (2014) of the Washington subway to the suburb has opened Reston to higher-density mixed-use development centered on the stations. With over 2,000 businesses, it is headquarters for several major corporations as well as the U.S. Geological Survey. High-technology research and development, communications, and government contracting are among the industries important to the local economy.
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