Mission Viejo is a city of roughly 92,000 residents in southern Orange County, California, set among rolling hills between the Saddleback foothills and the Pacific coast. It is widely recognized as one of the largest master-planned communities ever developed under a single project in the United States, a distinction it shares with Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The city takes its name from the Rancho Mission Viejo, the Spanish land grant from which the area was developed. In the 1960s the Mission Viejo Company, working with master planner Donald Bren, laid out the community as a coordinated whole — homes, parks, schools, shopping, and recreation designed together rather than added piecemeal. The first homes were completed shortly after development began in 1966, and the city incorporated as it grew across the valley. The result is a community of tree-lined streets and manicured neighborhoods, recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation for its urban forest. At its heart lies Lake Mission Viejo, a man-made lake with beaches and boating that serves as the community's social and recreational centerpiece for members of the lake association. The city's villages, many bearing Spanish-influenced names, are linked by paseos and greenbelts that make walking and cycling part of the daily fabric. Mission Viejo draws families and professionals seeking well-regarded schools, safe, planned neighborhoods, and a setting between the coast and the foothills. Its location along the Interstate 5 corridor places Irvine's employment centers, John Wayne Airport, and the beaches of Laguna Beach and Dana Point within convenient reach, while the Saddleback Valley offers hiking and open space minutes from home. Saddleback College adds a higher-education presence within the city. For homebuyers, Mission Viejo offers the rarity of a thoroughly planned suburban environment: coordinated landscaping, abundant parks and greenbelts, and a lake culture that anchors community life across its many villages.