The 10 Most Underrated Towns in America

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9. Richmond, Virginia
After several decades of slumber, this old-line southern tobacco town seems finally to be hitting its stride • Happily, it was bypassed by much of the soulless ’60s and ’70s development, although a failed festival mall from that era still scars the city’s downtown • T.K. Somanath, Indian-born executive director of the Richmond Better Housing Coalition, guides one of the country’s most successful efforts to improve low-income housing • In redeveloping the Randolph Neighborhood, Somanath involved residents in key planning decisions: They wanted a classic Richmond neighborhood with alleys, parks, and houses with front porches and private backyards • Rejecting the usual fortress approach to public housing, the Randolph plan featured a true mix of housing (both market-rate and subsidized) and clear connections to surrounding neighborhoods and commercial streets • The nearby Fan district, once a case study in urban decay, has made a spectacular comeback • A growing gay population continues to play a significant role in Richmond’s renaissance.

10. Dallas
On a quick walk through downtown, you might give Dallas up for dead, but a closer look reveals encouraging signs of life that could show the way for other sprawling sun belt cities • DART, a regional light rail system that succeeded against all odds, is helping to transform entire blocks around several stations • A once-rundown area just across the freeway from downtown, the St. Thomas/McKinney neighborhood, has been redeveloped largely through the efforts of one visionary developer, Post Properties (formerly Columbus Realty) • Post’s solid low-scale apartment buildings combine to form streets and public spaces that have an almost European feel • Post has been so successful in the center city that suburban developers and municipalities have invited them to bring some sorely needed urban charm to the sterile corporate landscapes of Plano and Las Colinas • The Deep Ellum warehouse district is coming back, along with historic neighborhoods in East Dallas • The Dallas Institute, a unique think tank, continues to nurture the spirit of the city; its programs challenge citizens and the city’s leaders to think about Dallas in bold and innovative new ways.

Peter Katz, author of The New Urbanism: Toward an Architecture of Community (McGraw-Hill, 1994), consults on urban design and real estate marketing from offices in Washington, D.C. He was founding executive director of the Congress of the New Urbanism and is now co-developer of a new traditional neighborhood, The Peninsula, in Iowa City. He is an associate member of the Citistates Group, a consortium of thinkers committed to the advancement of 21st-century metropolitan regions.
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