The 93,000-acre Irvine Ranch stretches nine miles along the Pacific coast, 22 miles inland and encompasses more than one-fifth of Orange County's total 798 square miles. Within its boundaries lie the city of Irvine, as well as parts of Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Tustin, Orange and Anaheim, plus unincorporated county land and tiny bits of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa.

The Irvine Ranch has been under private ownership for more than 100 years and is considered one of the largest and most successful master-planned urban environments in the United States. The Irvine Ranch is home to approximately 230,000 people and about that many people work here, too.

To truly understand the evolution of the master plan for The Irvine Ranch, you must first understand the land. The Irvine Company has always had a special admiration and respect for the land. The unique location at the southern edge of the Los Angeles basin and the natural and man-made features on the Ranch profoundly affected the Master Plan and built form.