I found myself pondering what Fredericksburg might look like now if there were a buffer between the city and Spotsylvania County. There was one in the 1960s. Too late now. But it's not too late for small towns in the region Orange, Culpeper, Bowling Green to learn from the Boulder experience. The open-space preservation effort is indicative that people in the city think about what kind of community they want and try to create that vision.
Most communities just let development unfold.
Their place gets lost in the process and, before long, looks like everywhere else. There is a civic spirit that sets Boulder apart from many places. People in Boulder believe an active, engaged citizenry can work collectively to get things done. People are also using the civic spaces they have created. The open-space buffer has a network of heavily used hiking and biking trails.