Columbia is a well-known example of the New Town Movement in the United States. It shares similarities with Reston, Virginia; The Woodlands, Texas; Irvine, California; and others. But Columbia stood out in its innovative approach to planning, which included a six-month period of interdisciplinary meetings bringing together experts in fields as diverse as education, recreation, sociology, transportation and religion, as well as architects and engineers. Columbia was also unique for its purposeful goal to be an integrated community at a time before the Fair Housing Act of 1968 made it illegal to discriminate in housing based on race, color, national origin or religion. (Columbia Association)