The collection consists of a variety of materials relating to planned communities across the United States with a particular emphasis on the planned community of Reston, Virginia and international communities as well. The collection includes correspondence, reports, promotional material, community brochures, newspapers, videos, slides, photographs and architectural drawings and blueprints.

Series one is titled Reston and is divided into nine subseries. The information in this series contains correspondence, finance, plans, reports, meetings, publications, marketing, a scrapbook and general information. All of the information relates to the community of Reston in Virginia. There is additional Reston information in series nine, ten and eleven. The series is dated from 1961-2006 and is contained in boxes 1-42.

Series two is titled United States Planned Communities. The material in this series relates to planned communities in the United States other than Reston, such as Columbia, Maryland, Evergreen Mills, Hawaii, Portland and others. The series is comprised of correspondence, plans, reports and other paperwork relating to the development of these communities. The series dated from 1970 to 1996 and is contained in boxes 42-53.

Series three is titled International Planned Communities. The material in this series relates to international planned communities in countries such as France, Great Britain, Israel, China and others. The materials are mostly promotional from the communities and other information regarding the development of the communities. Some of the material is in the foreign language while others are printed in English. The series is dated from 1960 to 1990 and is contained in boxes 53-56.

Series four is titled Reports. The documents are reports from and about different communities, relating financial, environmental and other issues. There are also documents from the Federal government pertaining to the development of the communities. The series is dated from 1965 to 2001 and is contained in boxes 56-61.

Series five is titled Planed Community Archive Board. The series is small and contains the meeting minutes and other information from the board that created the planned community archive. The series dated from 1985 to 2001 and is contained in boxes 61-64.

Series six is titled Promotional Material. The series has promotional material from different planned communities such as pamphlets, flyers, articles and others. The series dated from 1966 to 1990 and is contained in boxes 64-66.

Series seven is titled Brochures. The series is comprised of different planned communities brochures, such as Arbor Glenn, Fairfield, Key West, Ridgewood and many others. The series dated in the 1990s and is contained in boxes 66-75.

Series eight is titled Newspapers. The series is comprised of copies of The Connection a newspaper from Reston. The Connection, the local newspaper has articles mostly about local events. For example there are articles about Reston Association elections, local residents and also the Washington Redskins. There are additional copies in series ten. The series is dated from 1981 to 1996 and is contained in boxes 76 to 106.

Series nine is titled Media and is divided into five subseries. The series contains photographs, slides, negatives, cassettes, CDs and videos relating to planned communities. The series is dated from 1960 to 2004 and contained in boxes 107-232.

Series ten is titled General Information. The information in this series covers a variety of topics relating to planned communities, such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, newsclippings, Virginia government and other paperwork. The series is dated from 1960 to 2005 and is contained in boxes 233-246.

Series eleven is titled Oversize. This series contains photographs, brochures and posters related to planned communities such as Lake Anne Village Center, Beacon Hill and others. The majority of the series is comprised of architectural drawings, blueprints, floor plans, topography and designs for buildings, such as Reston First Village Center, Reston Town Center and two individual homes, one in Arlington, Virginia and the other in McLean, Virginia. The series is dated from 1960 to 2004 and is contained in boxes 247-351 with additional plans in 3 mapcases.