Place
In 1971, Jack and Bonnie Humphreys stopped at Lake Eufaula while traveling through eastern Oklahoma. Looking out over the wooded hills and water, Jack imagined his grandchildren playing along the shore. The family bought land nearby, and the lake became a place where generations gathered for vacations.
Decades later, their grandson Grant Humphreys and his wife Jen began imagining something larger: a town where other families could experience that same sense of connection to the lake, the landscape, and one another.
Inspired by visits to Seaside, Florida, they hired Duany Plater-Zyberk in 2008 to create a master plan for Carlton Landing. The team, led by New Urbanist planner Andrés Duany, set out to build a community with the qualities of a traditional American town: connected streets, homes close to public spaces, a walkable center, and civic buildings woven into everyday life.
Construction began in the early 2010s, and the Humphreys family became the first residents in 2012. In 2013, Carlton Landing incorporated as its own municipality, becoming the first New Urbanist community in the United States to do so.
The town’s design is visible in the details. Houses sit close to the street, with front porches that create a transition between private homes and shared public life. Cottages, townhouses, and larger homes are arranged along streets, pedestrian paths, and small common spaces. Parks and greenways connect neighborhoods to the lake, while the Town Pavilion, school, community garden, and other shared amenities give residents places to meet beyond their own homes.
Carlton Landing is still growing. Its long-term plan calls for thousands of homes, a town center, and additional civic and recreational amenities. The result so far is a place that feels intentionally connected: a new town being built around the idea that the spaces between buildings matter as much as the buildings themselves.
Carlton Landing’s master plan treats the town as more than a collection of houses.
The design combines a range of housing types with shops, restaurants, civic spaces, parks, and pedestrian connections. Its architectural guidelines encourage traditional forms and materials, while an approved guild of architects and builders helps maintain consistency as individual properties are developed.
The landscape is also part of the infrastructure. The planning team used a “light imprint” approach to stormwater management, directing rainwater through greenways and landscape features rather than relying entirely on conventional underground piping. These spaces help manage runoff while also serving as parks, walking routes, and gathering places.
The town has developed institutions alongside its homes. Carlton Landing Academy serves children from the surrounding region, and the community has a church, marina, parks, and a foundation that organizes events and activities throughout the year. The town’s incorporation also gave residents a municipal government responsible for local public affairs.
There is an important distinction between the town’s completed neighborhoods and its long-term vision. Carlton Landing remains a developing community, and the full buildout of its town center, housing, and amenities is still ahead. Its resort-oriented setting also means it is not a direct model for every American town or housing market.
But it offers a tangible example of what can happen when a new community is planned as a place rather than a subdivision: when streets, homes, landscape, and civic life are considered together from the beginning.
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