When most people think of a planned community or commercial development they may think of the actual buildings and how they are arranged, but what most overlook is the amount of planning and work that goes into the actual decisions to get to this point. There are many factors that determine how these structures are built, where they are built, how large they should be, how they are accessed, where the access roads are located, how people are going to park, where people are going to walk, locating important fire hydrant locations, knowing how to deal with storm water drainage adequately, providing sufficient utility access, knowing and selecting of the best types of building materials, selection and addition of landscape elements, etc.

These decisions are part of an overall planning process that involves several professional disciplines and can take months to years to complete, depending on the size and complexity of the development. In addition to the involvement of architects who design the actual buildings, there are landscape architects, land planners and civil engineers that are needed to complete the plans necessary for such an undertaking. Most of the time, these other systems are not even looked at twice because they are quietly and efficiently doing their job in the background or below ground in a development, but are all an integral part of the function and success of a development.