Precedent #2 The Appalachian Trail - Benton MacKaye

"The mountain ridge became the central spine of development, replacing the tall buildings of the metropolis and reversing its dominant pattern of concentric growth. An infrastructure of land or “super national” forest and a network of compact communities and industries would crystallize around the footpath to replace the suburbs. The interstate geological formation of the Appalachian ridge would function as a kind of public utility or reservoir of natural resources, organizing transportation and hydroelectrical networks while locating industry and community. The trail idea proposed no master plan but rather an ordering principle for a new economy. It would broadcast a field of influence and a new mechanism for the migrations of population as well as the economies of production and distribution.” images and text from Organization Space, by Keller Easterling