In the 1980s, the city of Brea, in Orange County southeast of Los Angeles, was faced with a serious decline and abandonment of its downtown. It responded by working with its citizens and developers to envision and build a dynamic mixed-use town center that has redefined the city and made it one of Southern California's great walkable shopping and entertainment destinations with a variety of housing choices. As much of the existing downtown contained poor quality buildings, Brea could not use historic preservation to rebuild the area. Instead the city acquired 60 acres of the city center and removed blighted buildings, relocated business to appropriate locations, and remade downtown as the heart and soul of Brea.