If you?re a new land buyer weighing your options, you may have read or heard about master planned communities. Here is what you need to know about these planned residential developments.

Defining elements: Simply put, a master planned community is a community in which thought is given to the future needs of the residents who are going to live there.?Master planned communities typically have elements such as landscaping, environmental graphics or signage, wall treatment, lighting, and architecture. They have design standards by which builders must abide. They generally offer a way of life, with amenity packages, including everything from walking trails, parks, and recreation centers. Some contain public facilities like schools, libraries, performing arts centers, fire and police stations, and even medical clinics and hospitals, along with retail and other commercial enterprises.

Typical amenities: Master planned communities are about convenience, from the new home that won’t require extensive maintenance to amenities that make it easy to enjoy long weekends and quality family time. Specific amenities might include tennis courts, hiking trails, recreation centers, pools, gyms, sports fields, golf courses, clubhouses and much more. Smart community planning also considers views of nature and the preservation of natural open space, as well as convenience for residents. For example, a planned community will typically be close to good schools, commercial/retail centers, and major transportation corridors.

Sense of community: As the name suggests, master planned communities create the neighborly atmosphere that homeowners love. Families and children gather at the playground or around the grill, and a pool or recreation center is often the center of activity. You can feel the pride of good planning in the way the residents feel about their community. They own more than a comfortable home in a beautiful neighborhood. They have a great place to live, whether they are starting a family, raising children, enjoying a new phase of life as a couple, or cherishing their privacy.

If a planned community is an option you?d like to know more about, Texas Homesites can show you land for sale in?master planned communities that are ideally located, like the Bridges at Preston Crossing, situated just outside Dallas, or Vintage Oaks at the Vineyard, between San Antonio and Austin. For more information, find Texas Homesites on Facebook and Twitter today.

Tags: Bridges at Preston Crossing, land for sale, Master-Planned Communities, new land buyer, Texas Homesites, Vintage Oaks at the Vineyard

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This undated photo provided by the family shows Aimee Copeland, the 24-year-old Georgia graduate student fighting to survive a flesh-eating bacterial infection that forced doctors to amputate most of her left leg. They warned she would likely lose her other foot and both hands. (AP Photo/Copeland Family)

This undated photo provided by the family shows Aimee Copeland. the 24-year-old Georgia graduate student is fighting to survive a flesh-eating bacterial infection that forced doctors to amputate most of her left leg. They warned she would likely lose her other foot and both hands. (AP Photo/Copeland Family)

ATLANTA (AP) ? Faced with the prospect of losing both hands and her one remaining foot, a young Georgia woman battling to survive a case of flesh-eating bacteria that has already claimed one leg mouthed the words “Let’s do this.”

Aimee Copeland, 24, “shed no tears, she never batted an eyelash,” her father, Andy Copeland, wrote on Facebook on Friday about the conversation he and his wife had with their daughter the day before.

“I was crying because I am a proud father of an incredibly courageous young lady,” Copeland wrote.

It was not immediately clear whether the surgeries had already been performed and a post to a blog about the woman’s progress Friday evening simply said “Aimee is doing well today. Her vital signs are as positive as her spirit.”

A hospital spokeswoman referred questions to the father’s online post.

The story of Copeland’s battle to survive has inspired an outpouring of support from around the world. The University of West Georgia student developed a rare condition called necrotizing fasciitis after suffering a deep cut in her leg in a May 1 fall from a homemade zip line over the Little Tallapoosa River.

She has been hospitalized in critical condition at an Augusta hospital, battling kidney failure and other organ damage. She had been on a breathing tube until recently, when doctors performed a tracheotomy, her father said.

Until Thursday, Aimee Copeland did not know the full extent of her condition, only that her hands were badly infected.

Andy Copeland said he told his daughter about what had happened since the accident, how her one leg had been amputated. Doctors had once characterized her survival as “slim to none.”

“We told her of the outpouring of love from across the world,” her father said. “We told her that the world loved and admired her. We explained that she had become a symbol of hope, love and faith. Aimee’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She was amazed.”

In Copeland’s case, the necrotizing fasciitis was caused by bacteria known as Aeromonas hydrophila, which is found in warm rivers and streams. Many people exposed to the bacteria don’t get sick. Only a handful of necrotizing fasciitis infections caused by the bacteria have been reported in medical journals in recent decades.

Under the condition, the bacteria emit toxins that destroy muscle, fat and skin tissue.

Andy Copeland said he learned Thursday that doctors wanted to amputate his daughter’s hands and remaining foot. Doctors were concerned she could develop respiratory problems and if her hands released an infection in her body there was a risk she could become septic again, her father said.

“We had a window of opportunity to perform the amputations and have a successful outcome,” he said. “As they usually do, the doctors were presenting us with a medical no-brainer. We had to do what is necessary to save Aimee’s life.”

At that point, the family decided to share the situation with their daughter.

Copeland said he showed his daughter her hands, told her they were not healthy and were hampering her progress.

“Aimee, I do not want anything to happen to you,” Copeland said he told his daughter. “Your mind is beautiful, your heart is good and your spirit is strong. These hands can prevent your recovery from moving forward. The doctors want to amputate them and your foot today to assure your best possible chance of survival.”

Aimee Copeland nodded her understanding.

Her father explained that she would eventually be fitted with prosthetics to help her get around and she nodded again.

Then she smiled, raised her hands up and looked at the damage. She then turned to her family, gathered by her bedside and mouthed the words: “Let’s do this.”

Her father said he left the room with tears in his eyes.

“I wasn’t crying because Aimee was going to lose her hands and foot, I was crying because, in all my 53 years of existence, I have never seen such a strong display of courage,” Copeland said.

Associated Press

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Participants raise banners with a slogan, “Good bye, nuclear power station”, at a rally protesting against the usage of nuclear energy in Tokyo Saturday, May 5, 2012. Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of this nation’s 50 nuclear reactors switching off Saturday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

A traditional “Koinobori” carp-shaped banner for Children’s Day flies at a rally protesting against the usage of nuclear energy in Tokyo, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of this nation’s 50 nuclear reactors switching off Saturday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

A participant wears an anti-nuclear sign at a rally protesting against the usage of nuclear energy in Tokyo Saturday, May 5, 2012. Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of this nation’s 50 nuclear reactors switching off Saturday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

Participants hold a traditional “Koinobori” carp-shaped banner for Children’s Day during a march protesting against the usage of nuclear energy in Tokyo Saturday, May 5, 2012. Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of this nation’s 50 nuclear reactors switching off Saturday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

Participants gather at a rally protesting against the usage of nuclear energy in Tokyo Saturday, May 5, 2012. Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of this nation’s 50 nuclear reactors switching off Saturday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

TOKYO (AP) ? Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation’s 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol.

Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance.

After last year’s March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor halted for checkups has been restarted amid public worries about the safety of nuclear technology.

“Today is a historical day,” Masashi Ishikawa shouted to a crowd gathered at a Tokyo park, some holding traditional “koinobori” carp-shaped banners for Children’s Day that have become a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.

“There are so many nuclear plants, but not a single one will be up and running today, and that’s because of our efforts,” Ishikawa said.

The activists said it is fitting that the day Japan is stopping nuclear power coincides with Children’s Day because of their concerns about protecting children from radiation, which Fukushima Dai-ichi is still spewing into the air and water.

The government has been eager to restart nuclear reactors, warning about blackouts and rising carbon emissions as Japan is forced to turn to oil and gas for energy.

Japan now requires reactors to pass new tests to withstand quakes and tsunami and to gain local residents’ approval before restarting.

The response from people living near nuclear plants has been mixed, with some wanting them back in operation because of jobs, subsidies and other benefits to the local economy.

Major protests, like the one Saturday, have been generally limited to urban areas like Tokyo, which had received electricity from faraway nuclear plants, including Fukushima Dai-ichi.

Before the nuclear crisis, Japan relied on nuclear power for a third of its electricity.

The crowd at the anti-nuclear rally, estimated at 5,500 by organizers, shrugged off government warnings about a power shortage. If anything, they said, with the reactors going offline one by one, it was clear the nation didn’t really need nuclear power.

Whether Japan will suffer a sharp power crunch is still unclear.

Electricity shortages are expected only at peak periods, such as the middle of the day in hot weather, and critics of nuclear power say proponents are exaggerating the consequences to win public approval to restart reactors.

Hokkaido Electric Power Co. spokesman Kohei Ofusa said Saturday’s shutdown was proceeding as planned. Power generation was gradually being reduced, with all operations expected to end at 11 p.m. (1400 GMT), he said.

Yoko Kataoka, a retired baker who was dancing to the music at the rally waving a small paper Koinobori, said she was happy the reactor was being turned off.

“Let’s leave an Earth where our children and grandchildren can all play without worries,” she said, wearing a shirt that had, “No thank you, nukes,” handwritten on the back.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Associated Press

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Shawn Corrigan is by some accounts the hardest-working photography assistant in the history of hard-working people. But since he can’t join every single photographer on every single shoot, he put together a list of everything you’d need to replicate having a badass sidekick. More »

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First announced way back in January, the Samsung Galaxy S Advance has today launched in the UK, bringing a respectable list of mid-range specs to the table. Inside its curved Galaxy S II-style chassis there's a 1GHz dual-core CPU, 768MB of RAM and a 4-inch SuperAMOLED display, with a 5MP camera on the back and 8GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card). On the software side, the S Advance packs Android 2.3 Gingerbread (yeah, we know) and Samsung's TouchWiz 4 UX.

SIM-free prices start at £322.80 including VAT, and Three UK's also offering it for free on monthly plans starting at £23 per month.

Source: Three UK, Clove Technology

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