Southern Pines' origin illustrates the power and importance of planning. Once a place where trees were harvested and processed to the point of resource exhaustion, a type of long-range plan was crafted - initially called "Vineland" - to help sell and establish the town as a resort community. Over time, the concept succeeded, with residents attracted by the Town's vision gradually making it their own, and establishing shared civic priorities, expectations and goals. Today, much of the original Vineland plat survives as the core of Southern Pines in a form that the Town's founders would recognize and appreciate.

The Town's inherent charm and livability has been "discovered" in a context of wealth and mobility never envisioned prior to World War II, and pressures have emerged that threaten the very qualities that have defined Southern Pines for so many years - qualities most residents hope never to lose.