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Urban revolution: rethinking the American small town

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Urban revolution: rethinking the American small town

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Content URBAN REVOLUTION:
RETHINKING THE AMERICAN SMALL TOWN
by
Jennfer E. Mapes
A Dssertaton Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(GEOGRAPHY)
Copyright 2009 Jennifer E. Mapes
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to all of those who provided academic, strategic, and moral support
during the work leading up to, and during, my dissertation research and writing. I offer
special thanks to my advisor, Michael Dear, who inspired this unique take on compara-
tive urbanism, and who took a chance on my small towns. Thanks also to my doctoral
committee members, Jennifer Wolch and Bill Deverell, and to Greg Hise and Rod McK -
enzie who advised on my qualifying exams. I am grateful to my fellow grad students
at USC, who provided valuable guidance and set an example of strength and integrity.
And to Billie Shotlow who remains behind the scenes, but integral to doctoral work in
the USC Geography Department.
In the field, Gina Bloodworth kindly offered a home base, friendship, and guid -
ance for my early research in Ellensburg, where Ken Munsell of the Small Town Institute
also provided invaluable mentorship. In Anaconda, Connie Daniels and Faye Najaar of-
fered me lunch, coffee, and kindness in my early weeks of fieldwork. Rita and Beth Bee
provided a place to stay, and friendship. I am also most grateful to the hospitality shown
me in Routt County by Tammie Delaney and family, along with the citizens’ committee
of Vision 2030.
Many thanks to those I worked with at various archives and public libraries,
where my questions were answered with enthusiasm and where I was able to take ref-
uge and use their wi-fi.
A debt of gratitude is also owed to those who encouraged my academic inter-
est in geography, to Darrell Norris at Geneseo, Deryck Holdsworth at Penn State, and
graduate students I met during my master’s work who are now in far-flung corners of
the Earth, but continue to offer guidance and support.
Finally, I am grateful to my family, friends, and the landscapes that have inspired
me; to Los Angeles, Schuylerville, Saratoga Springs, Northumberland, Fort Collins, State
College, and Ellensburg; places that encouraged me to explore, look closer, and learn.
iv
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Abstract
Chapter 1: Urban revolution
Research objectives and plan
Significance: The future of the small town
Chapter 2: Small towns, landscape traditions, andcontemporary
urban change
The urban landscape: City as text
Contemporary change in the ‘world city’
Looking beyond the extraordinary to the ordinary
Chapter 3: Towards a model of change in contemporary small towns
Looking for an ‘urban revolution’ in small towns
Creating a new model of change in small urban places
Data sources & methodology
Chapter 4: The small town in the American imagination
Place attachment, nostalgia, and myth: The small town as
American ideal
A short history of the American small town
Competing small town myths of the 20th century
‘What heaven must look like’: Reviving the small town
ideal in the 21st century
From cultural ideal to force of change
‘Small town values’ and putting a value on small towns
Chapter 5: Demographic change in American small towns
Defining ‘small town’
Methodology
The American small town, by the numbers
A cluster analysis of small towns
Change and the American small town
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Chapter 6: The unique and the generic: Change in seven small towns
A methodology for contextualizing change
The New West: Growth, change, and small towns
The population boom: growing towns
Shifting economies and ethnicities: Small towns in
transton
End of an era? A small town in decline
Distinct small towns, emerging patterns
Contextualizing change
Chapter 7: Same as it never was: Change and the contemporary
small town
Beyond main street: Commercial and residential sprawl
The heterogenous small town: Cultural, economic,
and political diversity
Connectivity and cosmopolitanism
Transforming the American small town

Chapter 8: (Re)negotiating space: Translating global to local
Borders/boundares
Citizenship/democracy
Dependence/interdependence
Rethinking the transition between cause and effect
Chapter 9: The real versus idea: Landscapes of nostalgia
Nostalgia: Reasserting a sense of place and time
Environmental awareness
Place marketing
Variations on protectionism

Chapter 10: Rethinking the American small town
The transitional small town
Reassessing place
Looking back, looking ahead
References
Appendix A: Archives
Appendix B: Local archival material
Appendix C: Interviews conducted
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Appendix D: Questions submitted to USC’s IRB
Appendix E: Media articles on small towns, 2000-2007
Appendix F: Urban clusters by population, 2000
Appendix G: Urbanized areas by population, 2000
Appendix H: Summary File 3 data collected
Appendix I: Variables used for cluster analysis 1990/2000
Appendix J: Cluster means
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Figure 3.1: A model of contemporary change in small towns
Figure 3.2: Research methodology and hypotheses
Figure 4.1: Norman Rockwell’s small town
Figure 4.2: Television small towns
Figure 4.3: Scenes from Everwood
Figure 4.4: Content analysis of media reports on small towns
Figure 4.5: 1970s and ‘80s predictions of small town booms
Figure 5.1: Shifting understandings of small towns
Figure 5.2: Multiple definitions of urban
Figure 5.3: Locations of urban clusters and urbanized areas
Figure 5.4: Racial composition of urban clusters and
urbanzed areas
Figure 5.5: U.S. population change, 1990-2000
Figure 5.6: Predictors of a cluster analysis of small towns
Figure 5.7: Geographic results of small town cluster analysis
Figure 5.8: Map of exurban small towns
Figure 6.1: Location of study sites
Figure 6.2: Demographic profile of study sites
Figure 6.3: Map of Wellington, CO and Steamboat Springs, CO
Figure 6.4: Wellington, CO
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List of Figures
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Figure 6.5: Steamboat Springs, CO
Figure 6.6: Map of Ellensburg, WA and Quincy, WA
Figure 6.7: Ellensburg, WA
Figure 6.8: Quincy, WA
Figure 6.9: Map of Safford, AZ and Silver City, NM
Figure 6.10: Safford, AZ
Figure 6.11: Silver City, NM
Figure 6.12: Map of Anaconda, MT
Figure 6.13: Anaconda, MT
Figure 6.14: Population change and key events in study sites
Figure 6.15: Typology of American small towns
Figure 7.1: Downtown Wasilla, AK
Figure 7.2: Cleveland Avenue vacancies, Wellington
Figure 7.3: Main Street vacancies, Anaconda
Figure 7.4: Main Street vacancies, Safford
Figure 7.5: Woods Hardware, Ellensburg
Figure 7.6: Galleries, Steamboat Springs
Figure 7.7: Walkscore and amenities for study sites
Figure 7.8: Commercial strip, Safford
Figure 7.9: Opposing sides of retail debate, Ellensburg
Figure 7.10: Residential sprawl, Safford
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Figure 7.11: Commercial sprawl, Silver City
Figure 7.12: Residential sprawl, Wellington
Figure 7.13: Residential sprawl, Quincy
Figure 7.14: Residential sprawl, Ellensburg
Figure 7.15: Latino influence, Quincy
Figure 7.16: Latino influence, Quincy
Figure 7.17: Latino influence, Wellington
Figure 7.18: Economic divisions, Steamboat Springs
Figure 7.19: Economic divisions, Quincy
Figure 7.20: Issac’s Bar & Grill, Silver City
Figure 7.21: Anaconda’s global connections
Figure 7.22: Digital landscape, Steamboat Springs
Figure 7.23: Digital landscape, Silver City
Figure 7.24: Municipal internet offerings of study sites
Figure 7.25: National financial connections, Ellensburg
Figure 7.26: National financial connections, Quincy
Figure 7.27: Airport connections, Steamboat Springs
Figure 7.28: Gentrification, Silver City
Figure 7.29: Global connections, Steamboat Springs
Figure 8.1: Safford-Thatcher Urban Cluster
Figure 8.2: 20th Avenue, Safford-Thatcher border
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Figure 8.3: Boundary landscape, Safford-Thatcher border
Figure 8.4: Wellington Growth Management Area
Figure 8.5: Anti-regional retail protest, Ellensburg
Figure 8.6: Conceptual model of de facto vs. de jure processes
Figure 9.1: Survey results, Vision 2030, Steamboat Springs
Figure 9.2: Historic buildings, Silver City
Figure 9.3: Montana Hotel, Anaconda
Figure 9.4: Washoe Theater, Anaconda
Figure 9.5: Main Street Plan, Safford
Figure 9.6: Community events, Steamboat Springs
Figure 9.7: Community events, Wellington
Figure 9.8: Old West motif, Ellensburg
Figure 9.9: Rodeo landscape, Ellensburg
Figure 9.10: Rodeo landscape, Steamboat Springs
Figure 9.11: Nostalgic landscape, Quincy
Figure 9.12: City hall-turned-museum, Anaconda
Figure 9.13: Train depot-turned-arts center, Steamboat Springs
Figure 9.14: Yampa Core Trail, Steamboat Springs
Figure 9.15: Bike-friendly downtown, Silver City
Figure 9.16: Gila Resource Information Project image, Silver City
Figure 9.17: Green signage, Steamboat Springs
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Figure 9.18: Art galleries, Steamboat Springs
Figure 9.19: Art galleries, Silver City
Figure 9.20: Heritage tourism, Anaconda
Figure 9.21: Migration patterns, northwest Colorado
Figure 10.1: Global and local change in the contemporary
American small town
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Abstract
Research in urban geography tends to focus on large cities. This dissertation
recognizes that cities come in many sizes; it argues that it is important to study
small towns as urban places. Further, it finds that urban processes occurring in
small towns are not just useful to expand our understanding of these places, but
as indicators of broader urban change, challenges, and futures. This dissertation
asks how and why small towns are changing. It expands the base of literature on
small towns through research into American cultural understandings of these
places, as well as a statistical analysis of 3,000 small cities.
To contextualize urban change, I examine seven small towns, considering how
the local landscape is changing, using interviews, archival documents, news
media, and municipal representations. I find that the traditional small town of
the American imagination no longer exists. Nostalgia is not enough to protect
small towns from urban forces of contemporary change. Small towns are becom-
ing less compact, more diverse, and more connected to outside influences. These
changes affect the form, the “hard city,” and the character, the “soft city,” of small
towns in the United States. Yet despite these changes, nostalgia persists, putting
changes in urban form in conflict with the perceived city.
1
Chapter 1
Urban revolution
The 20th century had just beat the shit out of the place and left it exhausted. Everything
in it was broken, dented, faded, forsaken. Many of the inhabitants were wards of the
county social services. The economy was dead and buried. …Hopelessness hung over
Schuylerville like a miasma.
In 1990, an expose on my hometown was published in New York Times Magazine.
Its title was: “Schuylerville Stands Still.” Schuylerville was once a bustling mill town
of 2,500, but by 1990, jobs had disappeared and its population had dwindled to 1,300.
Located along the Hudson River, Schuylerville was too far north of New York City to
be commutable and too far south of the Adirondacks to be a tourist destination. “For all
practical purposes, Schuylerville, and towns like it, have become colonial outposts of
another America,” wrote James Howard Kunstler in the New York Times. “The idea of the
self-sustaining small-town economy, still so potent in our national mythology, is grimly
contradicted by the vacant shopfronts and decomposing facades.”
The piece was scornful of the village of 1,300 that had once been a healthy
Hudson River factory town. Kunstler painted Schuylerville as a welfare dump, full of
pregnant teenagers (too “silly” to use birth control) and lazy adults (who had no interest
in well-paying jobs at the local orchard; they chose welfare instead). The article’s

1 This description of Schuylerville is from James Kunstler’s website (http://www.kunstler.com/
mags_chloe.html). His New York Times Magazine article was more carefully worded, but similar in
tone and conclusions.
2
author became a nationally-known landscape critic when his Geography of Nowhere was
published in 1993; Chapter 7 in the book, “The Loss of Community,” was a reworking
of this article. Kunstler’s view of small towns was critical but also pitying. He seemed
to be documenting the death of a landscape and disappearance of a lifestyle. Like many,
Kunstler was nostalgic for a time when small towns were bustling and self-sufficient.
But as it turned out, Schuylerville was not dying. In years following the article,
Schuylerville began to flourish, albeit slowly, in fits and starts. Its storefronts filled,
its dilapidated Victorian homes were painted and their lawns were mowed. Liquor
and tattoo shops on its main street were replaced by a book store and coffee shop.
The village’s child poverty rate — 19 percent in 1989 — dropped to 11 percent in 2000.
Property values increased and vacancy rates decreased.
There were costs attached to this success, however. Rents and home values in
the village have doubled. And despite its newfound success as a residential community,
Schuylerville has never regained its economic base — most residents are employed
elsewhere, the factories are still empty. Meanwhile, landscapes once preserved
because of the village’s stagnation and poverty are being bulldozed for new housing
developments, and practical furniture stores are being replaced by boutiques aimed at
toursts rather than resdents.
Like many small towns across the country, Schuylerville is in transition. It is
looking for its place in an economically-restructured society. There are towns that
are growing faster than Schuylerville, and for different reasons. There are towns that
remain in decline. Each of these towns has a story, each is seeking its own place in a
3
globalizing, sprawling, information-age society. While small towns remain preserved in
the American imagination as places of idyllic isolation, many of these towns are being
affected by the same forces of urban change evident in larger cities: migration, economic
restructuring, and the rise of information technology. These changes are important by
themselves, as they pose challenges to the sustainability of small towns as once-rural
land is developed, and economic inequities grow stronger. But they are also important
to consider alongside the cultural ideal of the small town; as both media and academics
celebrate the qualities of this ideal, as in reality it is becoming more distant. My
dissertation identifies how small towns are changing, and describes how these changes
manifest in the form and character of American small towns
2
. It explores the conflicts
that result from the ideological and physical transformation of small town America, and
explains how a better understating of small towns can bolster our knowledge of urban
processes in other places.
Research objectives and plan
This dissertation aims to describe changes in small towns and to critically assess
what they can offer to an overall understanding of the contemporary urban condition.
The first set of chapters provides an introduction to the research and an ov erview of the
methodology employed. I consider how others have theorized urban places, and

2 Throughout this dissertation, I use the term “small towns,” which I define as concentrated
human settlements with populations of between 2,500 and 50,000. In Chapter 5, I offer an ex -
tended explanation for this definition. I use the phrase “ American small town,” to describe what
are known municipally as villages and cities in the continental United States, because small town
serves as both a demographic and a cultural descriptor.
4
then use these writings to create my own model for understanding change in small
towns. The second set of chapters describes the forces of change at work in small towns.
It provides a contemporary profile of small towns, filling significant gaps in previous
research in this area, and sets the stage for a closer examination of change in these
towns. In the third and final set of chapters, I consider the outcomes of these changes. I
select representative towns and consider change at regional and local levels, including
its effects on the physical appearance and character of towns. The conflict that results
from these outcomes provides insight into the challenges created by contemporary
change in small towns and suggests parallels between change in small and large urban
places. Below I describe my seven research objectives in greater detail.
First, I describe cities as a focus of geographic research on forces of contemporary
change. I consider how the urban landscape is used to describe cultural, social, and
economic change. This change is the focus of a large body of literature on urban theory,
both within the discipline of geography and elsewhere. I consider both the findings and
the focus of this literature. Why study cities? In the early 21st century, what are the key
forces of change in American cities? How does scholarship take into account population
size in urban research, and what alternatives to this research focus have been suggested?
To what extent have contemporary theories of metropolitan change been applied to
small towns? Chapter 2 offers a look at contemporary urban change as described by
other researchers. This chapter describes the forces behind these changes, as found in
larger cities, and considers what researchers have found in non-metropolitan areas that
suggest important changes are underway in these places as well.
5
Second, I create an alternative framework for understanding change in small
towns and propose the means of describing and assessing the effects of these changes.
Assuming that change is occurring in both urban and rural areas, with some overlap
in the forces behind the change, where do small cities fit into this model? What data
are missing on small towns and how might this gap in research be filled? What
definitional issues need to be addressed? What types of changes might be expected
based on a review of the literature, and how might these changes be assessed? Both
the demographic and perceptual status of small towns needs to be addressed before
examining changes in these places. Chapter 3 outlines my model of understanding
urban change in small towns, and the mixed set of methods that are used to describe
change at multiple scales.
Third, I describe the historic role of the small town in U.S. cultural discourse
and analyze how this has changed in contemporary portrayals. To better define what it
means to be a small town in the United States, I first define the “ American small town”
in a qualitative sense. What has been the historic role of the small town in America?
How has this changed? Equally important as historic elements of this definition is an
understanding of how the small town has been portrayed in popular discourse. In other
words, what is the role of the small town in the American imagination? How is this
role reflected in recent media reports? I seek to bridge the gap betw een portrayals of
perceived change and actual contemporary change, considering how media portrayals
affect individual decisions. Chapter 4 looks at the traditional perceptions of small towns,
as established in American culture since the 19th century. This chapter suggests that a
6
long-lasting idealization of small towns may be significantly altered as a consequence of
patterns of change there.
Fourth, I define small towns quantitatively, creating a demographic profile of
small towns in the United States. I develop a measure to gauge which of the 25,000
incorporated places in the United States are “small towns,” and use this to gather socio-
economic data from 1990 and 2000 on these towns. I examine both how small towns
have changed and how they compare to larger cities in their rate of change. Have small
towns as a whole become larger and more prosperous? More educated? Are many
residents new to the town or the country? In Chapter 5, I examine overall demographic
change in small towns, and outline a taxonomy of small-town urban change revealed by
a cluster analysis of the national sample.
Fifth, I generate a typology of contemporary small towns and use it to select a
sample of towns for subsequent analysis. Acknowledging that there is no one “average”
small town, I generate a typology of contemporary small towns using both quantitative
and qualitative methods. What are the most common combinations of variables in the
data set I have created? What does this say about small towns? Chapter 6 describes a
typology of small towns and considers the role of geography and history in how these
towns are affected by contemporary urban change.
Sixth, I identify changes in the form and character of a set of small towns selected
for more detailed analysis. What is the town’s historic economic base? How has this
changed? What physical resources does the town have, and how have they changed in
recent years? What changes have occurred, and with what consequence for the town and
7
its boundaries? Has the town become more diverse, not just ethnically, but economically
and culturally? How long have its residents lived there? How does the town represent
itself, and what does this say about its character (or perceived character)? I am interested
in the overlap between form and character, and also in how perception of these
characteristics affects reality. Chapter 7 examines commonalities in how the landscapes
of small towns are changing.
Seventh, I describe conflicts resulting from these changes and implications
of overall shifts for urban futures. What changes do small town residents see most
clearly, and how are they reacting to these changes? What makes headlines in the local
newspaper? What topics divide residents at city council meetings? I am particularly
interested in the “urban” nature of these problems. How do these conflicts match with
or differ from those seen in other, larger cities? What do they say about the future
geographies of small towns and overall urban trends? In Chapter 8, I describe how
mediating forces affect the outcomes of change, and how these forces are shifting with
an increased awareness of the non-linear processes that form landscapes. Chapter
9 concludes by examining local forces of change: how increased recognition of the
inherent value of place creates unique landscapes of preservation and (re)creation of
nostalgic places.
Significance: The future of the small town
As we question the future of the city, the emerging forms of the small town are
often seen as a solution. While some see the small town as dying, the small town ideal
8
remains an important part of Americans’ ideas about community and what human
settlements should look like. The American small town is portrayed — in popular media
as well as utopia-inspired urban planning — as possessing the best qualities of urban
life, the urban village, and the open countryside.
My dissertation reconsiders this portrayal by describing national trends and
investigating local experiences. It expands upon the relatively sparse literature on
small towns by placing the small town in an urban context. As “urban,” the small town
is subject to the same contemporary trends ascribed to world cities. These changes,
I argue, can be “read” by looking closely at the landscape of the small town, which I
examine critically through interviews, analysis of public and private documents, and
photographic documentation.
I believe that small towns must be “rethought.” To plan for a more sustainable
future, small towns need to be recategorized — not as rural, isolated and static, but as
connected, dynamic urban places. Research on small towns should go beyond their
bucolic rural settings in order to recognize the distinctly urban changes occurring there.
I argue here that small towns can offer more general insight into urban processes. T o
better understand urban processes, we should consider change not only in large cities,
but also in small cities, or what Robinson (2000) calls “ordinary cities.” This dissertation
expands academic knowledge about small towns through its analyses of the socio-
cultural implications of urban change, processes of change, and the emerging 21st
century American landscape. More broadly, it illustrates the connections between urban,
cultural, and environmental geography, and links to critical questions of sustainability.
9
Chapter 2
Small towns, landscape traditions, and contemporary urban change
Contemporary urban change is the focus of a large and important body of
geographic research. This chapter considers the methodological, theoretical and
empirical roots of this research, describing the shifting theoretical traditions of
using the cultural landscape to better understand societal change and explaining the
epistemological impulses underlying this change. It describes how empirical research
into “world cities” represents these places as Petri dishes of social change, where global
change becomes locally manifest. This research reveals important social, economic,
cultural, and environmental transitions. However, while the study of change in urban
landscape in several large cities has offered important insights into social change,
such research typically excludes smaller cities. This chapter reveals that while strong
arguments have been made for research on these “ordinary cities,” too little research has
been conducted on the changing landscape of small U.S. cities. It concludes that while
research into contemporary change is illuminated by the urban landscape, it fails to take
into account more than just a narrow band of cities.
The urban landscape: The city as text
The term “landscape” in geography has spanned many decades and meanings.
Its most enduring definition in academia refers to the physical landscape as modified by
10
human activity. However, contemporary research involving landscape recognizes that
physical and cultural landscapes are intertwined, and that landscape is both a product
and a process. Landscape has been and continues to be a useful tool for studying
understanding place and the human condition. While “reading the landscape” was once
a primarily descriptive tool of rural geographers, today it is an analytical tool used often
by those seeking to better understand the city. In what follows, I describe the theoretical
underpinnings of the idea that urban places can be read as text, with both “hard”
dimensions, that is, a physical space, and “soft” that is, a place of malleable and multiple
perceptions.
Describing the landscape
In landscape study before the 1980s, two names arise more often than most: Carl
Sauer and J.B. Jackson. Each man offered a unique (but related) take on the subject. Carl
Sauer claimed the concept of landscape as the primary subject of geographic research
in his 1925 essay The Morphology of Landscape. Sauer argued that cultures act upon
nature, producing a variety of “cultural landscapes.” He saw the study of landscape as
an objective, scientific endeavor devoted to cataloging and explaining changes on the
Earth’s surface due to human intervention (Duncan 1994; Sauer 1956). Sauer studied
landscape as a product; he was not interested in the process that created change, only its
net result.
Sauer’s work on landscape focused on historic rural landscapes. Many other
early studies of landscape were contemporary, but tended to remain focused on rural
11
areas and communities ― places threatened by growth and change. This focus suggests
that the purest form of landscape is the natural landscape, and that this can be erased
by the activities of humans. For Henderson (2003), this presents a dilemma in which
landscape was only set in the past, a nostalgia-toned analysis not useful for concerns of
the present.
The Sauerian focus on past landscapes of the past was modified and enhanced by
J.B. Jackson, who placed folk and popular landscapes on equal footing. Jackson was not
a geographer (independent scholar seems the best description), yet his work influenced
generations of geographers, including Sauer and many of his students. Jackson looked
beyond agricultural landscapes, considered attractive and worthy of preservation, to
urban and suburban landscapes including some that might be seen as ugly. Jackson
wrote about parks and trees, but he also wrote about trucks and roads (J.B. Jackson
1994).
Students of Sauer and others who followed the Berkeley School of cultural
geography incorporated Jackson’s ideas into their work. Encouraged by Jackson to
engage contemporary space, by the 1970s those studying landscape had begun to
examine both folk and popular landscapes as socially-produced spaces. In 1979, this
enhanced Sauerian-Jackson tradition peaked with the publication of The Interpretation
of Ordinary Landscapes, edited by Donald Meinig (1979a). The work included overviews
of the field as well as introductions to the concepts of perception, authorship and
reproduction of landscapes, i.e. the seeds of a more “textual,” process-oriented view of
landscape.
12
The following year, the tide of landscape study turned with an essay by James
Duncan published in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers (Duncan
1980). The essay criticized the use of the anthropological theory of superorganic culture
in cultural geography. Duncan argued that writing about a unified culture denies
individuals agency and ignores predilections influenced by race, ethnicity , gender or
class. J.B. Jackson, Peirce Lewis, Wilber Zelinsky and others writing on landscape were
also faulted for not taking a position on the landscapes they described. In creating a
“more democratic” study of landscapes, they failed to provide a rationale for their
research or to examine the landscapes critically (Henderson 2003).
Reading landscape
In recent decades, cultural geography has branched out far beyond the
traditional examination of material objects (Jackson 1989). It has been influenced by
cultural studies, which suggest a focus on how tangible cultural objects can provide
insight into intangible human values and meanings. Humanism has amplified this focus
on values, turning cultural and other geographic research away from description and
prediction and towards a goal of understanding. Marxist geography and other political
understandings of culture have produced a more critical view of how we understand
cultural clues, promoting research on conflict, resistance, and pow er (Rowntree 1988).
Under these influences, cultural geography has expanded in both its subjects of interest
and methods of study.
Just as Duncan’s call to consider heterogeneity in culture spurred a variety of
13
reexaminations of landscape, so too did writings by Denis Cosgrove, who addressed
the argument that landscape studies lacked a critical viewpoint. Together, these authors
established what many describe as the “new” landscape studies. In order to reconsider
our use of the term landscape, Cosgrove (1984; 1985) returned to its etymological roots.
He argued that landscape was a “way of seeing that was bourgeois, individualist and
related the exercise of power over space” (1985;45). He claimed that landscape and
ideology go hand in hand both in the past and in the present.
Both Cosgrove and Duncan focused on landscape and its textual properties.
Duncan and Duncan (1988;2001) applied methodologies from literary studies to examine
landscapes as texts ― with authors, intended viewers, historic context all considered.
Landscapes were viewed as series of discourses, all set within a social framework.
They are constructed by people and groups, who, while retaining some agency, are
constrained by outside circumstances, in a “synthesis of charisma and context” (Ley and
Duncan 1993, 329).
The still-emerging field of new cultural geography includes a substantial subfield
focused on landscape authorship and its ties to broader political issues of power and
control. Research is often urban rather than rural, offering a critical look at the creation
of space and place, as well as the impact of these landscapes on social relations. The field
of landscape studies, once focused on homogeneity, now thrives on examining social,
cultural, and economic differences (Henderson 2003; Hugill and Foote 1994)
14
Reading urban landscape
The advent of “new” cultural geography and the reinvigoration of landscape
studies spilled over to urban studies. Positivist ideas about cause and effect were
challenged, as urban geographers argued that decisions made by residents and leaders
were not simply loss/gain calculations. Instead, research on the “city in cultural context”
recognized that urban places are both the producer and product of culture. Everyday
life, paralleling or in contrast to structural constraints, provides “an alternative focus for
social exploration” (Agnew et al. 1984).
Lefebvre (1991) theorized that the connection between these two fields
occurs through the production of space. Physical space is connected to space that
is experienced and space that is perceived. To understand one concept of space, we
must also understand the others. Experiences in space — everyday life — creates the
understanding of space we work with. This produced space can be read as a text to
better understand those who formed it. For Lefebvre, individuals and the capitalist state
are both contributors to the production of space. It is important to Lefebvre to see both
the political and the personal in spaces that are created through lived experiences and
perception.
Research on contemporary urban change uses a model for “reading” the city, for
seeing the urban as representative of the results of broader patterns of change. In looking
beyond demographics and the physical landscape, those who study the urban seek what
Jonathan Raban calls the “soft city,” which “awaits the imprint of an identity for better or
worse, it invites you to remake it” (Raban 1974, 3). The soft city is an imagined city, one
15
created via “illusion, myth, aspiration, nightmare” that may be “more real” than the city
etched through statistics and road maps (Raban, 4). Duncan and Duncan (1988) argue
that much can be learned by reading the landscape, by seeing the city as a text that can
be interpreted. The reader contextualizes identity and landscape, and in seeing how they
help shape, and are shaped by, the city.
The concept of the city as text can serve as both an epistemology and a
methodology. In addition to theorizations about cause, effect, and the production of
space, reading the city can be a process used to gain an empirical understanding of
spatial processes. The resurgence in recent years of Walter Benjamin’s flâneur – poet,
artist, stroller, explorer – represents a renewed recognition of the importance of being
an observer and participant in the urban landscape (see Benjamin in Bridge & Watson
2002). This reading of the city allows for an intricate understanding of places inscribed
with multiple meanings; it offers a methodology for describing the effect of the city on
culture -- and of culture on the city.
Contemporary change in the ‘world city’
Assessments of the contemporary city, within and outside of the cultural context,
often describe a place undergoing significant change. The contemporary era may be
characterized by the uncertainty of a post-modern society, in contrast to the certitude
promised, but not often delivered by modernity. Other more empirically-oriented
analysts simply acknowledge an overall economic, social, and cultural shift over the past
ten to thirty years without conscious attention to the philosophical and epistemological
16
shifts that characterize this transition.
On the ground, urban transition can be seen as shifts in employment, social
structure, and urban form. One important element of these changes is globalization,
indicating that not only are changes affecting people and place around the w orld, but
that these changes are interconnected and cut across multiple scales. The city is a place
where these global changes are conceived at the local level, where culture becomes
material. Thus if we are interested in change, the city is a perfect place to look at
manifestations both tangible and intangible.
A late 20th-century transition
There is more agreement concerning where we are coming from than where
we are transitioning to. Distinctions are made between then and now, be it through
employment, culture, or class. For Harvey (1982) the transition is comprised of: “the
continued deindustrialization of large urban regions, the rise of the service sector,
the changes in labor processes, the reorganization of housing markets (around
‘gentrification’), and the increasing ghettoization of a permanently unemploy ed
underclass …” (ix). Harvey does not label this change as a particular era, although
others have sought a specific label for how and why society is changing (Castells 2000;
Dear 2000; Jameson 1991)
One of the earliest descriptors of a late 20th-century transition is Bell (1973), who
describes the transformation as “post-industrial,” changing from centuries of production
and resource extraction into one of service-oriented employment with a focus on
17
specialized knowledge. Post-industrial society is a study in contrasts: fewer Americans
among a larger workforce are employed in manufacturing today than 25 years ago.
Industrial structure itself has shifted from the smokestack to the computer chip. The
workforce of today is primarily professionals and managers, compared with the skilled
factory workers of the 20th century. Vocational skills are being replaced by requirements
of a bachelor’s degree. Wage levels are increasingly bifurcated, as the workforce divides
between high-skill workers receiving high wages and low-skill workers receiving low
wages. Similarly, post-Fordism involves the decline of the traditional working-class, as
flexible production places an emphasis on individual and divides the w ell-paid full-time
employee from the unstable part-time employee (Amin 1994).
What these theories have in common is the tying together of a description of
how things are with how they have changed. Society in the early 21st century is often
described as being in the midst of a transition. For Jameson (1991), this transition
involves a society that is morphing into a “postmodern world” of late capitalism. He
sees this “periodizing hypothesis” as an umbrella concept that includes many of the
phrases used to describe today’s society: post-industrial, information society, and most
importantly, late capitalism (145).
Postmodernism describes a broader spectrum of shifts. For the purposes of
this study, I focus on political, social, economic and cultural changes that are part of
what Dear (1986) refers to as epochal change, sometimes referred to as postmodernity.
Jameson describes postmodernity as a “radical break” with the industrial past, with a
new focus on consumerism, media, and information technology emerges (143). For Dear
18
and Flusty (2002), this break occurs within a “plethora of concurrent societal realities;”
there is no one focus of postmodernity, it is a general condition of contemporary society
(5).
One key process used to describe these changes — no matter their nomenclature
— is globalization, the process of transition into a social condition that Steger describes
as “interconnections and flows” that make “borders and boundaries irrelev ant” (Steger
2003, 7). Taylor et al. (2002) describe globalization in terms of human agency — the
people and organizations that compress time and space using new technologies.
Cultural changes and connections are not organic but are manipulated by those in
power. Globalization is economic, political, and cultural; it is the result of what Harvey
(1990) calls a time-space compression.
Many who write on globalization argue that it is, in essence, a homogenizing
force. However, there are two alternative perspectives to keep in mind for the remainder
of this dissertation. First, that there are “winners” and “losers” in the globalizing world
and isolation from these changes means increased economic and social marginalization.
As Massey (1994) points out, this is not necessarily a geographically-specific isolation;
the disconnect can also be tied to identity in the forms of gender, race, class. Second,
globalization need not only mean a “flattening” of place, and its effects are not simply
forced from above. Places cannot become simply “globalized” (i.e. homogenized), since
they are part of a complex web of identities (Massey 1994). Another idea, which does
not essentially contradict Massey, is that globalization is the consequence of everyday
actions (Flusty 1994).
19
Postmodernity, globalization, and other descriptors of contemporary change are
not just about time, they are about space. Multiple levels of change are implicated, as
globalization is resolved and manifest at the local level. Even as globalization is blurring
boundaries between nations — economically, politically, culturally, ideologically, and
environmentally — it is also magnifying the importance of micro-level decisions.
While most literature on contemporary change is focused on large-scale entities — big
corporations with big buildings in big cities, for example — the small is of equal
importance in providing indicators of change (Clarke and Gaile 1997). It is also equally
implicated in the globalization process.
World cities
When examining theories of urban change on the ground, most geographers
focus on large cities. Specifically, they privilege “world cities.” The concept of world
cities was first used by Patrick Geddes in 1915 to describe “great cities” that are the
focus of global commerce (Johnson 1994, 676). In recent years, the idea of world cities
has escalated in importance in geographic literature (Friedman 1995). For Taylor and
Lang (2005), contemporary world cities are the focus of global economic networks. Other
taxonomies of world cities similarly focus on economic connections with other cities
(Sassen 2001; Gugler 2004). Identified as important to understanding societal change
on a broader scale, these cities have been the subjects of research in a variety of areas
— social, economic, and cultural.
Key findings focus on the urban growth and sprawl, the influx of immigrants,
20
the rise of the service sector and decline of manufacturing, and the increased importance
of amenities in residential choice. Authors also look at the restructuring of cities
― increased economic polarization, variations on suburbanization, and the impact of
digital technology. How and where cities are growing is also important. Environmental
advocates have long argued that urban growth, particularly low-density development
at city edges, is inherently unsustainable. Today cities are starting to see these limits
firsthand as they search for the resources needed to maintain growth at its current pace
(Dear 1996). Concerns include effects on wildlife and ecosystems, water resources, and
loss of agricultural lands. Municipalities are grappling with how best to use public policy
to manage urban growth (Wolch et al. 2004).
Population growth and economic prosperity in large cities is tied to a number
of factors. Here, geography plays an important role. Frey (2005) found that the fastest
growing metro regions in the United States are in the West and the South, while cities
losing population are in Rustbelt areas of Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio. The
fastest-growing metropolitan area is Las Vegas, which between 2000 and 2004 grew by
18.5 percent. Overall, most large cities are growing in population (Katz and Lang 2003).
Immigration in the United States is on the rise, and immigrants are headed to
its cities and suburbs (Waldinger 2001). While immigration has long been a contributor
to population growth in cities, today’s patterns are changing. A hundred years ago,
immigrants were largely white Europeans, but by 2000, half of U.S. population growth
is Latino, either due to immigration or natural increase (Frey 2005). In addition,
immigrants are not moving to traditional immigrant “gateway” cities or even to the
21
city centers themselves. Newcomers today are moving to suburbs, and to cities like Los
Angeles, Houston, San Jose, and San Diego (Singer 2007). Migration, immigration, and
political change raise questions about urban identity, public memory, and community
representations of history (Deverell 2005).
The cultural makeup of cities is also changing. Growing cities are those that
can appeal to residents and consumers. A city’s ability to produce and offer jobs is no
longer its sole key to success. Instead, urban amenities (including the availability of
both public and private goods and services, aesthetics and physical setting, and ease
of movement) have become among the more important attractions to new residents
(Glaser et al. 2000). Amenity-driven, liberal, “bohemian” cities are growing faster than
their more conservative counterparts. The “creative class” described by Richard Florida
(2003) is impacting not just which cities are growing, but how they are growing. Upper
and upper-middle class residents are creating new cultural centers by gentrifying
neighborhoods, buying and restoring properties in once-declining neighborhoods
(Smith 1987).
Not all cities are growing, however. Many cities in the Midwest and Northeast
are in decline. Research by the Brookings Institute shows that most cities that “lag
behind” in terms of economic and residential health are the older, industrial cities.
Among the least healthy are cities well-known for their problems, such as Flint,
Michigan; Newark, New Jersey; and Buffalo, New York. These cities have not made the
transition from manufacturing-based employment to new knowledge and service sector
jobs (Vey 2007).
22
Urban change is not just about population growth or decline, it is about
the urban form. Growing cities continue to push further and further beyond their
municipal boundaries. Most outer suburbs continue to grow, but there are also new
forms of development. Edge cities, suburban in character, but which serve as green-
field employment as well as residential hubs, are extending the urban/rural fringe
outward (Garreau 1991). Changing development patterns are causing urban researchers
to rethink traditional ideas about the urban form as they grapple with increased
development pressures at the city’s edge.
Cities are restructuring in their distribution of wealth. Sassen (1994) claims that
deindustrialization led to the concentration of power and wealth in “global cities” and
concomitant decline of former manufacturing centers. This polarization is observable
both within large cities and between them. In a survey of U.S. income distribution in
cities, Berube and Tiffany (2004) found that 25 percent of households earned 20 percent
of income nationally, while only 16 percent of households were in the highest 20 percent
of incomes ― illustrating an increasing divide between rich and poor, or an economic
polarization also regarded as characteristic of the contemporary city.
Technology plays a role in urban restructuring. Similar to economic polarization,
the digital divide can separate cities and residents who have less access to high-speed
internet connections (Warf 2001). Digital technology structures and restructures social
connections, which are now organized by electronic networks (Castells 2000). Internet
connections are also changing the nature of individual and community life (Dishman
23
2002). For Mitchell (1996, 2000), this transformation is not only about connectivity, but
about a change in how we physically construct and understand cities.
Urban trends and directions in research
Urban geography in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has produced a
large literature on urban change, and diverse assessments of urban futures. Dear
(2000) suggests five research themes: world cities, focusing on “the sheer size of the
emergent mega-cities”; dual city, examining the affect of socio-economic polarization
on the urban form; hybrid city, recognizing the production of new cultural forms;
cybercity, illustrating the affect of the information age on the city; and sustainability and
governance, examining municipal and regional reactions to environmental and social
challenges (160). Alternatively, Short (2006)describes connected research frames for the
city consisting of power, through contestation and political identity; difference, where
gender, race, and identity are expressed through urban processes; polity, of politics
broadly understood; and comity, in tolerance and civility.
To conceptualize urban change, a variety of approaches have emerged to name
or describe cities. Figure 2.1 categorizes these approaches into four aspects: hierarchy,
typology, patterns of urbanization, and urban parcels. The first aspect, hierarchies,
describes spatial relationships between cities and other settlements. The second
approach, typologies, offers an explanation for the differences betw een urban forms,
and/or clusters these forms into urban types. A third approach considers individual
cities, describing patterns of urbanization in each city — the city’ s unique (but
24
generalizable) urban form. In the following section, I describe each of these aspects in
detail and provide examples of scholarship that illustrate each descriptive approach.
Hierarchies considers land use over space, and relationships between human
settlements of different sizes. Perhaps the most common approach is to describe cities
in opposition to the countryside, an urban/rural dichotomy (Gerard and Hugo 2004).
Following a recognition of trends of suburbanization, a tricotomy of urban/suburban/
rural provided a more descriptive (although similarly limiting) form to the hierarchical
description of cities. Broad definitions of large/medium/small cities and city/region
approaches also consider size and spatial relationships. Most often these are defined
Figure 2.1: Approaches to describing
cities
25
quantitatively by a city’s population, although the hierarchical approach can also be
seen in qualitative descriptions of urban (large/central/autonomous/diverse) versus
rural (small/peripheral/dependent/homogenous) (Brown and Cromartie 2004), or in
relationships, like a commuting relationship between suburbs or exurbs and cities.
A second method used to describe cities is to create typological categories. This
approach describes only the cities that fit into these categories (from a single category
to dozens of categories). Typological categories can measure the size of the city, such as
metropolitan or micropolitan; its relationship to another city — exurb. One method of
typological categorization (c) involves quantitatively dividing all cities into categories,
and labeling them “n” or “(not) n” such as metro, micropolitan, or exurb. Typologies
also measure socio-economic characteristics of places: college towns, rust-belt cities,
sun-belt cities etc. This measurement (d) offers individual assessments that are not
necessarily comparable to other types of cities but often involve comparisons between
cities in the grouping.
Describing the patterns of urbanization in a single city, extrapolated to other cities,
is a third approach to describing cities. This approach describes land use patterns, both
in terms of the built landscape, and/or through residential patterns — by race, age,
income level, etc. The description of these patterns can be seen Dear and Flusty’s (1998)
model of Keno capitalism (e), or Edward Soja’s (2000) model of Exopolis. The 1925
Burgess model of urban growth (f), exemplifies an early 20th-century attempt to make
sense of the patterns of an individual city and extrapolate the results to other cities.
Finally, cities are described by their constituent parts, urban parcels that
26
fit together to create the urban fabric. This research could include a focus on a
single location, such as an ethnoburb (g), which contributes to a broader pattern of
urbanization. Other research examines a type of urban parcel, such as an edge city
(Garreau 1991) or privatopia (McKenzie 1994) or other pieces of the sprawling urban
landscape described by Hayden (2004) that can be found in numerous places throughout
a single metropolitan area. Like patterns of urbanization, urban parcels can be
generalized beyond the city where empirical research is conducted.
These approaches are often framed by more broadly theoretical work, or more
specific empirical work. This work, however, remains most commonly focused on large
cities. The next section of this chapter examines arguments for expanding this focus to
include cities across the urban hierarchy.
Looking beyond the extraordinary to the ordinary
The concept of the world city, and its dominance in urban research, has led
some authors to question an epistemology that makes a few cities the foci of what
we understand to be urban. Amin and Graham (1997) warn that the notion of a
paradigmatic city (or cities) tends to generalize notions of urban change from unique
cities onto all cities. An obsession with ranking cities according to population and
economic well-being promotes forms of growth that are unsustainable, argues Robinson
(2006), who expanded the idea of “ordinary cities” into a book of the same name. For
Robinson, the continuation of colonial thinking is evident in an understanding of cities
27
that privileges First World, wealthy, large cities over other, non-Western places that she
believes are no less important.
While theorists of the ordinary city do not specifically discuss small cities, their
research underscores the importance of considering how urban change affects cities of
different sizes rather than just the world’s “most important” cities. Markusen et al. (1999)
took a step in this direction, in their study of “second tier cities,” describing some of the
changes experienced in these places. Their interest lay in medium-sized cities where
growth has occurred due to a specialized industry, such as the Raleigh-Durham research
triangle and Silicon Valley.
Change in the American small town
There have also been calls for research beyond world cities that have included
collections of empirical work on small towns. Building on Markusen et al.’s suggestion
that change can be seen beyond world’s “top tier” cities, and Amin and Graham’s call for
a study of the ordinary, Bell and Jayne (2006) argue that there is a third tier of cities that
has been ignored by urban studies: small cities. They are interested in not only moving
beyond what they call an overly-consumptive lifestyle of “spectacular urbanism” found
in top-tier cities, but in discovering how small towns are uniquely impacted by urban
change.
Another collection, Beyond the Metropolis: Urban geography as if small cities mattered ,
has a promising name which it unfortunately does not live up to (Ofori-Amoah 2007).
Like Bell and Jayne, it is primarily a collection of research on particular types of changes
28
in a selection of case study small towns. As in other works on small towns, editor
Benjamin Ofori-Amoah argues that although small cities merit study, little research has
been done in this area. The collection offers several discrete single-city case studies, but
generates few insights into overall trends in small towns, or little discussion of how they
connect to urban processes as a whole.
These two collections are illustrative of the disjointed nature of small town
scholarship. Contemporary work on small towns — while suggestive of important
trends — tends to ignore the big picture, including the urban context I highlight in this
dissertation. More important, there are few articles and monographs published on small
towns. The works described here are not just representative of the literature; they are
(with a few exceptions) the entirety of the literature. Below, I describe four aspects of
small town scholarship: descriptive landscape studies, analysis of planning and policy
documents, case studies and single-issue research, and census-driven overviews.
There were two periods of high productivity in the field of small towns. In the
1920s and ‘30s, sociologists discovered the small town as an opportunity to practice
newly-embraced empirical methods (Hoover 1995). The seminal early work on the small
town is Lynd and Lynd’s Middletown (1929), which uses a single small town (Muncie,
Indiana) to represent the everyday lives of Americans. It served as a critical assessment
of America’s transition into a “modern” industrial society (Hoover 1995). Numerous
studies followed the Lynds’ work in the following decades, using single small towns
(often disguised by pseudonyms) to document and critique American society as a whole
(Warner and Lunt 1941 and 1942; Hollingshead 1949; Vidich and Bensman 1958).
29
There was a brief revival of small town literature in the 1970s and early ‘80s
following census statistics that (briefly) indicated a trend toward non-metropolitan
migration. This work provides an interesting preview of an interest in the connections
between small towns and a sustainable lifestyle. Concerns about the cost and availability
of gasoline led to a questioning of suburbia and an interest in alternative urban forms.
This interest was both practical and nostalgic. One such book, The Small Towns Book
(Robertson and Robertson 1978) examines the contemporary realities of small towns:
The American people are going home again — back to the small towns and
farms their grandparents built and tended. Seeking the simple life of the
countryside, these homecomers are confronted instead by dam builders, poverty,
unemployment, rising property taxes, uncontrolled growth, and dwindling
farmlands. The Small Towns Book introduces you to the ‘fighters and keepers’ who
are battling for decentralization, self-sufficiency, and a democracy that will work
(back cover).
While clearly nostalgic, the Robertsons’ book, and others like it (e.g. Swanson et al. 1979),
provide a surprisingly evenhanded assessment of the American small town in the 1970s.
This era also produced a well-balanced edited series of books based on four
Mississippi-based conferences on the future of the American small town. In particular,
Change and Tradition in the American Small Town (Fazio 1983) connects the small town’s
past (Lingeman 1983; Jackson 1983) to analyses of how it is changing. Analyses vary
from a consideration of economic development policy (Szcezerbacki 1983) to a narrative
of the intersection of public memory and everyday life (Adicks 1983). Together, these
essays establish the necessity of making connections between the small town ideal and
contemporary reality.
Another approach to small towns, descriptive landscape studies include both
30
academic and non-academic works; which I divide into either nostalgia tinted with
scholarship or scholarship tinted with nostalgia. An exemplar of the first category
is Peirce Lewis’s (1972) “Small Town in Pennsylvania,” which describes Bellefonte,
Pennsylvania and offers a nostalgic assessment of the effects of contemporary change
on small towns. In the tradition of J.B. Jackson and Wilbur Zelinsky, research by John
Jakle (1982) on 20th-century photographs of small towns, Jakle and David Wilson
on “derelict landscapes” (1992) and Richard Francaviglia (1996) on small town main
streets are insightful but relatively atheoretical assessments of the changing small town
landscape. Other works, with similar result, are nostalgic descriptions of change in small
towns written by non-academics that provide useful insights (Rawls 1990; Kunstler 1994;
Pierson 2007).
Policy and planning literature focuses on preserving and protecting small towns
from development. A critical assessment of previous planning policy and results is
offered in Above and Beyond: Visualizing change in small towns and rural areas (Campoli
et al. 2002). Campoli et al. examines changes in the small town form, including the
development of commercial strips at the edge of small towns and the loss of vibrancy
at their core. They also consider the results of this change in terms of socio-economic
fragmentation, increased dependence on the automobile, and a loss of public space.
Most works in this field, however, tend to be less analytic, and more process-oriented.
The Small Town Planning Handbook (Daniels et al. 2007), for example, provides an up-
to-date, extensive overview of the planning process, but is not aimed at providing a
critique of this process.
31
As the edited collections described above suggest, one form of small town
literature is the case study focused on creating a contemporary history of a single town,
often through the lens of an overarching issue. Considering the effect of cultural and
global trends on a locale, Thomas Paradis (2003) describes the history of the “theme
town” of Flagstaff, Arizona. Similarly, Paradis considered the political economy of
Roswell, New Mexico (2002), analyzing the success of this small town in reviving its
economy by using a sense of place to attract tourists. Small town “success” w as also
the subject of Rina Ghose’s (2004) examination of the effects of rural gentrification on
the landscape and class structure of Missoula, Montana. Alternatively, some authors
select single typological categories or issues and describe small towns through this lens.
In a primarily descriptive piece, Blake Gumprecht (2003; 2008) conducted a mixed-
methods survey of 59 U.S. “college towns,” finding more differences than similarities
between these towns. Several authors have also considered the impacts of immigration
on the demographic and cultural landscapes of small towns (Massey 2008; Nelson and
Hiemstra 2008).
Two recent examinations of small city demographics focused on the overall
urban trends in small places. Brennan et al.’s (2005) research on demographic change
in small cities provides an important opening for the study of small towns, focusing
on the American experience. They find that between 1990 and 2000, small cities grew
at twice the rate of large cities, with a growth rate of 18.5 percent (348). Moreover, the
smallest small cities grew faster. Small cities grew most in the West, compared to the rest
of the country, following the national trend, and they also grew in the Midwest, while
32
overall urban population growth was second-highest in the South. Two of the strongest
predictors in small city population growth are location within a metropolitan area
(suburban growth), and increases in non-white population (growth due to immigration).
In a second important study, Erickcek and McKinney (2006) focused primarily
on municipal policy but also provide a good overview of contemporary change in small-
to medium-sized cities. By comparing cities’ expected change in income from 1990 to
2000 to their actual change in income, Erickcek and McKinney sought to categorize
small cities into “winners” and “losers.” The results of their research were eight small
city clusters or groupings of cities that tied performance rankings to their geographic
and economic context. Losing cities included “old economic places,” dependent on
the private sector for support, abandoned company towns, and brain-drained college
towns. Winning cities were those that had found a new economic base, and those where
“something big was happening,” such as Wal-Mart’s home base in Arkansas, and the
Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle (243-246).
While the scholarship above focuses on small towns and cities, research on rural
areas can also contribute to an understanding of small towns. At the juncture between
rural and urban is a proliferation of “exurbs.” Berube et al. (2006) identify exurbs as
possessing a combination of four characteristics: being at the edge of a metropolitan
area, having 20 percent or more residents commuting to work in an urbanized area,
having low housing density, and high population growth. Most authors examine
exurbanization as a trend affecting wild or agricultural land. How ever, Davis et al.
(1994) differentiate between exurban development in rural areas and in small towns and
33
argue that they must be examined separately, suggesting that exurbanization as manifest
in small towns remains an understudied area.
Urban migration to small towns is affecting the sense of community in these
places, according to Sonia Salamon (2003). In Newcomers to Old Towns, she described
the transformation of Midwestern small towns into suburbs (exurbs) of larger cities
by newcomers seeking affordable housing. Salamon argues that while generational
residents have maintained a connection to the past and to each other, new residents
are disrupting these connections. She writes that, “the transformation of rural America
mirrors national residential trends of suburbanization, urban sprawl, and uneven
development — that generate upscale conditions in some places while leaving other
places behind” (9).
While exurbanization is described as a national trend, rural change is also a
consequence of the regional impacts of economic restructuring. Nelson and Byers
(2000) found that in the America West, extractive industries remain an important part
of community economies. Mining communities have been the focus of much literature
describing recent boom and bust economies of these places (Robertson 2006; Marsh
1987; Power 1996). The uncertain futures of these communities are illustrative of the
challenges of places where “the land means much but gives little” (Marsh 1987, 337).
Great Plains towns, face a similar result, as the decline of the small farm and the rise
of agri-business has meant persistent population loss from rural areas (Egan 2003). In
communities where farming persists, particularly in the West, the influx of migrant
workers has significantly changed the demographic makeup, at times leading to conflict
34
between new and old residents (Kotlowitz 2007). In the southwest, tourism allows small
towns to remain economically viable, but often changes their character and creates
conflicts between visitors and residents (Davis and Morais 2004).
The economies of rural areas are also being changed by growth due to “quality
of life” considerations. Amenity migration speaks to both a shift in migration causes
and a change in who is migrating. While migration was once tied primarily to jobs, new
“pull” factors to exurban areas are often related to the amenities offered by these places.
Amenity migrants seek a slower lifestyle, proximity to wilderness, a greater sense of
community, and distance from large cities (Hunter et al. 2005). Rural areas are attracting
wealthy migrants from urban areas, resulting in a rural gentrification, in which less
wealthy residents are replaced by newcomers, “changing the essential character and
flavor of that community” (Yangley et al. 2005, 1).
While uneven in their approach and often divided between work on small cities
and rural studies, these studies support the notion that change is occurring beyond
world cities. Students of “ordinary cities” propose that they are important to study for
three reasons. First, change is not only manifesting itself in world cities, but in places of
all sizes across the globe. Second, it is important to recognize that similar forces result
in unique outcomes dependent upon urban places. Third, that the concept of “world
cities” implies that financial success is dependent upon connectivity , which is tied
to development and progress. Robinson argues that this sets unreasonable goals for
“lower-tier” cities. In sum, these alternative perspectives suggest that it is important
35
to consider non-world cities both as contributors to an overall understanding of urban
change and as unique manifestations of this change.
Conclusions
The critical overview described in this chapter provides the existing
methodological and epistemological underpinnings of my project. This dissertation
seeks to merge both old and new understandings of reading the landscape – description
and analysis – into an understanding of the cultural context of the small town and a
basis for exploring the experiential city. Future chapters will use existing literatures
about the postmodern era and its manifestations in demographic and cultural change,
to examine the specifics of urban change. The selection of case study towns in this
dissertation will support the argument that research on “ordinary cities” can add to a
more robust understanding of contemporary change in urban places.
Chapter 3 creates a framework for connecting these literatures to create a new
model for understanding urban change in small towns. It extends the research described
in this chapter to map out a methodology for this dissertation. The methodological
approach connects global and national trends to local change, using a combination of
quantitative and qualitative research methods. In the final analysis, this dissertation
builds on reading the city as text, using emergent urban landscapes to connect urban
theory to change on the ground in overlooked places.
36
Chapter 3
Towards a model of change in contemporary small towns
For Manuel Castells and Saskia Sassen, the future of small towns is dim. They
will soon be “pushed away to counterculture marginality” (Castells 2000, 440). Sassen,
too, writes that globalization is localized in large cities, and that important changes
are happening in these places, not in small cities and towns (1994, 73). Academic
research reflects these assumptions. When authors write about urban change (or
global/national change in urban places), it is most often situated in cities with large
populations ― important cities. Small towns are not seen as worthy of research on
topics like (im)migration, gentrification, and economic polarization. Y et just as global
processes have magnified local change in large cities, small towns have undergone a
similar material and cognitive shift. The research in this dissertation contradicts these
assumptions, both epistemologically and empirically.
To learn about how small towns are affected by contemporary change, it is
necessary to conduct research on two levels. First, a research base must be established.
There has been relatively little written by academics about the cultural history of
small towns, yet cultural assumptions about these places are important in a society
that is increasingly independent of spatial restrictions, where people can choose to
live based on sense of place, on perception. Also missing is a properly-defined base of
demographic research, as only recently has a useful census definition of small towns
appeared – the urban cluster -- that includes population size, density, and isolation in an
37
statistical reference to small urban places. With this definition comes an opportunity to
create a demographic profile of these places. The second level of research necessary to
understand contemporary change in small towns involves an empirical assessment of
day-to-day life in these places, of changes in physical form and character. This analysis
will be conducted through a series of case studies that are both quantitatively and
qualitatively informed.
This dissertation is both a broad contemporary history of small towns and
an attempt to bridge social theory with local urban realities. This chapter first uses a
critique of current literature to explain why my research is an important addition to
urban geographic scholarship. It describes the conceptual model used to move toward
a better understanding of change in small towns. In the remainder of the chapter the
methodological approach I will use to gather data on change in small towns is outlined.
To better understand contemporary change in small towns, research must be both broad,
attentive to national trends; and deep, considering local contexts. It must also address
cognitive and material dimensions – the perceptions as well as realities of change in
these places.
Looking for an ‘urban revolution’ in small towns
While Castells and Sassen openly denigrate small towns as subjects of urban
research, most critical assessments of small towns paradoxically occur through omission.
Small towns are rarely included in research on urban places. While individual research
38
projects have shown small towns to be changing in ways similar to other places in the
urban hierarchy, there has been little recent work that offers a broad understanding
of how and why small towns are changing. Urban theory is thought to apply most
significantly to large cities, not, as Short writes dismissively, “large rural villages”
(Short 2006, 2). And yet, in his description of the contemporary “urban revolution,”
Short’s analysis of changes is by no means confined to large cities. In this chapter I
argue that connections between urban and small town, landscape and society, ordinary
and extraordinary, must be included in order to have a fuller understanding of both
everyday lives and broad urban processes.
Reading the small-town landscape
As outlined in Chapter 2, the concept of landscape has both changed and
been changed by new ideas in cultural geography. Landscapes are no longer taken
literally, they are also examined as texts, open to interpretation by the observer. This
focus recognizes that the built landscape does not simply emerge through democratic
consensus, nor is it constructed by an individual; rather, the landscape emerges from
multiple forces which can help to illustrate broader political issues of power and control.
These studies are often focused on the urban rather than rural. They offer a critical look
at the creation of space and place and the impact of these landscapes on social relations.
The field of landscape, once focused on homogeneity, now thrives on examining social,
cultural, and economic differences. To field studies have been added new analytical tools
borrowed from social theory and cultural studies.
39
“Landscape” is no longer just about physical imprints on the land, it is about
ideological impacts. To understand the ideological aspects of landscape, it is important
to incorporate social theory, humanism, and an understanding of underlying political
attributes of people and place. While I do not reject the usefulness of documenting
physical changes in the landscape, I recognize that it benefits from both empirical
documentation and theoretical analysis. It is important to examine landscape as ideology
as well as landscape as cultural artifact.
My research will consider the ideological landscape of the small town ― how
it has been represented in literature, film, and other media, as w ell as the physical
landscape of the small town, including land use and buildings as well as signage and
other representations. We learn independently from these examinations, but also from
considering them in tandem. I am interested in how these aspects of landscape are
related. Culture creates landscape, but landscape also creates culture. How we see
small towns is strongly tied to how we create small towns. Rather than privileging one
understanding of landscape (and resultant methodology) over the other, I believe that
incorporating both the material and the ideological (as well as overlap between the two)
into landscape analysis will provide a clearer impact of the landscapes themselves and
the people who inhabit them.
Urban futures ‘as if small cities mattered’
Where do contemporary American small towns fit in the study of geography?
For many they are relegated to the netherworlds of geographic research, somewhere
40
between fences and farming; they are quaint places relatively unimportant in the fast-
paced world of global cities. Yet, I argue here, such urban concepts as globalization,
network society, and polarization are not in opposition to some of the key tends in
rural studies: amenity migration, exurbanization, and economic transition. In small
towns, these trends come together. It is important to recognize that “urban” and the
social, economic, and cultural implications of this term, is applicable to all places of
concentrated population, both large and small. As such, the changes we see in cities can
be seen to varying degrees in cities of all sizes.
In theory, change is not necessarily restricted to a certain type of locale — it has
no population limit. In practice, research on contemporary change has focused on large
cities, which are seen as places where global change becomes local; understandably so,
as empirical research in these places has revealed important social, economic, cultural,
and environmental transitions. As urban geographers (and sociologists, planners, etc.)
have studied changes in large cities, rural researchers have noted a similar transition in
the socio-economic realities of the people and places they study. These researchers most
often work independently, and few have sought to bridge the gap between the large city
(seen as the subject of urban geography) and the small town (seen as the subject of rural
geography).
The theoretical work of Robinson and Amin and Graham, the empirical work
of researchers like Markusen et al., and the small body of disconnected literature on
small towns, provides two basic arguments for research on small cities. First, they
demonstrate that change does not happen solely in large cities. No place is static, and in
41
an increasingly interconnected world, no place is immune to global trends. Second, these
authors recognize that while such trends affect all cities, their effects are not univ ersal.
To ascribe world city manifestations of change to cities of all sizes is to do a disservice to
our understanding of “the urban.”
Small cities are growing faster than large cities, in part due to the perceived
amenities of “small town life.” They are changing both in form and character, blurring
the lines between urban and rural. For Castells and others, small towns are increasingly
insignificant in a globalizing world, but I will show that, far from being pushed to the
periphery, small towns are highly reflective of contemporary urban trends. These trends
may manifest differently than in larger, “world” cities, but are no less significant in life
and theory.
Creating a new model of change in small urban places
My overarching task in this dissertation is to read the texts of the contemporary
urban place in order to uncover the relationship of major urban trends to growth and
change in American small towns (Figure 3.1). My assertion is that such trends have
outcomes that are as relatively significant and visible as the outcomes in world cities,
which are the intellectual obsession among most urban scholars.
From the outset, I place world cities and small towns in the same analytical
and discursive spaces. There are a great many versions of this space, including current
theories of postmodern urbanism, neoliberalism, sustainable cities, network societies,
and many other tropes used to understand the contemporary urban condition. It is not
42
Figure 3.1: A general model of contemporary change in small towns
my purpose to select a single theoretical approach to frame my analysis. All theories
appear to have some merit and contribute to the explanation of contemporary urbanism.
Instead, my analytical model is focused on observable empirical outcomes – both
material and cognitive – that arise due to the myriad forces of contemporary urban
dynamics.
Small towns are subject to a variety of internal forces emanating from local,
43
essentially non-metro sources, including a declining agricultural base, an exhausted
natural resource base, and amenity migration. They are also influenced by a set of
external forces operating at a variety of scales from the global to the local, including
outsourcing of local industry to offshore locations, and ties – enhanced by digital
technology – to major metropolitan areas. Such material conditions of urban change can
be in competition with residents’ cognitive maps of the small town experience. They
may, for instance, remain tied to a sense of place that has long vanished as a result of
economic decline, or a recent development boom. In this sense, the material reality of
small towns might contradict enduring cultural perceptions of the towns.
In today’s urbanism, these contextual factors – material shifts and enduring
or altered cultural attachments – are being buffeted by significant forces of change.
These include immigration, economic restructuring, network society, and urban sprawl
(Figure 3.1). These changes are principally associated with the following outcomes:
increased demographic diversity, decline of a previous economic base, and (sometimes)
its replacement by a new foundation for local economic prosperity, e.g. tourism; the
changing nature of work and requirements of the local labor market; and absorption by
an adjacent expanding metropolitan area.
My interest lies in how these specific manifestations of change find resolution
in the locality. In other words: what happens in small towns that are subject to national
and global changes? My model (Figure 3.1) posits that these kinds of change will
predominate, and may therefore be used as measures or indicators of external national
and global change. These are:
44
 Changes in form, including the size, economic base, and social structure of the
small town;
 Changes in character, including (a) the case of growing towns, elevated levels of
population diversity, connectedness and prosperity; and (b) in declining towns,
stagnation in demographic and economic indicators, increased marginality, and a
burgeoning poverty; and
 Changes manifest as conflict among small town residents as the material
conditions of change contradict enduring cognitive ideals of prior small town
tradtons.
The form, character, and conflict dimensions of urban change in small towns are at the
heart of the analytical tasks undertaken in this dissertation. Figure 3.2 outlines in more
detail the precise analytical strategy I selected to pursue these issues in a sample of small
towns in the American West. The final section in this chapter outlines the specific data
sources and methods that will be used in an inquiry based on this strategy.
The analytical approach adopted in this dissertation is predicated on reading the
texts of small urban places. As such, it proposes to use the model outlined in Figure 3.1
as a general heuristic device for interrogating the text. The model can be regarded as a
check list of anticipated outcomes observable on the ground.
45
The bulk of my analysis begins with consequences, i.e., the range of visible
outcomes that find their origins in the processes outlined in Figure 3.1. As a result,
my inquiry does not start with general urban processes and attempt to trace them to
concrete local outcomes; rather, it examines those outcomes and traces them to the
processes. For example, I will not begin by considering the broad manifestations of
globalization, but I will examine the evidences of the urban text in anticipation of
making links to global processes. In this sense, my dissertation is about globalization
from below (see Flusty 2004). Similarly, in the case of diversity, I will not be opening
with a broad exploration of population demographics. Instead I will be observing
diversity on the ground (should it exist) as indicative of broader urban trends. This
methodology (Figure 3.2) permits an analysis that triangulates my research findings
through multiple methods, which are described in the final section of this chapter .
Contemporary change in American small towns is, in large part, a crisis of
perception (Figure 3.2). That is, even as the towns themselves may be undergoing
significant growth or decline, the decision-makers, long-term residents, and newcomers
in the towns find their traditional preconceptions and ideals as being uncomfortably
challenged by change. My first analytical-empirical task is therefore to establish the
current perceptual basis of small-town culture, based on a comparison with established
conventions of that culture. I want to establish a fundamental understanding of
changing perceptions of the “soft,” cognitive dimension of small-town life (Chapter 4).
Adjustment in resident perceptions of the “soft” small town is enormously complicated
by rapid change in the material basis of small town living – the “hard” small town.
46
The task of identifying the nature of changes in small towns is made more
difficult by the absence of a standard definition of the small town. Thus, as an essential
preliminary to my investigations of small-town outcomes, I seek to establish an
empirical basis for creating a typology of small towns based upon newly-available U.S.
Census data (designation of “urban clusters”). From that typology, I will select a small
sample of typological archetypes that enable me to identify case-study options that cover
Figure 3.2: An operational model
47
the full range of the small-town experience, e.g. growth vs. decline, resort communities
vs. metropolitan exurbs. The choice of case studies will be confined to the American
West, in order to bracket the different historical experiences of small towns across the
nation (Chapter 5). The precise choice of case-study towns based on the findings of
chapters 4 and 5, is outlined and justified as an essential preliminary step to an in-depth
analysis of the sample selection (Chapter 6).
The textual readings of my case study small towns are guided by a three-
fold analytical frame: “hard,” “soft” and “hard-soft in conflict.” First, I establish the
dimensions of material change in the form of the small towns (Chapter 7). These will
include such features as downtown decline or resurgence and small-town sprawl.
Secondly, I will explore the character of the towns, especially residents’ attitudes to
the changes that are underway in each town, i.e. their perceptions of the “soft” town. I
anticipate observing changes in, for instance, resident sentiments toward newcomers, to
the influx of tourists, gentrification, or, alternately, abandonment and decline (Chapter
8). The material and mental changes occurring in small towns often become the source of
conflict between the old and the new – between the traditions of the long-term residents
and the expectation of the newcomers. I anticipate that the small-town setting will make
clear any local disputes that are usually more hidden or muted in larger cities. Conflicts
around land use change, the town’s economic base, and evolving sense of community
are likely to be prominent in many of my case-study small towns (Figure 3.2, Chapter 9).
The analytical triad of form-character-conflict provides an appropriate initial
categorization of the field experience that I anticipate in on-the-ground analysis.
48
Reading the text of any landscape is challenged by the potential for sensory overload
and unbounded categorical choices. The key methodological choice, as I proceed to
empirical field work, is to find a balance between infinite experiences and oversimplified
description and analysis. In practice, the prospect of achieving this balance can be
improved by a judicious selection of research methods that are open to a variety of
experiential results. This selection is the focus of the next section of this chapter.
Data sources & methodology
It is important to define small towns before assessing change in these places.
Chapter 4 contributes to a new definition through a cultural profile of how small towns
have traditionally been perceived, and how this perception has changed in the 21st
century. The chapter critically assesses past works about how small towns, including
a history that offers insight into their place in the American imagination. It uses this
assessment as a basis for understanding how these representations have changed
through an analysis of recent portrayals of small towns. It examines how popular culture
represents small towns, and how this has changed from the 20th century, using in-depth
analysis of televisions shows to exemplify this change. The chapter also undertakes a
content analysis of news media articles about small towns. This analysis, of 74 articles
published between 2000 and 2007, considers articles that use the phrases “small town”
and “change,” to analyze both what is changing and the reactions to this change.
49
Demographic profile
Chapter 5 provides a quantitative assessment of small towns. This assessment
offers a three-part analysis of small towns. First, using U.S. Census data, it critically
assesses past demographic definitions of small towns and argues for the use of a new
census definition, “urban cluster,” to select small towns. Second, the chapter examines
basic census data for these towns, and compares them to larger cities. The chapter
concludes by conducting a cluster analysis of the towns in order to better understand the
differences and similarities between and among them. This cluster analysis provides the
basis for a typology of small town and sample selection.
Past definitions of small towns have varied greatly. One of the most recent
definitions, offered by Brennan et al. (2005), includes all cities with populations
less than 50,000. These authors, however, fail to account for the suburban nature of
approximately half their sample towns (53 of their 100 towns were located within 50
miles of a major city). Chapter 5 offers an alternative definition that accounts for both
population quantity and population density. Using this definition, I find that there are
approximately 3,000 small towns in the United States.
For these towns (“urban clusters), I collected U.S. Census 2000 data including
population size, median income, median home value, unemployment rates, poverty
rates, educational attainment, nativity (both foreign-born and out-of-state born), the
median year homes were built in the town, and average commute time. I also computed
change in these places between 1990 and 2000. I then compared the results of these data
to those of larger cities (“urbanized areas”).
50
This chapter concludes with a cluster analysis of these data. This analysis divides
the towns into nine groups. It describes the common traits in each cluster, looking at
both 2000 data and change between 1990 and 2000. I consider the geographical patterns
between and among the clusters, and also offer a look at the cluster “center,” that is the
town that statistically best represents the group.
Site selection
From this typology, I selected seven small towns for my research and visited
each for approximately three weeks between October 2007 to August 2008. Research
included both observing and participating in small town life, and a review of documents
produced by both public and private sources. I conducted interviews with key
informants and documented my observations with maps and photography. A wide
variety of methods were used in analyzing change in the towns I visited, with the goal of
triangulating my findings and seeking multiple levels of understanding of how and why
the towns are changing.
Chapter 6 combines the qualitative research in Chapter 4 and the quantitative
research of Chapter 5 and to create a typology of small towns to select seven small towns
as study sites. These towns were selected using a combination of methods. First, I chose
to use the American West as a regional backdrop for a contextual description ― of both
history and geography ― of the towns. A regional selection of towns also reduced travel
time between locations. Using the cluster analysis from Chapter 5, I identified several
possible study sites. I further informed this statistical basis for selection through the
51
media reports described in Chapter 4. I examined town websites and other local media
to find towns that have recently undergone, or are undergoing self reflective studies
(a master plan, for example). The final seven towns I selected included those that were
both representative of their cluster, but also had a standout feature that made them in
aggregate particularly indicative of small town change in America.
Local research
Empirical research at the study sites was conducted simultaneously on four
levels: I used local literature to learn more about the towns’ history; local media to
learn more about its contemporary issues and conflicts; landscape analysis to see how
structural change is manifested in the landscape, and interviews to help triangulate
history, current events, and personal experience (Chapters 7, 8, and 9). Each town offered
different sources; some had extensive literature about local history, while others had
only microfilmed newspapers that must be sorted by hand. Some had a daily newspaper
and internet message boards, others had only a weekly newspaper with low readership
and little to no internet presence. Decisions about what sources w ere most appropriate
were made on a case by case basis. However, there were many commonalities, which I
describe below.
Most of the case study towns had at least one book on local history. Many of these
works, however, were written about the town’s earliest times. With several local history
books, however, a sense of the towns’ history could be established. A visit to a local
museum, often a county museum, was also helpful in establishing the key moments
52
in history for each town. Exhibits helped not only establish facts and dates, but also
suggested what residents regarded as most important — what they saw as contributing
to the overall character of their town and region. For two towns, a local museum archive
of newspaper clippings proved invaluable in connecting history long past to current
events with articles about important issues in the 1980s and 1990s. (For a full listing of
archives visited, see Appendix A.)
To learn more about recent issues and debates in the sample communities, I
examined at least a year’s worth of the local newspaper for each town. All towns
had either a daily or weekly local newspaper. While most newspapers offered online
editions, they varied in their archival sophistication. In the cases where technology
allowed, I searched for key phrases and personalities to learn more about the
background of local issues. The Ellensburg, Steamboat Springs, and Safford newspapers
offered web posting-boards for comments from local residents. These forums were
important for gauging interest of residents in local issues, but not necessarily for
learning factual information. Another method of assessing interest and involvement in
the community was to observe residents and community leaders at meetings and events.
When possible, I attended city council meetings, planning board meetings, and local
festivals. I also read previous minutes of city meetings to learn more about the content
and mood of town meetings (For a full listing of events and meetings attended, see
Appendix B).
I also investigated representations of community image. These could be found
through city documents, including visioning reports and master plans, as well as
53
through city-based websites. Tourism and economic development literature, both online,
and in the form of informational pamphlets, provided additional perspectives on how
the town saw its contemporary role regionally or nationally. Museums and chamber of
commerce exhibits also provided insight into how the towns were marketing themselves
to visitors and potential investors (For a representative list of ephemera collected, see
Appendix B).
Another form of observation was my close consideration of the physical landscape.
I spent much time walking and biking through the communities that I studied. To
document what I saw, I took photographs of both typical features of the community’s
commercial, residential, and recreational areas, as well as aspects of the landscape that
seemed anomalous, yet useful to my study. (Approximately 50 annotated photos per
town are available at: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~jmapes/research.htm.) I also recorded a
map of each community, documenting what portions of the town were residential, and
which were commercial, with particular attention paid to what type of businesses where
in what locations.
A critical aspect of my fieldwork was to conduct interviews
1
with local key
informants (Appendix C). My definition of decision-makers was broad, and was not
restricted to just city council members and town mayors. I was also interested in the
views of local planners, historians, newspaper editors, key business owners, chamber
of commerce directors, and local development agencies. Interviews consisted of several
open-ended questions (Appendix D), the directions of which were sensitive to the
1 This project was deemed “not human subjects research” by the University of Southern Califor-
nia University Park Institutional Review Board staff due to the non-personal nature of the ques -
tions that were asked and was therefore not reviewed by the IRB.
54
comments and position of those being interviewed. I was concerned in particular with
what changes they saw as most important, what forces they believed were behind these
changes, and to what extent they believed their organization or municipal government
could influence the effects of these changes. Interviews varied from 30 minutes to several
hours, depending upon the interest and availability of the interviewee. With these
interviews, I triangulated between what newspapers or demographics suggested were
important changes in the community and what interviewees believed was most affecting
their town. These interviews provided insight not only into the town itself, but also into
the individual lives and perspectives of those interviewed.
55
Chapter 4
The small town in the American imagination
Small towns, for many, are a “way of life,”
1
that defy any simple definitions,
relying instead on the sentimental opinions of those describing them. While it is
important for comparative reasons to set a demographic limit
2
for what qualifies as
“small,” it is also important to consider qualitative definitions of small towns. These
more ephemeral understandings are what most decision-makers (be they local residents
or the national government) often use when making choices that affect small towns. To
understand the geography of small towns ― in both present and future forms ― we
must understand their role in the American imagination, and how this cognitive base is
shifting.
Americans would prefer to live in a small town more than any other type of
settlement. A 2009 study by the Pew Research Center found that 30 percent of Americans
said that if they could live anywhere, they would live in a small town, compared to 25
percent who would prefer to live in a suburb, or 23 percent who would prefer to live in
a city (Morin and Taylor 2009). This result conflicted with other findings of the survey,
that suburban residents expressed higher levels of satisfaction with their community
than those living in small towns (42 percent of those in suburbs rated their satisfaction
“high,” compared to 25 percent of small town residents). The preference for the idea
1 Ken Munsell, former director of the Small Town institute first suggested this definition to me
in 2007, but I found it repeated throughout my research.
2 See Chapter 5 for a discussion of the wide variety of demographic definitions of small towns.
56
of the small town, above the reality of life there, has been supported by cultural
representations of the American small town.
Small towns have a unique place in American culture. Their history as the
primary form of settlement in the formative years of the United States established
the small town as an important part of the country’s cultural heritage. Over the past
century, America’s sense of place, as well as nostalgia for days gone by, has molded the
small town into a myth, an idealized landscape of community togetherness, safety and
serenity. Though small towns went through a period of critique by those who found
them isolated and backward, American culture never lost its affection for the small town
of days gone by. Today the idealized small town has resurged in American culture, often
as a dream of escape for disillusioned urbanites.
In order to understand the reality of contemporary change in small town
America, we must understand the perceptions of these places in reality. In this chapter,
I outline the history of the American small town as it moved from the center to the
margins of American life, but retained its important role in American ideology. I
then consider the small town’s current place in the American imagination through an
examination of 21st-century media representations. I contextualize these representations
through contemporary ideas about sustainable urban forms. Finally, I examine recent
media reports on small towns and consider how cultural representations of small towns
are changing the everyday lived experience of these places. I argue that American
popular culture now embraces small towns not just as distant outposts of the past, but as
potential new homes of the future.
57
Place attachment, nostalgia, and myth: The small town as American ideal
Geographers distinguish between space, which is absolute, and place, which
is relative to the everyday lives of those who experience it (Hubbard et al. 2004). For
Lefebvre, all space is relative — it acquires meaning through interaction, is filtered
through culture and human thoughts and various proclivities, all unique to the
individual (1991). There have been numerous discussions of how space transforms into
place, with an emphasis on experience: how the everyday lives of humans affect their
understanding of the space they encounter. Here I use these previous definitions to
refine a discussion of three journeys from space to place that affect American perceptions
of small towns. First, place is the result of everyday experience, of humans interacting
with their environment, and, often, developing an attachment to it. Second, place is the
result of past experiences, the merging of history and space to create a memory that
is often not congruent with reality — nostalgia. The third category I describe is both
the result of the culture that comes from “real” experience, something that works to
(re)create this culture. Unlike the other forms of place, it is an understanding of place
that arises without any direct contact with the original space. It is place imagined. It is
this socially constructed reality that David Hummon (1981) argues is most important
in our overall views of places. The result of these three metamorphoses from space is
places that are both the subject of social stories and cultural representations, a landscape
of mythology.
The most common discussion of place involves its transformation through
experience, what Henri Lefebvre (1991) refers to as “le perçu.” This is perceived space,
58
space that is created through everyday activities and observations, what Jonathan Raban
(1974) calls “soft” in comparison with the “hard” realities of the physical landscape.
Distance, proximity, landmarks, and positive and negative associations are relative
to individuals and groups who experience space. Made visible through such projects
as cognitive maps, we can see that how people understand the space they traverse
on a daily (or monthly or annual) basis varies depending on individual circumstance
(Lynch 1960, Buttimer & Seaman 1980). In addition to the manipulation of how we
understand physical space, an understanding of these experiences also helps us
understand judgments about space. Although there are often patriotic and other positive
associations made with what we perceive as home, Yi-Fu Tuan (1974) argues that
“topophilia” is not the only result of place experienced: “familiarity breeds affection
when it does not breed contempt” (99).
It is also important to consider the impact of history on spatial experiences.
Once an interaction with space is in the past, it becomes place experienced. Time flavors
how we understand places. Perhaps the best example of this is the effect of nostalgia.
There is value to hindsight as much as there is the potential of it distorting our views
of place, as well as events (Lowenthall 1975). Just as long-time residents may remain
attached to a place based on their history with it, visitors, too, may see places through
a lens of history (Marsh 1987, Lowenthall 1975). In these cases, nostalgia is individual,
but past experiences can also be collective. Communities often select what they choose
to commemorate, manipulating “what really happened” in the process (Halbwachs and
Coser 1992, Said 2000).
59
While the concept of place often revolves around direct experiences, place
can also be perceived through the lens of culture, what I call place imagined. Ths
understanding of place involves both interpretations and judgments about particular
locales. The types of imaginings about places can run from the politically dangerous to
the popularly benign. The concept of orientalism, the “othering” of distant countries and
their citizens, is based on long-distance interpretations of stories and reports (Said 1978).
This type of geographic imagining has a long history of political and social consequences
for both the othered and those doing the othering. Distance is relative, and orientalism
can occur intra-nationally as well as internationally. In the United States, southerners
have long been stereotyped as backward and racist, what Jansson (2003, 2005) refers
to as “internal orientalism.” North and South Dakota, for example, do not have such a
personalized judgment attached to them, yet remain equally unpopular as places to live
(Gould and White 1974).
Imagined geographies can also be positive as well as negative. Considering the
mental maps of university students, Gould and White (1974) examine how students
rate the desirability of future home states. While there is some tendency for students
to have regional proclivities toward their own region, Gould and White found many
national similarities. The Northeast and West Coast, particularly southern California are
seen as desirable. The students surveyed offered opinions not just on places they had
experienced, but on all regions of the United States. They make these judgments from
afar, using popular culture as their guide. In these examples, place imagined may not be
60
creating political discourses, but likely does have a demographic impact on the places
being imagined by outsiders.
The result of experiences (past and present) as well as culturally-filtered
opinions on place imagined, result in a national cultural mythology. This mythology
consists of (and is reproduced via) social stories and cultural representations. Social
stories are stereotypes both positive and negative reproduced through interpersonal
communication, discussions between friends and relatives, even strangers. Stories can
be based on experiences (past and present), but not the first-hand experience of those
telling them. Cultural representations involve these stories as manifested in popular
culture. Literature, film, television, and music all both reflect — and impact — how w e
interpret space.
The mythology that emerges from geographic experiences and stories is
considered in the remainder of this chapter. The small town in the American imagination
is the product of multiple layers of understandings of place, and while there is no one
unified story about these towns, there are many commonalities in American cultural
myths. Together, these common stories help explain current attitudes toward, and
actions surrounding, small towns.
A short history of the American small town
The role of the past in shaping understandings of small towns in the present
is not to be underestimated. Small towns were long the home of most Americans,
particularly in the years when resource extraction created a need for shipping points in
61
the country’s hinterlands. While in later years the economies of small towns declined,
their infrastructure for the most part remained intact, leaving some towns to be
revived through theming and historic preservation; others sat as virtual ghost towns as
populations dwindled and businesses closed (Paradis 1997, Egan 2003, Marsh 1987).
In the early years of European settlement of what became the United States,
nearly all towns were small towns. While Native American villages tended to be
temporary, Europeans intended (with varying degrees of success) for their settlements
to be permanent. Most were styled both consciously and subconsciously after the home
countries of the settlers, mostly English. Towns were functional, providing services to
rural hinterlands, which provided agricultural resources. Most were planned with a
gridded street system that focused upon a central public space (Russo 2001).
Even between towns of common colonial (and later national) government,
there was great regional variation. New England towns were established primarily by
religious groups, as “city upon a hill” communal utopias. The towns were centered
around churches, which doubled as town meeting halls, and the land surrounding
the villages were sold to farmers (Lingeman 1980). In New York and New Jersey,
early towns were less homogenous, with settlers of multiple national and religious
backgrounds filling a variety of economic classes as farmers, merchants and estate
owners (Herron 1939).
Towns in the south had far less structure. The plantation system resulted in a
rural settlement pattern, with homes spread out along river outposts, which allowed
them to ship goods and travel on waterways rather than roads. While early plantations
62
were isolated, the plantations themselves often served town-like purposes, with a socio-
economic hierarchy and (Herron 1939). Towns emerged slowly, with crossroad churches
and trading posts becoming the center of commercial and social activities (Russo 2001).
The pace of urban agglomeration picked up following the Civil War as the economies of
the South shifted (Herron 1939).
In the early West, what is now considered the Midwest, the communal aspect of
the village and farming declined, and homesteads become more independent. Towns
were built along rivers, and later railroads, as speculative investments rather than
religious outposts (Lingeman 1980, Russo 2001). “The frontier” is a common theme in
histories of the small town. The small town is seen as being at the edge of civility and
wilderness, the last step in the urbanizing of a wild America (Adicks 1983, Hobling 1995,
Brederoo 1995).
Most towns in the United States were formed before the 19th century. The next
century saw expansion in towns, particularly as the nation’s railroad network grew. The
railroad opened up the possibility for specialized towns: mining towns that shipped
out natural resources, company towns for both manufacturing and resource extraction,
college towns as the land grant college system took hold, and resort towns that catered
to wealthy residents of larger cities (Russo 2001). For towns established on the railroad
line, the form of the town centered on the railroad, rather than the public square of
earlier years (Jakle 1982). Similarly, commerce became the center of towns in the 18th
century, and Main Street became a source of pride for towns, a symbol of progress and
success (Francaviglia 1996, Jakle 1982). While the size of small towns grew, their role
63
in the national economy remained similar to earlier years, providing a central point of
services for rural hinterlands, and connections to larger cities.
The 19th century was the small-town heyday that in some ways set the stage for
the next century’s economic decline. Not all towns declined in the early- to mid-20th
century, but many saw a loss of population and employment opportunities. Residents
moved to larger cities, industries shut down, farms were sold or plowed under (Jakle
and Wilson 1992). Historic buildings fell into disrepair or were torn down completely.
The consolidation of family farms into agri-industry is an oft-cited reason for
population loss and economic decline in small towns (Fuguitt et al. 1989, Jakle and
Wilson 1992, Egan 2003). As residents changed from business-owners to employees, the
independent spirit of small towns was lost (Jakle and Wilson 1992, 211). Profits, rather
than being reinvested in town, were sent to corporate headquarters elsewhere. In some
regions of the country, decline came not from farms changing hands or consolidating,
but from complete shutdown. Faced with competition from milder climates, farms,
particularly those placed on land that required heavy manipulation to produce, have
failed, and other farms have been replaced by suburban and exurban development
(Olson and Lyson 1999).
For Jakle (1982), the decline of the small town was the result of both physical and
psychological change brought by the automobile. As small towns became increasingly
connected to large cities, residents began to compare the two. Some moved out of small
towns, while those remaining sought to modernize their towns and to (unsuccessfully)
make them comparable to large cities. The automobile also made residents of small
64
towns less dependent on small cities. For Lewis (1972), the small town declined because
its industries ― despite national and regional success in the previous decade ― were
unable to meet the economies of scale demanded by the 20th century. Factories closed,
and, he writes, by the end of the 20th century, “a generation and a half of economic woe
had overlain the town with an almost palpable blanket of gloom” (Lewis 1972, 344).
Lewis’s assessment of small towns found that while their physical state was
assured for the near future, both the economy and the spirit of the small towns had
suffered. Yet as he wrote these words, the tide may have been turning for small towns.
The 1970s saw the first population increase (albeit slight) in the history of the United
States in rural areas (Fuguitt et al. 1989). Place preferences turned tow ard the rural
and small town as big-city residents sought “smallness, simple technology, alternative
lifestyles and environmental conservation” (Swanson et al. 1979, 17). In the 1980s and
‘90s, even as non-metro growth faltered, some small towns were able to achieve a
renaissance, marketing their restored downtown facades, or “themeing” their towns to
attract tourists (Paradis 1997, Lew 1989). Others changed irreparably as they became part
of the suburban fabric.
The “ American small town” that has become immortalized in our stories and
culture, a reminder of towns past and of America past. Thus even when small towns
were declining in size and economic importance, they remained dominant. As Russo
(2001) argues:
Perhaps the greatest legacy of the town … was that urbanized Americans
continued to define community in terms of “smallness” … so when towns ceased
to be their primary community, Americans longed for small places (297).
65
Thus while the history of small towns in America is varied over space and time, in
literature and other cultural mythologies, these distinctions blurred and the story of
many small towns became the story of one.
Competing small town myths of the 20th century
In analyses of small town myths through 20th century American film and
literature, the two strongest discourses about small towns are also two of the most
divergent. The small town as ideal is perhaps the most enduring image of the small
town in American culture. Two of Donald Meinig’s (1979) three symbolic American
landscapes are set in small towns: the New England village and Main Street of middle
America. Meinig finds these symbols not just in literature and film, but in adv ertising,
Christmas cards, and national discourses of what America “should be,” or how we
imagine it to be. Common between the village and Main Street are a connection between
past and present, serenity, prosperity, and, most importantly, a focus on community.
Conversely, a competing story about small towns emerged in the second half of the 20th
century: a critique of these places as isolated and backward. In essence, critics argued
that the towns were too focused on community, they were self-centered to the point of
ignoring the outside world. In this way, the depiction of small towns did not change so
much as the interpretation of its qualities by authors shifted. In the end, how ever, the
positive image of small towns that remains the strongest in American culture.
Often, the dichotomous relationship between the small town and the city is
the focus of this narrative. Small towns are quiet, slow-paced and friendly; they are
66
Figure 4.1: Most Norman Rockwell
paintings depict residents of small
towns in homes, barber shops, and
diners. This painting shows boy
scouts in a small town with a city
skyline in the distant background.
places where neighbors keep an eye out for each
other and where families can be raised safely. This
opposes the qualities of the big city: noisy, hectic,
uncaring, impersonal and dangerous (Hummon
1990, Jakle 1999). Frank Capra’s films, most notably
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington (1939), illustrate this story, of the triumph
of the small town man versus the corruption of large
cities (Brederoo 1995). While large cities are depicted
as places of selfish, or lonely individualism, small
town movies focus on the value of community, both
in opposition to individual and the demands of
broader society (Levy 1991).
Small towns are also seen as “havens
from change,” writes Francaviglia (1996),
and romanticized Old Sturbridge Village in
Massachusetts and Ohio Village outside of Columbus into stuck-in-time creations (131).
Here is where nostalgia for the past and affection for place overlap, as landscapes are
(re)created with affection and sometimes forgetting. Norman Rockwell, who painted
primarily small town scenes, said “I paint the world as I would like it to be” (Shaw-
Eagle 2000, 1). Rockwell first painted these images, immortalized on 322 covers of the
Saturday Evening Post, when based in New York City, but then moved to the small
towns of Arlington, Vermont and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The Rockwellian portrait
67
of America supports the view of small towns as places of stability, of a more innocent
patriotism that may be lost in the modern era (Figure 4.1). As Lingeman (1983) notes,
interest in (and appreciation for) small towns reaches its height during times of “social
upheaval” (3).
While some look at small towns with nostalgic longing, others see them as at
best boring, and at worst backward, ignorant to their own (declining) place in the world.
Baker (1981) argues that Americans “possess a subtle schizophrenia” for small towns,
celebrating its beauty and sense of community, but critiquing it for “its narrowness
of thought and … slowness to respond to change” (4). Just as there is a contingent of
American authors eager to celebrate the small town, there are also those who are eager
to denigrate it. These authors focus on its isolation, its lack of culture and diversity, as
well as its inward rather than outward focus.
One of the earliest and most enduring critiques of the small town is Sinclair
Lewis’s Main Street (1920). Lewis’s primary complaint about the small town is that it
is dull (Van Doren 1931). He finds small towns (based on his own hometown of Saulk
Centre, Minnesota) backward, and worse still, to be unaware of their backwardness:
A savorless people, gulping tasteless food, and sitting afterward, coatless
and thoughtless, in rocking-chairs prickly with inane decorations, listening
to mechanical music, saying mechanical things about the excellence of Ford
automobiles, and viewing themselves as the greatest race in the world (265).
In her review of small town literature through 1939, Ima Herron argues that Americans’
emotional appreciation of small towns in their heyday did not change. Rather, the
critiques of Lewis and others were the result of physical changes in small towns — a
68
reaction to the industrialization of the American pastoral dream. Thus while literatures
remained celebratory of the small town “tradition,” they were critical of changes in these
places they had come to idealize.
This critique found a name in the 1931 overview by Carl Van Doren of “new”
American literature: he called it “the revolt from the village.”
3
This revolt called into
question everything Americans held dear in earlier descriptions of small towns.
4
The
community spirit of small towns was examined closely, and found to be filled with
the gossip concerning the 1957 film (and later television series) Peyton Place, and the
hypocrisy and vicious betrayals of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” (Lingeman 1983). The
small towns of In the Heat of the Night and Deliverance were seen as anachronistic places
of reactionism, located at the margins of American society (as well as academic research)
(Tournier 1983).
In the 1990s, author Richard Russo brought the small town to the New York Times
Bestsellers List and HBO, with his stories of dying small towns in upstate New York
and New England (Lutz 1998). Russo, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for Empire
Falls, is seen not so much as a critic of the small town as a realist (Weber 2004). Even-
3 Expanded upon by Hilfiger (1969) in a book of the same title.
4 Van Doren’s description encapsulates the traditional small town writings and their critique:
“The village seemed too cosy a microcosm to be disturbed. There it lay in the mind’s eye, neat,
compact, organized, traditional: the white church with tapering spire, the sober schoolhouse,
the smithy of the ringing anvil, the corner grocery, the cluster of friendly houses; the venerable
parson, the wise physician, the canny squire, the grasping landlord softened or outwitted in the
end; the village belle, gossip, atheist, idiot; jovial fathers, gentle mothers, merry children; cool
parlors, shining kitchens, spacious barns, lavish gardens, fragrant summer dawns, and comfort-
able winter evenings. These were elements not to be discarded lightly, even by those who per-
ceived that time was discarding many of them as the industrial revolution went on planting ugly
factories alongside the prettiest brooks, bringing in droves of aliens who used unfamiliar tongues
and customs, and fouling the atmosphere with smoke and gasoline” (147).
69
handed might be a better description, as his work contains both positive and negative
stereotypes of small towns. His treatment of small towns illustrates the good and bad of
community, it includes both hurtful gossip and the support of a tight-knit place. Some
of his characters are “stuck” in small towns, and others “escape,” but both recognize
that the small town is neither a cause of, nor a panacea for, their own mistakes. As Russo
told the New York Times, “small-mindedness is a human quality, not a geographical one”
(Weber 2004).
While literature critical of small towns endured throughout the 20th century, it
never completely took hold of the American imagination. Even as realists like Russo
began to focus on the realities of towns in decline, the small town ideal — that of
Rockwell and Capra — clearly remains strong in their minds. Small towns in decline
are, more often than not, depicted as “lost” rather than just undergoing change. A sense
of loss suggests (as Herron found nearly 80 years ago) that there was something special
there in the first place, something that could perhaps be rediscov ered.
‘What heaven must look like’: Revival of the small town ideal in the 21st century
While the tone of the depiction of small towns varied in the 20th century, the
viewpoint of these descriptions remained static. Small towns were seen from afar, from
the view of the outsider be they celebrant or critic. In the 21st century, small towns have
become increasingly personalized places, not to observe from afar, but to participate in,
to integrate with. No longer seen as static and distant, small towns are depicted as places
that can change us, just as we can change them.
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To illustrate the increasingly personal nature of small town literature, I describe
two very different forms of media, which carry the same message: that the small town
is no longer theirs, but ours. Guidebooks once focused on small towns as charming
places to visit; they now present the small town as a charming and peaceful alternative
to larger cities as a place of residence. At the same time, television shows have come to
embrace small towns and depict them not as entertaining oddities, but as places where
the average city-dweller can escape to, and find redemption in. As these stories are told,
Americans are increasingly mobile and connected, allowing what were once distant,
idealized places, to become proximate possibilities.
The first wave of small town guidebooks came in the 1990s, including several
printings of Norman Crampton’s The 100 Best Small Towns in America (1993, 2002) and a
practical guide for migrants, Moving to a Small Town: A guidebook for moving from urban
to rural America (Urbanska and Levering 1996). More books followed in the 2000s,
including works focused on southern towns (Sweitzer & Fields 2007), art towns (Villani
2005) and state-specific towns (Dickson 2005), as well as more general works naming
the best small towns in America (Juran 2005) or advising potential migrants on how
to succeed in their move to a small town (Clayton 2002, Schultz 2004). There are also
numerous of lists published in the media ranking small towns (including: Grudowski
2004; Money Magazine 2007; Thomas 2006) These guides offer insight into how
newcomers see small towns and how they may choose which towns to move to.
In most of these guides, the small town is heralded as the hip destination of the
new century, the reality of small town living blending with the idealized vision of life
71
in a perfect locale. Crampton extols the virtues of small town young people, “reared in
an environment where traditional values of family, community, faith, hard work, and
patriotism remain strong.” He adds: “Small wonder we put our small towns up on a
pedestal — they’re helping to preserve the American dream” (1993, 1). For Juran (2005),
a move to a small town is about people wanting to “liberate themselves from their
limitations,” they are searching for a simpler life in places that are cleaner, safer, calmer,
and frendler (5).
Former Small Town editor Munsell (1996) was critical of books like John
Clayton’s Small Town Bound (1996), arguing that they see small towns as foreign places
with foreign cultures that will challenge urban newcomers. Clayton offers numerous
stereotypes of small towns (including safe, friendly, relaxed, gossipy, conformist, boring,
remote, religious, and backward), but claims to break them down between truth and
myth. Similarly, Urbanska and Levering recognize the stereotypes of small towns, but
offer that these need not apply to all small towns. Nevertheless, there does remain
within the guides a suggestion that small towns are both alternative and romantic.
Residents are “indoctrinated into this unique culture at an early age,” writes Clayton
(13).
For guides that distinguish “good” small towns from others (and most do),
the qualities that they use to select these towns are also telling. Two main categories
of evaluation techniques are recommended (or used) by guidebooks: economic and
cultural. Economic guidelines include affordability of local housing as w ell as the
availability of local employment possibilities. Money magazine (2007) eliminated places
72
with populations too far below or above the state median incomes, as well as those with
projected job losses. Crampton (1993, 2002) gives highest ranks to towns with the highest
income, ignoring the affordability question.
Money magazine eliminated towns that had low education scores or lacked access
to airports, while ranking remaining towns based on “arts and leisure opportunities”
and school quality. In addition to local education quality, Crampton ranked highly towns
with the most college-educated residents. It also gave points for “scenery” as measured
through “obvious” factors like mountains and seashore and scenic highways (1993, 13).
While clearly unscientific, this method of ranking amenities does provide insight into
the criteria that potential new residents may use to search for an attractiv e new home.
An extreme example of town ranking is online, at a site called “Small Town
Gems” (2002). On this site, the authors (who go unnamed) “evaluate” small towns
and decide which to select as gems and which to “disqualify.” Some even end up on
a “hall of shame” list for showing signs of neglect or for not being historic enough
(“Unfortunately in many towns, historic just means old.”) Americans’ ideal small town
is frozen in time, but historic; is prosperous, but affordable; is scenic and rural, but not
isolated. Small town guides, particularly those that rank towns, suggest that some towns
are better than others for urban residents in terms of quality of life, but also places where
they will fit in with the current residents..
Guidebooks offer a portrait of small towns that can be populated by city-
dwellers. In another realm of 21st century media, television shows are also suggesting
the merits of such moves. The idealized small town has become a popular place to set
73
Figure 4.2: Television small towns: The Gilmore Girls (“Stars Hollow, CT”) set in Burbank, CA
(left) and the Runcible Spoon Bakery in Nyack, NJ, a hangout for the characters on Ed
(“Stuckeyville, OH”).
televisions shows (Campbell 2002) (Figure 4.2). Small towns are not new to television.
Starting with Mayberry and running through Northern Exposure, numerous shows have
been set in small towns. But most told the stories of small town residents as “others,” as
people we might observe and be entertained by, but not identify with. In recent years,
however, small town shows have emerged as a home for big-city characters, people the
audience are meant to identify with. The opening credits of one television show (Ghost
Whisperer, 2005) give a short biography of the main character: “I moved to a small town.
I opened an antique shop. I might be just like you,” she tells the audience. This character,
like many others in recent television history, moved to a small town not just to escape for
the big city, but in search of personal redemption.
Redemption through a move (or return to) small towns is a common theme. One
reviewer describes the plot involving a small town returnee (Ed, 2000) as “less a tale of
a fish out of water than a story about a fish learning how to swim again” (Fries 2000,
32). In Ed, the title character returns to his hometown, Stuckeyville, from New York
City, moving his law practice into a local bowling alley. The show includes frequent
74
establishing shots of a charming main street, complete with a diner offering “all the pie
you can eat, $6.00.” Another recent television show set in a quirky small town, Gilmore
Girls (2000), focuses on a woman who moved to a small town from the city to raise her
daughter and escape from her wealthy, urbanite parents. October Road (2007) offers a
New York City escapee who returns to his small hometown to face family and friends
he lambasted in a best-selling book. In Men in Trees (2006), a New York City writer is
stranded in, then decides to stay in, an Alaskan small town. Though similar in setting to
Northern Exposure (1990), in which a doctor is sent to a small town in Alaska to practice
medicine, one difference is important to note: the main character in the new show chose
to leave New York City and live in a small town.
Perhaps the best recent example of this trope in storytelling is the critically-
acclaimed television show Everwood (Franklin 2003, Garron 2002, Speier 2002, Tucker
2002). Even more strongly than the other series mentioned above, Everwood is about
the dream of the small town and the personalization of this dream in one man’s search
for redemption. The (2002) pilot of Everwood focuses on a stereotypical workaholic New
York City doctor, who spends little time with his wife and children. After his wife dies in
a car accident, the doctor moves his children to the small town of Everwood, Colorado
(population 9,000) (Figure 4.3). Through flashbacks we learn that the doctor’s wife
suggested that if something were to happen to her, he should go to Everwood:
When I was a kid, I took this train trip with my parents across the country. There
was a snowstorm in the mountains and we had to stop for a day in a town called
Everwood. It was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen … It was on this hill
surrounded by the Rockies. And I remember thinking, even then, this is what
heaven must look like.
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Figure 4.3: In Everwood, a New
York City doctor remembers his
wife’s stories about the town she
stopped at once while traveling by
train. The doctor buys the now-de-
serted train station (“I guess we just
stopped being a destination,” the
real estate saleswoman tells him.
“Not to everyone,” he responds.)
He opens a free clinic in the train
station, as shown in the bottom im -
age from the show’s credits, which
are illustrated in Norman Rock-
well-esque paintings.
Once in Everwood, the doctor exchanges his suit for
a flannel shirt, grows a beard, and opens a practice
in the town’s long-vacant train station. He befriends
local residents and seeks to reconnect with his
children.
Depictions of Everwood are in some ways
similar to the idealized images described by authors
throughout the 20th century: the small town diner,
the folksy townspeople, tree-lined streets, and
main street markets. But here the idealized image
of the small town branches in a new direction.
The television series places great emphasis on the
transformative powers of the relocation and re-
acculturation for both the doctor and his teenage
son. The slow pace of being a doctor in a small
town allows time for the repair of their damaged
relationship. Their proximity to rural areas allows
for bonding through hiking and fishing. The
76
doctor’s relationship to his profession is changed as he is transformed from a specialist
to a generalist, treating his neighbors and friends, making do without the technology
of a big-city hospital, learning to recognize the personal causes and effects of medical
conditions. The small town of Everwood is also a place to grieve for his wife with the
support of a community that soon realizes he needs the town as much as they need a
doctor.
Sentimental and sappy? Perhaps, but also telling of the new role of small towns
in America. Like the guidebooks described earlier, Everwood illustrates that small-
town life isn’t just for small-town people. We see the imprint of the big city/small town
dichotomies on the life of “average” (urban) people. Life in small towns is slower,
cleaner, safer, and friendlier than big cities, and this difference can transform the lives of
those who live there for the better.
From cultural ideal to force of change
If guidebooks and television are framing small towns as the 21st-century
equivalent of the 1950s “suburban dream,” are they reflecting reality? While this trend
has not been examined in academic literature, media reports suggest that small towns
are growing in population. These reports suggest a growing concern, as well, that an
influx of newcomers is changing the character of small towns. An examination of 98
newspaper articles published between 2000 and 2007 shows that these reports focus on
growth in small towns. In addition, this analysis illustrates that the forces behind these
changes (which are often more urban than rural) as well as the reactions to them, suggest
77
an interest in the effects of growth on “small town character” (Figure 4.4, Appendix E).
About three-quarters of the articles examined were focused on growth
(primarily in population, but also economic success) in small towns. Of these, while
many focused in general on population growth; others considered where the migrants
were coming from and the effects of this boom on the towns. Yet others examined the
forces behind this growth, particularly increased connectivity through the internet,
marketing and tourism, and increased long-distance commuting. A few considered the
negative consequences of population growth, such as an increase in gang activity and
homelessness.
There were far fewer articles on small town decline. These articles (again, often
a combination of declining population and economic health) examined the causes and
effects of this decline, in terms of the loss of health and other services as w ell as the
pollution left behind by former employers. Articles on energy sources tended to focus
on the promise, rather than reality, of the alternative energy boom for small towns.
Employment articles focused on boom towns that had attracted call or data centers, and
bust towns facing layoffs by their major employers.
The main focus of most articles is on the causes of population growth. Growth
is the product of migration, but migration comes from many different sources. The
articles distinguish between an influx of immigrants, retirees, and former urbanites.
Immigration, and the resultant increase in the diversity of small towns has been revealed
in the national media both in the form of towns passing measures against illegal
immigrants, as well as these small towns seeking to reach out to newcomers (often in
78
Figure 4.4: Small town change in the news, a content analysis of national news media, 2000-2007
79
the form of multilingualism). Retirees, too, seem (at least anecdotally) to be among the
new migrants to small towns, attracted by the lower cost of living and concentration
of health and other services. The lower cost of living in small towns is also attracting
urbanites that commute (or telecommute) to large cities from small towns just beyond
the tradtonal boundares of suburban areas.
A second source of growth is a shift in employment opportunities of small
towns. While some migrants come to small towns seeking to participate in existing
industries, others are responding to the growth of new industries in small towns.
Specifically, articles cited the impact of internet connectivity on the ability of small
Figure 4.4, Continued: Small town change in the news, a content analysis of national news media,
2000-2007
80
towns to participate in industries previously restricted to center cites. Call centers, once
outsourced to foreign countries, are returning to the United States, with a new focus
on small towns. Data centers (also called server farms) that store digital data are being
relocated to areas where land is cheap and electricity plentiful. In addition, employers
and the self-employed are choosing to move their businesses to the amenity-rich
countryside.
Beyond the main focus of the articles, perhaps the most telling aspect of this
collection of articles is their subtopics. Development conflict, one of the most common
foci, is often the subtopic of other articles discussing population growth. I define
“development conflict” as the conflict between an increased demand for new housing
and businesses and concerns about the affect of these changes on the town. Often, this
concern is tied to “small-town character” or the “feel” of the town. In these articles, big-
city terms like “sprawl” “exurbanization” and “gentrification” are tied to small towns.
In some cases, issues are brought to the forefront through specific dev elopment projects,
such as the construction of a Wal-Mart or large residential developments. In others,
authors seek to tie together smaller indications of change and conflict: the installation
of a traffic light, the opening of cappuccino-serving coffee shop, or the paving-ov er of a
patch of forest.
The decline of independent farms in the Midwest and manufacturing companies
in the Northeast has been documented over the past half-century. There is, however,
increased focus on the long term effects of these changes (Figure 4.5). The loss of
services, including health care and local schools, was the focus of many of the articles
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examining small town decline. Towns that long ago lost their top employers — typically
mining companies and manufacturing firms — are now discovering a new dilemma on
top of the lack of local employment: pollution. Several articles documented the discovery
of pollution problems and the efforts of towns to enforce cleanup by past and present
employers. For other towns, declines in economic health were more recent, as employers
closed mills, manufacturing plants, and mines.
These media reports connect the representation of small towns to perceived
migratory trends. While most do not cite overall demographic data about the growth
of small towns, they both report examples of growth and suggest that this growth
recognized as an “ American trend,” be it accurate or exaggerated. In addition, the
reports indicate concerns that this growth may be jeopardizing what is seen as the
American “small town character.” These reports make an important connection between
the small town in the American imagination, measurable demographic shifts, and the
day-to-day experiences of those who live there.
‘Small town values’ and putting a value on small towns
The small town is idealized not just by media and individuals, but by planners
and other urban critics as exemplars of how cities should work. The “traditional” small
town is cited as a role model for the preservation of community and environmental
consciousness through urban design. “The future does not have to be imagined, so much
as remembered,” write the editors of Wilson Quarterly as they introduce “The second
coming of the American small town,” an article by two of the strongest proponents of
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new urbanism (Duany and Plater-Zyberk 1992). In this article Duany and Plater-Zyberk
extol the virtues of the small town: pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, commercial
buildings that can be reused, an intermingling of retail, office, and residential uses, and
streets that slow traffic rather than speed it up. In the last 15 y ears, these ideas have been
solidified in many towns that are “neo-traditional” in nature. Dev elopers seek to capture
home-buying power of the disillusioned American that sees in these places “the magic of
urbanism that is denied them in the conventional suburb” (28).
The traditionalist ideas behind new urbanism are not new. In the 1970s a
wave of literature also celebrated the small town as an alternative to the suburb, and
authors sought to explain the (short-lived) reverse in rural-to-urban migration patterns.
Despite a gloomy description of the 1970s-era small town, Peirce Lewis makes the
prophetic statement that in the future, “a town may find more economic v alue in green
trees, pure air, and a good architect than in capturing the new facilities of a gray-iron
foundry or hosiery factory” (349). Others in the 1970s suggest that if only the dilemma
of employment were solved, small towns could prove to be a more desired, more
sustainable way of living than traditional large urban settlements (Swanson et al. 1979)
(Figure 4.6).
The 21st-century small town represents the safety and security of 1950s suburbia,
but also the vibrancy of the “urban village” described by Jane Jacobs (1961). The ideal of
the American small town – of community, beauty, and democracy – now surpasses any
concern about isolation and otherness. The small town of today is about “us” and not
about “them”; it is a place where one can be redeemed from their previous big-city life.
83
Figure 4.5: Predictions about the translation of the small town
ideal into migration decisions is not new, but were, until recently,
primarily conceptual in nature. (top: Kiwanis Magazine Nov. to Dec.
1981; left: December 8, 1997 issue of Time Magazine
This chapter described a small town that is becoming increasingly distant from the ideal
form of settlement that remains an important part of American culture. Thus while the
small town remains strongly influenced by nostalgia for the past, its present is far more
complicated.
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Chapter 5
Demographic change in American small towns
In this chapter I seek to both define and describe small towns and how these
places have changed since 1990. Defining small towns in concrete terms can be
challenging. Unlike “village” or “city,” the term “small town” has never been tied to a
set population or municipal status. In official census designations, v ocabulary involving
small places is complicated: they could be villages, townships, “census designated
places,” or cities. Despite its demographic fuzziness, I argue that the idea of the small
town is so strong in the American vocabulary that our understandings of it coalesce in
a very real definition of these places. To translate these understandings of what a small
town is, I situate the term within a growing set of critiques about the dichotomous
definitions of “the city” and “the country.” I examine how definitions used by the U.S.
Census have affected our understandings of small towns (or lack thereof) and how the
Census has sought to improve these definitions with new categories of place. Using
one of the new census categories, the “urban cluster,” I use statistics gathered in 2000 to
consider the similarities and differences between small towns and larger urban areas.
While the small town can be narrowed down demographically, its statistical
profile is more difficult to decipher. Some small towns are primarily white, others are
black, still others Hispanic. Small towns are rich or poor, filled with newcomers or static
and growing older. Small towns are farm towns, timber towns, college towns, mill
towns, tourist towns. Small towns cannot be pigeon-holed into a single category, as they
85
often are in cultural representations. Here I look for patterns amidst this div ersity. I do
so quantitatively, conducting a cluster analysis of small towns. I conduct this analysis
with recognition that to understand these towns, they must be considered individually
as well as collectively.
Defining “small town”
The basis for Americans’ understanding of small towns is primarily qualitative,
gleaned from literature, film and television. Just as expectations about small towns are
based on experiences of, or knowledge about, particular settlements, so too are criteria
for what should be labeled a small town. A hometown, a tourist destination, or even
a stop along the highway contributes to the “know-it-when-I-see-it” attitude about
defining small towns. There is a need, however, to be more particular than this: to
exclude places too metropolitan, too suburban, or too rural to be small towns.
To make this distinction, I propose two tests for small towns: first that they
be “small” and second that they be a “town.” Populations of incorporated places in
the U.S. Census run from 1 person to more than 8 million people. A small city has
previously been defined as any place under 50,000 population (Brennan et al. 2005).
Small connotes relationships to other settlements as well as size — it suggests isolated.
Most definitions of small towns place them in non-metropolitan counties only , as small
places within metro areas are often suburbs with strong connections to a central city .
Small towns have long been consolidated with “rural areas” in demographic research
(Fuguitt 1989; Kandell & Brown 2006). However, the assumption that small towns
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possess only rural characteristics fails to account for the “town” part of “small town.”
A town
1
suggests that a place meets a certain threshold of size as well as
population density. The U.S. Census defines urban places as having a population of
more than 2,500 and a core population density of 1,000 people per square mile (2000a).
While not approaching the density of metro areas with large apartment complexes,
small towns have a far higher population density than rural areas. The concept of a
town also suggests a degree of functionality. Qualitatively, small towns should be larger
than a hamlet. A hamlet is an unincorporated place that offers a middle ground between
small town and rural area. Central place theory would suggest a hierarchy in which
hamlets typically offered only a few services, and small towns (sometimes referred to as
villages) offered more, setting them apart. Hamlets may have a post office, gas station
and a church, while small towns are more likely to have restaurants, high schools, and
doctors’ offices (Berry and Garrison 1958). Without adhering to all the tenets of central
place theory, I offer this as an understanding of what makes a town less rural than the
surrounding countryside.
Given these initial definitions, one may conclude that small towns are more
rural than large urban areas, but more urban than most rural areas. Given that most
U.S. Census definitions require that a place be either urban or rural, this presents
a conundrum (Figure 5.1). “Urban,” according to the Census, is any area with a
1 In New England, New York and Wisconsin, a “town” is technically a subdivision of a county.
It is a self-governing body made up of low density population outside of incorporated villages
and cities. Some towns have evolved to become suburbs, but few if any have come to posses
qualities of villages or cities without being designated as such. Thus here I am not using this
technical designation when I discuss small towns, but instead what a more cultural definition of
what might officially be incorporated as cities or villages in these areas.
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population of more than 2,500. Rural areas have a smaller population. To account for
agglomerated urban areas, the Census divides U.S. counties into metropolitan and non-
metropolitan. Metro areas are counties with more than one city of more than 50,000
population as well as adjacent counties with 25 percent of its residents commuting to
these cities. Counties with 25 percent reverse commuters are also included in metro
areas, as the focus is on economic ties between the central county and outlying counties.
Non-metropolitan areas do not have a city of 50,000 or strong economic ties to a larger
city (U.S. Census 2000b).
A significant number of academic critiques have focused on these definitions.
The dichotomy of metro/non-metro “fails to capture the idea of hierarchy or any
gradation from national to regional to local metropolises,” argue Morrill et al. (1999,
728). In addition, it assumes that non-metropolitan areas are relatively equal in their
isolation and size. Assumptions about the relative isolation of rural areas date from mid-
Figure 5.1: Shifting understandings of demographic definitions of small towns.
88
20th century understandings of urban-rural interactions, as do ideas about migration
patterns between the city, country, and suburbs (Frey 2004).
The use of counties as the dividing lines for metro areas has also been criticized
for its use as a building block. Variations in size, particularly between the eastern and
western United States, results in a lack of precision for identifying connections to central
cities (Morrill et al. 1999, Dahmann 1999). In Southern California, for example, the size
of counties has resulted in the identification of large portions of the Mojav e Desert
as “metropolitan,” despite population densities near zero. In Arizona, much of the
Grand Canyon is considered metropolitan due to the size of the county, which includes
Flagstaff, a city of 125,000, at its southern edge. Despite these problems, research using
metropolitan areas as a base criteria for studies of urban areas continues (Figure 5.2).
2
In the last 15 years, population research and new census categories have
improved the whole-geography perspective of settlement patterns.
3
Most work in this
area has been by those seeking to define the “not rural,” that is, rural sociologists and
geographers who wish to exclude small cities and suburban areas from their research.
Perhaps the most extensive work in this area has been by a team of U.S. Department

2 In searching for examples of cluster analysis, I found two articles in Professional Geographer
that use county-level analysis: a study of the growing Hispanic population in Appalachia (Barcus
2007) and a study that seeks to determine the “urban-ness” of counties in the West (Berry et al.,
2000).
3 In earlier years, there were numerous attempts to determine degrees of rural/urban qualities.
However, most depended upon socio-economic factors that were not dependable in their predic-
tive abilities. Cloke (1977), for example selected nine census variables to describe categories rang-
ing from extreme rural to extreme non-rural. However, what worked with 1971 data did not work
ten years later in predicting “ruralness.” Attributes like population decline through outmigration,
for example, no longer applied, as the 1970s saw a reverse migration from city to country (Brown
& Cromartie 2004).
89
of Agriculture researchers. These demographers have established a 32-code system for
subdividing rural and urban, and applied it to the nation’s 61,000 census tracts. The
system uses population to identify incorporated places as metropolitan (more than
50,000), rural (less than 2,500), small towns (2,500-9,999), and large towns (10,000-49,000).
It then subdivides these areas based on the percentage of the population that commutes
to the central city (Morrill et al. 1999). The result is a complex network of urban and
rural settlements, divided based on their size as well as dependence/independence based
on employment patterns.
Another response to the critique of the metropolitan/non-metropolitan
dichotomy was the addition of micropolitan counties by the U.S. Census in 2000.
Figure 5.2: This map illustrates the problem of defining “urban” areas. The grey areas are “non-
metropolitan,” while the white are metropolitan. But the urban clusters (green; urbanized areas
are in blue) are often beyond the metro boundaries. And a large portion of the areas deemed
“metropolitan” are relatively low density (less than 500 people per square mile) (Source: Univer-
sty of Montana).
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Micropolitan counties include populations tied to core cities of 10,000 to 49,999, as
opposed to metro counties with core cities of 50,000 or more (Brown & Cromartie 2004).
While this definition does not solve the problems of using counties as building blocks,
it does account for the urban nature of smaller cities. In 2000, the categories “urbanized
areas” and “urban clusters” were added to the U.S. Census (Figure 5.3). These categories
are both more inclusive of smaller urban areas and use census tracts rather than counties
to delineate these areas. While previously, urbanized areas only included high-density
areas surrounding cities with a population of 50,000 or more, this new definition allowed
for all urban areas (defined as 2,500 or more) to be included, and distinguished betw een
larger and small urban areas. Urbanized areas include a central city of 50,000 population
or more with a core density of 1,000 people per square mile or more, as well as census
Figure 5.3: Locations of urban clusters (black) and urbanized areas (grey) in the United States.
91
tracts surrounding this city with a density of 500 people per square mile or more. Urban
clusters have the same density requirements, but with smaller cores: populations of
2,500 to 50,000 (Cromartie 2007).
In this study, I use urban clusters to define my research areas. The concept
of urban clusters is important for identifying small towns for three reasons. First, it
delineates between small and large “urban areas,” which had previously been combined
in census definitions of urban, ranging from 2,500 to several million people. By limiting
urban clusters to a total population of 50,000, small cities are separated from larger cities.
Second, this definition (in theory) separates suburbs with populations under 50,000
from small towns. This distinction is made through the idea that urbanized areas are
separated from urban clusters by low density rural areas, thus providing the (relative)
physical isolation I require in my definition of small towns. This is a particularly
important definitional quality when distinguishing between suburban sprawl and
exurban development. Third, urban clusters are determined by census block group and
not county or incorporated place (city, village, census designated place, etc.) definitions.
This allows for the inclusion of higher-density areas that are just outside city limits, but
functionally part of the community, to be included in any demographic analysis. These
data provide important insight into the process of development in smaller urban areas,
which often reaches outside of city boundaries into unincorporated areas.
For these reasons, I believe urban clusters are the best method to statistically
define small towns. Any definition of small town is likely to be contested, and urban
clusters are no different. Not all researchers choose to include towns as large as 50,000 as
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small towns, and some include communities smaller than 2,500 (down to a population
of one) in their tallies. The use of population density to distinguish between suburban
and distinct urban clusters is also arguable, as it results in some urban clusters that
although physically separate from urbanized areas, are fewer than 50 miles away from
a central city. Thus while these places may be geographically distinct from large cities,
the activities of their residents suggest a suburban rather than small town status. In this
case, the use of rural-urban commuting codes may have been more useful to identify
small towns that are distinct from urbanized areas. Despite these limitations, I believe
that urban clusters are an important advancement in studying small towns. They
provide uniform data for 2000 that is easily accessible and is comparable to urbanized
areas. While there has been little to no research published that uses the urban cluster
data collected in 2000 under this new definition, I will argue that it is integral to
understanding small-scale urban change.
Methodology
Using socio-economic data from the 3,084 urban clusters in the United States, I
assessed these data for patterns and trends that could be generalized — if not to small
towns as a whole, then to smaller clusters of small towns with common characteristics.
The primary methods used to describe small towns in this chapter are quantitative. Here
I describe the steps in my data collection, manipulation, and analysis, as well as the
content analysis of popular media I used to triangulate and improve upon these data.
With urban clusters as my primary unit of analysis, my first task was to
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collect basic demographic statistics on these places from the 2000 U.S. Census. I
downloaded Summary File 3 profile data on urban clusters as well as urbanized
areas (for comparative purposes) from the Missouri Data Center, which serves as a
federally-funded clearinghouse for U.S. Census data. Variables in this data set included
statistics on population size and density, race, age, immigration, migration, commuting,
educational attainment, employment sector and status, poverty, and home ownership
and values (Appendix G). I excluded urban clusters identified as prisons or military
bases for a total of 3,084 urban clusters (Appendix F). For purposes of comparison, I also
gathered data for the same variables on the 448 urbanized areas identified by census
demographers.
While urban cluster data was available for 2000, because the category was only
recently implemented, it was not possible to directly acquire trend data on these clusters.
Thus, rather than use census block group-based urban clusters for data on change, I used
these clusters to select corresponding incorporated places from the census list of 27,000
urban places. Although this is an imperfect method, with the possibility of accidentally
excluding places that could be considered small towns, it does account for places that
seem small in population but have a large and dense enough surrounding populations
to be considered urban clusters, including incorporated places that are smaller than
2,500, which should address concerns about places that are functionally small towns,
but too small to be considered urban. Corresponding places for the urban clusters were
found for 2,998 of 3,084 urban clusters. Those lacking 1990 incorporated place data were
most often high density housing developments that had more than 2,500 residents. I
94
collected 2000 data on these 2,998 incorporated places so as to be able to fairly calculate
change between 1990 and 2000. The Missouri Data Center’s own calculations of 1990-
2000 change (only available for places larger than 10,000 population, and thus not fully
usable for my study purposes) was used to double-check the data collected, calculations
of change, and to define any uncertain variables (e.g. “manufacturing” is used to
describe the manufacture of non-durable goods only). The variables considered in
change data were similar, but not completely comparable to those collected for urban
clusters due to changes in data availability from 1990 to 2000 (Appendix H). Variables
that were directly correlated with other variables were culled (e.g. percent owner-
occupied homes was used, but percent renter-occupied homes was eliminated).
In total, I collected three data sets: 2000 urban clusters and urbanized areas,
1990 incorporated places and 2000 incorporated places. Places that were clearly not
small towns such as prisons and military bases were deleted to prevent these data from
skewing results. For cluster analysis, in which it was important to remove any outliers
that may be placed in separate clusters, an additional nine cities with exceptional (and
unexplained by migration trends) population growth (more than 300 percent) or decline
(less than -50 percent) that suggested a change in municipal boundaries rather than
socio-economic cause were removed.
Analysis of these data was completed in three steps. First, the means of both
urban cluster and urbanized area data from 2000 were examined: How are small towns
similar to big cities? How are they different? What patterns can be seen in the data from
urban clusters? What outliers appear, and what do these anomalies suggest about the
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“typical” small town? Second, I considered the change in small urban areas between
1990 and 2000 (using incorporated place data for both years for reasons described
above). In following with the standards set by the Missouri Data Center, change was
measured in percentage points in the case of percentages and as a whole number,
adjusting for inflation, in the case of median income and home values. In these data, too,
the mean change across all small towns was examined as well as patterns and outliers in
these data.
In the third step of analysis, a K-means cluster analysis was performed on these
data. Cluster analysis seeks to identify observations with similar attributes and form
groups of these observations. Ideally, these groups should have small variation within
groups while varying greatly between groups. With K-means clustering, a set number
of clusters (x) are established beforehand by the data analyst. The mean of all variables
for each observation is used to establish x number of seed points. Observations are then
moved from cluster to cluster in a series of steps, with a new mean for the cluster center
established with each step. This re-centering is repeated until no further reassignment of
observations will improve the compactness of the clusters (Fotheringham et al. 2000). To
conduct this analysis I used JMP , a visually-oriented version of SAS software. To better
predict the first estimations of cluster centers and to account for data outliers, JMP uses a
Huberzed Gaussan dstrbuton.
Gatrell et al. (1995) suggest that to better account for the problem of arbitrary
parameters (the number of clusters and order of variables in the equation), multiple
numbers and orders should be examined. In following with my goal of producing a
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typology with six to nine categories, ten clusters were considered. I found that all order
of variables produced one cluster with only three observations. Nine clusters, however,
incorporated these observations into clusters ranging in size from 43 to 881. Data
produced by creating fewer clusters —three and six were selected — were also useful,
and I include these in my consideration of the final typology. Data on the nine clusters
included a cluster assignment for each observation as well as a numerical distance from
the cluster mean for each observation. Further analysis concerning reliability of the
cluster analysis was conducted using discriminant analysis to test the validity of each
group. This analysis described how well-grouped the observations were, and a stepwise
analysis toward this conclusion described the most significant variables in producing
these groupings.
Following the creation of these clusters, I sought to determine what created the
distance between the groups — what made each distinctive. While Hill et al. (1998),
who created a similar typology of large cities using cluster analysis, pointedly avoided
looking at city names and locations while naming their clusters, I found the examination
of town names and locations to be a key part of the process of identifying the driving
forces behind the demographics of the clusters. Thus this analysis incorporated a
qualitative understanding of the towns clustered in producing a typology.
The American small town, by the numbers
Demographic data from urban clusters paints a portrait of small towns that
is in many ways unexpected, given cultural narratives about these places. Despite
97
assumptions that small towns are greatly different from larger cities, these data show
that small towns are similar to larger cities in a number of categories. Small towns are
not as white, or as poor, or as demographically stable as stories about them may suggest.
Beyond these generalizations, however, the small town is difficult to assess using just a
study of means, suggesting a need for a more complex assessment of these places.
Big cities and small towns
There are 3,084 urban clusters, not including prisons and military bases, and 448
urbanized areas. Thirty million people, 11 percent of the total United States population,
live in urban clusters. Urbanized areas are home to 192 million people, 68 percent of the
total U.S. population. The average population densities of these areas were relatively
similar, 2,160 people per square mile in urbanized areas and 1,672 people per square
mile on average for urban clusters. Urban clusters tended toward the smaller end of
the 2,500 to 50,000 population limit set by the census, as half of the urban clusters were
under 7,000. Urbanized areas ranged from the lower limit of 50,000 to 17.8 million in
the New York/Newark Urbanized Area, but areas in the millions were the exception, as
the median of these large cities was 117,732. Given the overall ratio of urban clusters to
urbanized areas (87 percent/13 percent of places with greater than 2,500 population),
there are more urban clusters in the Midwest, and more urbanized areas in the
Northeast and West.
For places that are so strongly disassociated from big cities, small towns look
surprisingly similar in terms of distribution of age and race. Urbanized areas and
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urban clusters had very similar percent of population under 18 and between 18 and
64. There were slightly more persons 65 and older in urban clusters (15.7 percent of
the population) than in urbanized areas (12.8 percent). There were some differences in
race, with urbanized areas, as might be expected, being more diverse, but for the largest
racial categories, larger and smaller cities were similar (Figure 5.4). Urban clusters had a
greater percent of American Indians, but far fewer Asian residents than urbanized areas.
A measure of those new (within five years) to the state, county, and current
residence are relatively similar between urbanized areas and urban clusters, with
slightly more newcomers in urbanized areas. Also similar are the location of residents’
employment, with slightly fewer urban cluster residents working in the county and
place in which they live. The average commute for residents of urban clusters and
urbanized areas is nearly identical (21.3 minutes and 21.6 minutes, respectively).
There is some variation in type of employment in these two categories of place. Urban
clusters have a slightly higher mean unemployment rate (7.1 percent, compared with
Figure 5.4: Racial composition of urban clusters and urbanized areas
99
6.1 percent), and have more residents employed in the manufacturing, farm, and service
sectors. Urbanized areas have a greater mean percent of residents employed in sales,
but in other categories of employment (retail, education, health, and construction), the
difference between the two areas was less than two percentage points.
The greatest differences between urban clusters and urbanized areas can be
found in educational attainment, income, and home values. Urbanized areas have a
greater percent of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher (15.8 percent, compared
with 10.5 percent on average in urban clusters). Urbanized areas also have a higher
median home value and higher median household income than urban clusters. The
median income in urbanized areas is $40,410, and the median home value $118,529
compared with a $33,535 median income and $85,934 median home value in urban
clusters. The percent of residents in each census-determined income and home value
bracket also varied between urban clusters and urbanized areas, with urban clusters
having a greater percent of residents earning lower income and fewer residents earning
higher incomes. The percent of residents earning more than $150,000 a year in urbanized
areas was double that of urban clusters.
Change in small towns
Change in small towns are no more predictable than their overall demographic
characteristics, but there are a number of recognizable trends, which I describe below.
Because urban clusters have only existed for one census (2000), here I use data on
the same population centers, but for incorporated places (cities, villages, townships)
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only, not for the surrounding high-density areas. For purposes of comparison, I use
place-based data for 2000 as well as 1990. Change in small towns focused on an overall
population increase, increased diversity, and relatively high growth in income and home
value compared with the United States overall.
Small towns grew overall at a faster pace than the United States overall,
metropolitan areas, micropolitan areas, or non micro/metro areas (Figure 5.5). It should
be noted that this trend is influenced significantly by the rapid growth of 230 towns that
grew by more than 50 percent, as opposed to 902 towns that lost population between
1990 and 2000. The fastest-growing small town was Mesquite, NV , on the Arizona
border, which grew by 402 percent between 1990 and 2000. The greatest decline in
population was in the city of Dermott, Arkansas, which declined by 30.2 percent during
the same period. These places of exceptional growth, however, would also affect national
and regional means.
There is a consistent trend across regions of the U.S., with the exception of the
Middle Atlantic and New England census divisions, toward growth at a faster pace than
Figure 5.5: Population change in the United States 1990-2000
101
the rest of the United States as a whole. Small towns in New England have declined on
average by .2 percent, and the Middle Atlantic states are barely increasing at .8 percent.
At the other end of the growth spectrum, states in the Mountain Division increased by
36 percent, the highest mean increase among small towns. Also notable is the increase of
32.5 percent in the population of small towns in the west coast states (Pacific Division),
which is more than twice the percentage increase of any other category.
As with the rest of the United States, between 1990 and 2000, small towns became
more diverse. The percent of white residents decreased by 3.7 percentage points, while
the percent of Hispanic residents increased by 2.5 percent and black residents increased
by .7 percent. The percent of foreign born residents in small towns increased as well, but
at half the rate of the United States as a whole.
One area of change where small towns stood out compared with the United
States as a whole was in economic indicators of median household income, median
home value and percent of residents below the poverty line. While the average income
of U.S. residents increased by 7.1 percent, small town residents’ incomes increased by
12.8 percent (both calculations adjust for inflation). Similarly, home values in small
towns increased by 20.2 percent, whereas the U.S. average change was 16.8 percent.
Poverty rates, while still higher overall in small towns, declined by 1.6 percent between
1990 and 2000, compared with a .7 percent decline in the United States as a whole.
Although some interesting trends can be identified among small towns, more
often than not these data provide only a partial picture of what is happening in these
places. These data often raise more questions then they answer. Because there is no
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Figure 5.6: Predictors of a cluster analysis of small towns
“average” small town, I propose the use of cluster analysis to delve beneath the surface
of small town demographics. By dividing the small towns into groups, I will examine
trends in growth, racial composition, and economic indicators. These groups produce
a better description of “typical” small towns that we can begin to both recognize on the
ground and tie to trends of growth and decline.
A cluster analysis of small towns
Cluster analysis divided the small towns into groups with similar demographics
(Figure 5.6). The nine clusters identified suggest a preliminary taxonomy of small towns:
diverse processing economy towns, agri-industry towns, resort towns, college towns,
stable/declining towns, resource towns in transition (Hispanic), resource towns in
transition (white), southern processing economy towns, and exurbs. The clusters varied
in size from 43 to 881 (Figure 5.7). Discriminant analysis determined that the top three
variables in predicting which cluster a town will fall in are change in percent Hispanic
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Figure 5.7: Map of the results of cluster analysis of small towns.
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residents, change in percent of residents employed in manufacturing, and total percent
white residents. Below, I describe the clusters in detail, considering which clusters
deviated furthest from the mean of certain variables in order to see what variables were
important in constructing the cluster (Appendix I). A relatively clear structure of town
typologies emerges, suggesting that while there is no “typical” small town, that there are
commonalities among groups of towns that add to our understanding of changing small
towns.
Cluster A: Diverse processing economy towns
These towns are diverse, and increasingly so, with 27 percent Hispanic
population, a 15 percentage point increase between 1990 and 2000. There is also a high
percent of foreign born residents in these towns, 15 percent, which has increased by 10
percent in the ten years considered for this study. The percent of residents new to the
state has also increased far more than any other cluster, by 4 percentage points in ten
years. These towns stand out both in the percent of jobs in manufacturing, 23 percent,
and in the 10 percentage point increase in this industry from 1990 to 2000.
Unlike other clusters that are high in percent Hispanic residents, these towns
are more geographically dispersed, with towns throughout much of the country’s mid-
section and West Coast, though few in the northern Great Plains, New England and
Mid-Atlantic. Albertville, Alabama, at the cluster’s center
4
, like many of the towns in this
cluster does not stand out for being particularly strong in economic growth or decline.
4 Towns described as being at the cluster’s center are those that are numerically closest to the
final median of all variables, as determined by the k-means cluster analysis.
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It is not particularly isolated, as it is about 47 miles from Huntsville (with a metro area
population of 368,661). The city’s three top employers are poultry processing plants,
with a total of about 3,000 employees (City of Albertville 2006).
Cluster B: Agri-industry towns
Towns in this small cluster stood out in the comparatively large mean percent
of residents employed in farming: 30 percent. While the percent of those employed
in farming decreased slightly between 1990 and 2000, the towns still had ten times
the percent of residents employed in farming compared with other clusters. These
towns also had by far the largest percent Hispanic residents in 2000, 81.9 percent. This
population increased between 1990 and 2000 by nearly 10 percentage points, as did the
percent foreign born, by 6.1 percentage points. Nearly half of the towns’ total residents
were foreign-born. The total population of the towns increased by 50 percent between
1990 and 2000. But as this population increased, the total percent of white residents
decreased, by 8.6 percent. The mean poverty rate of these towns, 31.2 percent, was
by far the greatest of the clusters. The percentage of residents below the poverty line
increased by 2.4 percentage points between 1990 and 2000. The median household
income in these towns was a low $28,109, but home values were not significantly lower
(or higher) than other clusters.
These clusters were concentrated in California’s Central Valley and east-central
Washington state, with a few on the California/Mexico border and in central Florida. At
the center of the cluster were two neighboring towns, Orosi, and Woodlake, located in
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the San Joaquin Valley in California at the edge of Sequoia National Park. Woodlake’s
city website notes a citrus history (City of Woodlake 2008). The next two small towns
near the center of the cluster are Wapato and Toppenish, both in the heart of eastern
Washington State’s irrigated farmland.
Cluster C: Resort towns
This cluster is another small grouping, but highly distinct in the type of towns
it describes. These towns have some of the highest population (63.8 percent), income
(16.6 percent ) and median home value (40.4 percent) increases from 1990 to 2000. The
towns’ mean home value in 2000, at $317,635, and income, $59,149, are also far above the
mean for small towns and the highest of any cluster. In other signs of economic health,
unemployment (3.5 percent) and poverty (6.5 percent) rates in this cluster were also
the lowest of the groupings. Home ownership increased by 3.6 percentage points and
the percent of residents with bachelor’s degrees, already the highest of the clusters at
26.9 percent, increased by 2.4 percentage points between 1990 and 2000. The percent of
foreign born and Hispanic residents also both increased in these years. The total percent
of foreign born residents in 2000 was high compared with other clusters at 11.3 percent.
These towns were concentrated on the east and west coasts, including the Florida
Keys, and in the Rocky Mountain resort towns outside of Denver, Colorado. With its
affluent and well-educated population, the nuclear lab town of Los Alamos, New Mexico
was at the center of the cluster. Most towns, however, were more amenity-oriented, like
Estes Park, at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, or York Harbor,
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on Maine’s southern coast. These two towns were among the five closest to the center of
this cluster. Also in the cluster were more well-known resort towns, including Jackson,
Wyoming, and Vail and Aspen, Colorado.
Cluster D: College towns
In this cluster, towns have had a large increase in home value, 20.1 percent over
10 years, but also an increase in unemployment. And while median home values in
these towns are the third highest in the clusters (a mean of $96,361), the towns have the
lowest mean income, $28,014. These towns have the smallest increase in income among
the clusters, 5.9 percent between 1990 and 2000. Unemployment is high at 20.9 percent,
yet the percent of the population with bachelor’s degrees or higher is 18.7 percent, the
highest mean of the clusters. Nearly half of the towns’ jobs are in the education (26.3
percent) and service (20.4 percent) sectors.
What seems like an incompatible group of demographic descriptors becomes
clear when examining the towns within this cluster. Nearly all are towns with a college
or university located within their boundaries. The location of a college within a town
tends to skew Census tallies, increasing poverty levels and decreasing income and home
ownership, but in many ways, these findings are still telling. The towns still have a high
level of educated residents and the lack of employment diversity remains an important
feature of the towns (though the percent in education did decrease by 1.7 percentage
points between 1990 and 2000). If measured by home value and not by income, these
towns appear economically healthy. These towns are widely dispersed throughout the
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country, although by number there are many in the Middle Atlantic and New England
states. Particularly in the West, many are located at land grant colleges located in
relatively rural areas. The center of this cluster is Radford, Virginia, designated as the
location of the state Normal (teaching) school in 1913. Today Radford University has a
student body of 9,122, more than half of the city’s 15,859 total residents (City of Radford).
Cluster E: Stable/declining towns
This cluster, the largest among the groups, has few standout features among its
per-variable means. In itself, this is a feature. It means that while these towns are shifting
dramatically between 1990 and 2000, they are not especially doing poorly economically,
nor are they booming. Though they tend to be white (89 percent was the mean in 2000),
they are not the least diverse towns, nor the most diverse. These towns have the highest
percent of residents over 65, 19.2 percent. They also have a high percent of jobs in the
service sector (20.1 percent), a sector that increased in these towns by 3.2 percentage
points between 1990 and 2000. While the population of these towns did not, on average,
decrease in these years, its rate of increase, 6.3 percent, is far lower than the overall
mean of all small towns or the country as a whole. Similarly, the median income of these
towns increased by only 8.3 percent between 1990 and 2000, a relatively small increase
compared with other clusters.
These towns are widely dispersed across the country, the only pattern being
that they are not in specific areas dominated by other clusters with a regional affiliation
— farming clusters in the southwest, depressed areas of the south, mountain resort
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areas. The center of this cluster is Hutchinson, Kansas. Hutchinson is about 53 miles
from Wichita, but has its own hospital, community college, and regional airport. It is the
site of the Kansas State Fair. The hospital and the regional grocery store chain Dillons
are its largest employers (Hutchinson Reno County Chamber of Commerce 2006). At 3.8
percent, its population did increase between 1990 and 2000, but not at the typical rate for
small towns or the nation. Similarly, economic indicators were not drastically low but
did not indicate any sort of economic boom in Hutchinson.
Cluster F Resource towns in transition (Hispanic)
Towns in this cluster, while having a lower median home value ($61,484) and
higher poverty level (23 percent) than most other clusters, have also seen a drop in
poverty (-4.9 percentage points) and unemployment (-2.5 percentage points) between
1990 and 2000. These towns have relatively high percentage of employees in both
service (21.5 percent) and farm (3 percent) jobs, but while service jobs have increased
by 3.8 percentage points, farm jobs have decreased by more than half as a percent of
total jobs (-3.6 percentage points). The towns have one of the highest mean percentage
of Hispanic residents (52.3 percent) among the clusters, as well as a high (11.6) percent
and increasing (2.5 percentage points) number of foreign-born residents. Despite this
increase in newcomers to the country, these towns have the highest mean percent of
residents who lived in the same state five years ago.
Geographically, these towns are centered in the southwest, especially Texas and
California’s central valley. There were some towns scattered throughout the West and in
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Florida. At the center of this cluster is Plainview, Texas, a city of 22,336 halfway between
Lubbock and Amarillo. The major employer in Plainview is a “boxed beef and beef bi-
products” company, with 1,850 workers and a Wal-Mart distribution center with 1,000
employees (City of Plainview 2004). There are more children under 18 than adults over
age 50 in the town. Cotton and cattle are the main agricultural focus of the area, with
more than one million cattle slaughtered per year in a 50 radius of the city.
Cluster G: Resource towns in transition (white)
This cluster is the least diverse, with a population that is 93 percent white and 2.5
percent Hispanic. Although, like all other clusters, the percent of its population that is
white decreased between 1990 and 2000, it has decreased the least, 2 percentage points.
These towns have by far the greatest percentage of workers employed in manufacturing,
26.6 percent, as well as the greatest increase in manufacturing employment, 17
percentage points. While located in traditionally farming-centered areas, only .7 percent
of these towns’ workers are employed in this industry. These towns have the largest
percent of residents over age 65, 17.9 percent, and the highest percent of residents
who lived in the same state in 1995, 92.9 percent. Despite what seems to be relative
population stability, the towns have seen a relatively high increase in income (14.1
percent) and home value (28.1 percent).
These towns are concentrated in the Midwest and Middle Atlantic census
divisions, but also include towns in the south and west. At the center of this cluster is
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Clinton, Iowa, located north of Davenport on the Mississippi River. Clinton was once
a booming sawmill town, processing logs floated down the river from Wisconsin and
Minnesota and shipping them eastward on the railroads that crisscrossed town. The
town’s location on several railroad lines plays a role in its manufacturing focus (nearly
25 percent of its jobs) today (Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce 2006). The population
of the city of Clinton decreased by nearly 5 percent between 1990 and 2000.
Cluster H: Southern processing economy towns
The most geographically-specific cluster, these towns are primarily located in
the southeastern United States. This cluster also has the highest percent by far of black
residents, 48.1 percent, and the lowest mean percent of white residents (45.7 percent).
These divisions increased from 1990 to 2000, with black residents increasing by 5.3
percentage points and white residents decreasing by 7.2 percentage points. These towns
are characterized by high poverty (28.3 percent) and unemployment (10.4 percent),
and low median household income ($24,416) and home value ($61,075). The towns
have a high percent of jobs in manufacturing (19.8 percent), but have recently had an
increase in service-oriented jobs (2.9 percentage points). The population of these towns
did not decrease, but was relatively low at a 6.9 percent increase, and 92.7 percent of
residents lived in the same state 5 years earlier. Owner-occupied homes decreased by 1.6
percentage points, and these towns had the largest decrease in residents under 18 years
old, a loss of 1.8 percentage points.
As noted earlier, these towns were almost exclusively located in the Southeast.
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There were a few concentrated in northeast Arizona and along the Delmarva Peninsula.
The center of this cluster is in Dublin, Georgia, 135 miles southeast of Atlanta. Its largest
employers are a regional hospital and two manufacturers, one making carpet and the
other aluminum. The town was recently named “one of the ten best places to retire in
Georgia” by a statewide retirement magazine (City of Dublin 2007).
Cluster I: Exurbs
Towns in this cluster have seen the greatest population increase, 44.8 percent,
and the greatest increase in income, 23.2 percent of all clusters. The mean income of
these towns, $46,005 and home value, $119,072 is second only to the earlier-described
resort cluster, as is the towns’ increase in home value, 33.5 percent. The towns have
a high percent of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher education, 15 percent,
a population that has increased by 4.5 percent between 1990 and 2000. These towns
have one of the lowest poverty rates in the clusters, 7.3 percent, which has decreased
by 3.1 percentage points between 1990 and 2000. One of the highest mean percent of
white residents is in these towns, 92.6 percent, and while this is a slight decline (-2.1
percentage points) from 1990 to 2000, it is one of the lowest declines of the clusters. This
cluster has the highest percentage of owner-occupied dwellings, 73.1 percent, and a
relatively high increase in manufacturing, 8.1 percentage points.
While regionally dispersed, this cluster shows a geographic pattern that is
unique among all clusters studied. The towns in this cluster often form rings around
urbanized areas, including Minneapolis-St. Paul, Kansas City, Chicago, Seattle, Portland,
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Figure 5.8: Map illustrating the relationship between the cluster “Exurban small towns” and large
and medium-sized cities.
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and Washington, D.C. The towns are also distributed across the country, but most seem
to be associated with a larger urbanized area. However, this area is not always a large
city. In fact, analysis of the locations of these towns indicate that they are often located
outside of growing medium-sized cities (Figure 5.8). At the center of this cluster is
Waynesville, Ohio, 26 miles outside of Dayton. The city website documents economic
decline in the 1950s that followed the improvement of highways into Dayton. The city
suggests a recent economic resurgence is due to the city’s preservation efforts and its
marketing of its many antique stores as a destination for suburban customers (Village of
Waynesville 1997).
These clusters, as well as those created at the three-cluster and six-cluster
level present some intriguing data. In addition to describing and sorting small towns,
discriminant analysis of these clusters points to important features of change in these
towns. In all three variations of clustering, the change in Hispanic residents was the key
factor in determining the clusters. Racial composition in 2000 was also very important.
Secondary to race was the type of industries in these towns, and in particular, changes
in the percent of residents employed in manufacturing. Change in home value and
median income in 2000 was also important in predicting clusters. What I call resort and
exurban towns consistently appeared as an economically healthy group, while towns
with growing Hispanic and total populations were distinguished by poor economic
health, as were manufacturing towns with a higher than average percent of black
residents. Overall this research suggests that population change and economic health are
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inextricably tied to both changing patterns of diversity as well as the cultural roots and
local employment histories of small towns.
Change and the American small town
In this chapter, I have argued that the new “urban cluster” census definition is
important in focusing on small towns that fit a more narrow definition that accounts for
population, density, and geographic circumstance. Using this definition, I found that
small towns are growing in population and their socio-economic attributes are shifting.
Taken as a whole, they are becoming more diverse, wealthy, and educated.
Small towns grew in population at a greater rate than any other (metro, micro,
rural) geographic locale in the United States. Overall, they also increased at a higher rate
in diversity, income, and home values more than the U.S. average. This finding supports
the conclusions drawn in Chapter 4, which used media representations and reports
to demonstrate an increased interest in relocating to small towns. Demographic data
reveals small cities to be moving closer, demographically, to large cities.
However, it is important to note that growth, economic prosperity, and diversity
are not evenly distributed. Most towns are growing, but they are growing in different
ways. Resort towns and exurbs, for example, remain largely white, yet are rapidly
shifting economically, with high rates of growth in household income and home values.
Small towns that are becoming significantly more diverse and increasing in total overall
population are stagnant or declining in average income and home value. Race continues
to distinguish southern small towns, which are predominantly African-American and
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may be growing in population but have high rates of poverty and unemployment.
Additionally, cluster analysis reveals that 881 towns are either stable or declining in
population as well as income and home values.
The next chapter uses this cluster analysis to select seven case studies in order
to conduct a qualitative analysis of how demographic change is affecting life in these
towns. This chapter will expand on the demographic profiles offered here to create a
typology of small towns that recognizes both commonalities in socio-economic changes
and variations in geography and history.
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Chapter 6
The unique and the generic: Change in seven small towns
This chapter serves as a transition between the broad cultural and demographic
descriptions of urban change offered by previous chapters and the in-depth case studies
in chapters 7, 8, and 9. Earlier chapters provided evidence that small towns are indeed
changing: Chapter 4 identified evidence in cultural representations and news media of
change in small towns, while Chapter 5 quantified this change and described statistical
differences between towns. This chapter qualifies these differences by contextualizing
change and describing its regional and local effects. I describe the importance of
geography, history, and sense of place in creating unique places, but conclude that
despite regional and local differences, patterns and commonalities can be seen in how
change manifests itself in small-town landscapes. In this chapter I select seven case
study towns used to analyze urban change in small towns. It provides a description of
the regional context and provides a historic and geographic introduction to these towns.
A methodology for contextualizing change
Analyses contained in the last three chapters of this dissertation are the
culmination of ten months of fieldwork, living in small towns, researching their history,
observing and documenting their changing landscapes and interviewing local residents.
The selection of these towns and the region studied was the product of research that
considered a shifting cultural ideal of small towns, as well as changes in demographics.
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My decision to locate my case study towns in the West was a practical one, to
reduce the expense and travel time between locations, but also a decision made with the
belief that the unique regional qualities of the West will be beneficial to an exploration
of change in small towns. Changes in western small towns are amplified by the West’s
unique geography and history, and yet many of the forces behind these trends are not
decidedly different than those affecting other regions of the United States. In the end,
these towns are not so distinct from towns in the Midwest, or the South or the East.
What small towns across the United States share — a geography of relative isolation, a
history of resource use and railroads — is far more important than their differences in
their ability to describe today’s small town.
The small towns selected as case studies parallel, but do not match exactly, the
results of the cluster analysis in Chapter 5. The categories consider socio-economic
changes from 1990 to 2000 as well as overall socio-economic status in 2000. They also
take into consideration forces contributing to change not measured by these statistics,
but suggested by the cultural readings of Chapter 4: the rise of digital technology, an
increased attraction to amenities, and retirement migration. Using these methods, I
selected small towns representing different types of small towns from those located in
the western United States. Because the region in which my case studies were located
was in the West, I chose to exclude the typological category that was the most region-
centered, in this case from the southern United States. While there were a few of these
towns in the West, I did not feel that they were representative of this type of small town’s
overall characteristics. That these towns were on average 48 percent black, and had a
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rural tradition rooted in the plantation and sharecropping past of the South, suggested
that they would not be adequately represented by selecting a small town in the West.
Of the 2,998 small towns studied in Chapter 5, 522 are located in the 11
contiguous western states (as defined by the U.S. Census). To select locations of small
towns from which to select my case studies, I looked for diverse groupings as selected
by the cluster analysis (geographic proximity of socio-economically varied towns
would allow me to study several towns from one research base). This revealed about
ten possible locations for my studies. I recognized the need to select groupings of towns
in geographically diverse areas, and therefore began looking for proximate towns
within three distinct subregions: irrigated valleys, the Rocky Mountains, and desert
southwest. While my primary selection criteria were the demographic data illustrated
by the cluster analysis, I also read broadly in media articles about changes in small
towns. I was looking for towns that were representative of changes in all small towns,
but was cognizant that these changes could be highlighted through locally-specific
decisions or controversies. For towns that I did not know from media anecdotes, I
examined local media and websites. How the town marketed itself was important, and
I was also interested in towns that were going through, or had recently completed, a
comprehensive plan process. This process provides a basis for understanding how the
town sees itself, as well as some of the more divisive issues within the community.
The towns I selected are located in three subregions of the American West (Figure
6.1). The first two towns, Ellensburg and Quincy, in Washington State, are located in the
semi-arid irrigated valleys of central Washington, on the eastern side of the Cascades.
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These towns vary greatly from the mild, wet, urban cities on the West Coast. They
are similar in demographics and geography to towns in California’s Central Valley.
My second group of towns is influenced strongly by their location among or near the
Rocky Mountains. The third town, Anaconda, Montana, is the smaller counterpart to its
more populous neighbor, Butte, but similarly influenced by its strong ties to the copper
industry. Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the fourth town, is a resort town, with similar
growth trends to the more famous neighbors Vail and Aspen. East of Steamboat Springs
is the fifth town I examine, Wellington, Colorado, which is 70 miles north of Denver, but
not outside its sphere of influence or of commuters from nearby Fort Collins. The third
group of towns is in the American Southwest. Silver City, New Mexico, shares a mining
Figure 6.1: Location of
study stes n the
Western Unted States.
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Figure 6.2: Demographic overview of study sites.
history with Anaconda, as does Safford, Arizona. In the remainder of this chapter, I
examine changes occurring in the American West, and within these specific locales,
provide an introduction to the case study towns.
The ‘New West’: Growth, change and a renewed focus on small towns
The West is deeply routed in its enduring physical environment as well as its
chronological history, what Elliott West (2004) calls “an ongoing negotiation between human
assumptions and ecological realities” (34). These ecological realities include a wide range
of environments, primarily arid, but including everything from desert to temperate
rainforest. The land has long been contested, both between its native inhabitants and
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European explorers (later, settlers), and between colonial powers as the land gradually
was won, purchased, and taken by the United States. The West has made and continues
to make itself livable because and in spite of its natural surroundings. Early money
came from the fur trade, and later from mining, ranching and farming. Settlers w ere
attracted to these industries, as well as by offers of free and close-to-free land through
the Homestead Act. There has long been difficulty, however, translating the traditions
of the East onto the West (Worster 1994). The West, Worster argues, has never been
civilized, has “never (arrived) at the point of being settled” (xi). This is the new
understanding of the “old” West, of battles fought with nature but never quite won. It is
a place of myth: wild and untamed.
To understand today’s West it is important to understand its past, and past
representations, but it is also important to place it in its contemporary context. The
phrase, “The New West” suggests that the old West — one of isolation and abundant
natural resources — is being replaced by a new West, a place that is increasingly
connected to the outside world, growing in population, and reconsidering its use of
resources. To photographer Robert Adams, the New West is vacant prairie and endless
subdivisions; it is roadside motels and drive-in movie theaters; it is both nostalgia
and realism, nature and civilization. His images are at once uniquely Western and
generically American. Adams’s 1974 book, The New West: Landscapes along the Colorado
Front Range, may be the first use of the term “The New West,” which has since been
seized upon by the popular media and academics to describe contemporary change in
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the Western Unted States.
1

This representation of the New West as a place of diverse and dualistic
landscapes, remains true today as development pressures continue to shift the physical
and cognitive landscapes of what can arguably be called the “Old West.” Characteristics
of the New West have been described in different ways and for different reasons
(journalism, research, boosterism, environmentalism), but nonetheless can be condensed
into three categories of traits that most authors agree upon:
1) An Old West: A past tied to ideas of wilderness, public land ownership, and resource
extraction, “traditional” ways of life.
2) Change: Population growth, accompanied by increased diversity, an increase in
service jobs, cultural shifts, and changes in land use.
3) Conflict: Disagreement, primarily over land use, between old and new residents,
developers and environmentalists, liberals and conservatives.
Timothy Egan, Pacific Northwest correspondent for the New York Times,
introduced the concept of the New West to a broad audience with a book on the subject
in 1999. Offering short stories from different towns throughout the W est, Egan took a
decidedly ecological view of the changes brought by the emergence of the New West.
His stories examine the environmental effects of extractive industries, the strain on water

1 The phrase “the New West” has been used in numerous connotations previously, as Taylor
(2004) notes, starting in the first days of the transcontinental railroad. In this essay I refer only to
the New West in its contemporary usage.
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resources in the arid region, and the decline of ranching. Following the publication of
Egan’s book, media began to expand use of the term to describe places throughout the
West undergoing demographic, cultural or environmental change.
The New West concept has been used by both promoters of development and
those arguing for greater control over land use change. High Country News, a green-
leaning bi-weekly Western newspaper, has been writing about the New West since
1993, when it published an essay bemoaning the influx of tourists to Moab, Utah (Stiles
1993). In following years, it published an average of 10 articles a year that discussed
the changes in the New West, considering the costs and benefits of population growth
(Reibsame 1997: Travis 2007). In particular, amenity migration to the West has been
highlighted, as has the growth of exurban areas and the loss of previously rural land
to development (Rudzitis 1993, 1999, 2000; Cromartie & Wardell 1999; Hayden 2004:
Theobald 2000; Nelson 2001). Changes in the New West have also been the focus of
research on tourism and the rise of the service economy. Rothman (1998) and Wrobel
and Long’s (2001) work on the West contributed greatly toward understanding the
geography of the region. Economic restructuring that is taking place across the country
is felt strongly in the West, where extractive industries have declined and tourist-
oriented service economies are on the rise (Smutny 2002). Resort towns like Aspen,
Colorado and Jackson, Wyoming are an important part of the geography of the New
West and its contemporary landscape.
Changes in the West ― population growth, increased pressure on rural lands,
and a move toward tourism-based economies ― have resulted in a collision of cultures
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particular to the New West. Rengert and Lang (2001) refer to a dichotomy of “cowboys
and cappuccino,” those who make a living in traditional and non-traditional ways.
Walker (2003) suggests that an examination of Western land-use conflicts provides
insight into a regionally-specific political ecology, illustrating the interaction between
three capitalist systems: one based on resources, another on development, and the
newest based on amenities and services (15). The result of the collision of these three
economies is conflict between new and long-time residents, liberals and conservatives,
and environmentalists and developers. The aridity of the West has long made water a
source of conflict, which is intensified with the sprawl of urban areas like Las V egas in
the desert landscape (Egan 2003).
Reibsame’s Atlas of the New West also examines the increased cultural diversity
of the New West, describing the rise of new age centers, gourmet coffee shops, and
retailers like Orvis and Patagonia (1997, 114-116). The arrival of telecommuters, second
home owners, and other wealthy residents in the West both creates new, low-paying,
service jobs and exacerbates the differences between the rich and poor (Nelson 2001). In
tourist towns and other increasingly polarized locations, housing is quickly becoming
unaffordable for service workers and other working-class residents, resulting in a new
type of town ― a home for resort commuters (Rademan 2003).
There is a fear that the West will stop being the West, that it will lose its character.
The “new” of the New West comes primarily from beyond its borders: from global
and national changes. But the effects of this change are local: geography still matters.
Impacts of migration, economic shifts, and other forces vary depending on where in the
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West they are located. Small towns have similar concerns about “character” as well as
variations based on equally diverse geographies. Just as there are booming parts of the
West, there are booming small towns, and at the same time, there are declining towns
hit hard by long- and short-term trends in the nation’s economy. But the West, and the
changes taking place there, are a useful lens for understanding the country as a whole.
The American West is as steeped in tradition and cultural mythology as the
small town. Just as the small town is seen as foil to the evils of the city, the wilds of the
West are portrayed as an antidote to the restrictively civilized culture of the East. Fears
of losing this character play out in discussions about what academics and journalists
call “The New West,” a place that is increasingly homogenized and developed. Similar
concerns can be seen in small towns, not just in the West, but across the United States.
In the next three sections of this chapter, I describe the seven Western towns I
selected as case studies. I divide these towns into three categories: those that are growing
in population, those that are transitioning but not showing notable fluctuations in total
population, and one town that is declining in population. The unique experiences of
these towns illustrate the connections between the effects of change and region, as well
as outcomes that result from more specific geographies and historic ev ents.
The population boom: growing towns
Towns that are often used as examples of the “New West” are growing in
population, with increased home values and income. They owe this growth in large
part to amenity migration, of retirees and others not rooted to employment centers, as
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well as those made newly-mobile by improvements in digital technology. These towns
are expanding both residentially and commercially, and are economically successful in
that they are able to levy sales and/or property taxes to pay for improved infrastructure.
However, this success also increases the cost of living and places pressure on natural and
cultural resources.
1. Wellington, Colorado
Today, the town of Wellington is, according to the cluster analysis conducted in
Chapter 5, an exurb. It is separated from the city of Fort Collins by miles of farmland,
and yet is strongly tied to the larger city, both economically and socially. Residents
also commute from Wellington to Denver and Cheyenne (Figure 6.2). The growth of
Wellington is not just a local trend; it is part of the regional growth of the Front Range
as part of overall migration to the western United States. For many years, the town of
Wellington, Colorado had a low, stable population. It began as a farming community,
founded in 1901 by the North Poudre Irrigation Company. Headlines from local and
regional newspapers tell the story of a struggling town: “Prosper or die: Wellington:
Changes must be made” (Sunday Review, 1980). “Wellington sets out to maintain a
‘community’” (Fort Collins Coloradoan, 1977); “Wellington: Town that wouldn’t die”
(Denver Post, 1968).
The town’s history is full of plans and schemes to boost its population and
economy. Many credit private citizen Wilson Leeper with “saving” the town in the 1960s.
Leeper sought federal funding to improve the town: “It was not considered fashionable
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in a Neanderthal Republican county to ask for federal money in those days,” he told
the Fort Collns Coloradoan in 1979 after receiving theWinthrop Rockefeller Award for
Distinguished Rural Service. In 1968, Leeper’s efforts made Wellington the smallest
city in the country (population around 500) to receive federal Urban Renewal funding,
which paid for the construction of 16 new housing units and the rehabilitation of others
(Gagnon 1971). By 1971, Leeper had brought $1 million in funding to the town.
But while Leeper’s efforts stabilized the town, and improved its infrastructure, its
population remained small. In 1980, town manager Lisa Warnecke told the (Fort Collins)
Sunday Review: “Simply put, the status quo will not be enough. Wellingtom must grow,
or it will die in poverty” (Halverstadt 1980, 1). Local officials sought jobs for the area,
through a racetrack in the 1980s, and a cultural center in the 1990s. Both plans failed.
Figure 6.3: Location of the town of Wellington and city of Steamboat Springs.
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In the end, according to newspaper editor JoAn Bjarko, the boom the town had long
sought came from a development no one expected to succeed: “Wellington West.” The
development, built in 1992 at what was then the town’s western fringe, on the state road
leading to Fort Collins, doubled the size of the town (Ahlbrant 1996). The development
was marketed to families “tired of the traffic noise, crime, and overall lack of privacy
where they currently live … wanting to move to a small town” (Ahlbrant, 76). The
success of Wellington West attracted more developers: four building permits were issued
in 1990, 100 in 1995; the town expanded by 200 acres between 1992 and 1996.
Today, boundaries continued to expand as the town’s population grew by 261
percent between 1990 and 2007; reaching 4,835 in 2007. Farmland is disappearing
rapidly, replaced with housing developments to the north and south of the town (Figure
6.3). A new elementary school was built at the southern edge of town, and commercial
and industrial growth is slowly following residential development. The town, long
dependent on Fort Collins’s shopping centers, recently opened a new supermarket and
hardware store. Wellington continues to encourage this growth — the town’s master
Figure 6.4: Wellington’s farm past (left, in a 100-year-old farm that recently sold much of its acre -
age and became a museum) is being replaced by a subdivision future (right, the subdivision Wel-
lington West, the first to succeed in the town).
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plan includes a quote from William Jennings Bryan: “Destiny is not a matter of chance,
it’s a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
2. Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Steamboat Springs has grown steadily over the past 20 years (See map, Figure
6.2). As a “resort town,” Steamboat Springs is dominated by the tourist industry, with
high home values and average income, and a growing population. Like other towns
that were once only seasonal destinations, Steamboat Springs now attracts year-round
visitors, as well as new residents and businesses.
Steamboat Springs began as a small ranching community, but within 10 years
after the 1908 establishment of the city’s railroad depot, it became the busiest cattle
shipping center in the West, according to a timeline in the Chamber of Commerce.
Coal mining in the late 19th century also supported a small population in the area, and
springs deemed therapeutic attracted some tourists in the summer months. In 1913, Carl
Howelson arrived in Steamboat Springs via Chicago from Norway. Howelson brought
skiing to Steamboat Springs, building ski jumps and facilities, organizing races and a
winter sports club. Skiing, while a local obsession in the following years, did not become
a national draw until the 1960s, when the Storm Mountain Ski Corporation opened a ski
resort. As the ski resort changed hands, millions of dollars in improvements were made,
and marketing increased. In 1973, the city annexed the “mountain village,” the resort’s
commercial/residential base located two and a half miles from downtown Steamboat
Springs.
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In recent years, Steamboat Springs has shifted from being a winter holiday
destination. While there is still a boom in population at these times (Christmas/New
Year’s Day and Presidents’ Day weekend), there has been an increase in both year-
round residents and summer tourists (Figure 6.4). In the Vision 2030 survey of Routt
County residents (2008), residents who felt they “got their town back” during the
summer expressed concerns about on-going events like Triple Crown, a baseball camp.
In addition, several media reports and studies of the town found an increase in “location
neutral” business owners moving to Steamboat Springs for its quality of life. Former
mayor of Steamboat Springs Towny Anderson argues that the city was irrevocably
changed in 2007 by the acquisition of the resort by the Canadian development-oriented
company Intrawest, which owns resorts across the world, including Vermont, Hawaii,
Mexico, and France. Most debates in the city (and there are many) are about how and
where the city is growing.
Figure 6.5: Population growth in Steamboat Springs has brought development up the sides of its
mountain (left) and into what was once farmland (right).
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3. Ellensburg, Washington
College towns are statistical outliers in part because they have a large number
of young people (and data tends to be skewed based on the “low income” of these
residents), but also because of the employment and amenities tied to hosting a
university. The city of Ellensburg is, in many ways, a typical college town. Yet it also
has many unique characteristics, with a growing population tied not only to its stable
economic base, but also because of its location two hours from Seattle (Figure 6.5).
The small city of Ellensburg once had great aspirations — to be capital of the
state of Washington, and to become “The Pittsburgh of the Pacific” (Munsell 2008).
Neither dream materialized, and the city’s speculative boom years lasted only for a year,
1888. Devastated by a fire in 1889 and the discovery that local iron ore deposits were of
poor quality, the city set its sights on more modest economic goals. It cemented itself as
an important stop on the Burlington Northern railroad, and as place for farmers to buy
Figure 6.6: Location of Ellensburg and Quincy, Washington.
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equipment and bring crops for processing. While the passenger depot is now closed,
crops are still processed and shipped from the city.
Ellensburg today is dominated by Central Washington University, which grew
slowly in student enrollment since it opened as a public teaching school in 1891 (Figure
6.6). The university provides a steady source of employment, bolstering an economy
already enriched by the city’s role as a center of agricultural trade. University students
and employees provide customers for a broad range of services, including a regional
hospital and a number of retail outlets.
The city is doing well financially, despite some residents’ perception that its
economy is in decline. Unemployment remains low, and home values are steadily
increasing. The city’s annual rodeo attracts thousands of people, and its location along
I-90 between Seattle and Spokane attracts visitors at its two highway interchanges.
Figure 6.7: Two important factors in the development of Ellensburg are the Cascade Range to its
west (left, with the city and surrounding farmland in the foreground) and Central Washington
University (right).
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Its historic downtown also lures visitors, and efforts for revitalization hav e won the
community numerous awards including being named a “distinctive destination” by
the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2007. Ellensburg is representative of
small towns that have worked to build upon their heritage and rebuild a reputation as a
“destination,” for tourists, new residents, and businesses.
Shifting economies and ethnicities: towns in transition
“Transition” is a catch-all phrase to describe towns that are undergoing
demographic change without an overall trend toward population growth or decline.
In some of these towns, demographic change means increased diversity. While
overall, most towns are becoming gradually less white; these towns are undergoing a
dramatic shift away from their roots as majority-white small towns as the percent of
those of Latino background increases. Other towns are transitioning in terms of their
employment, shifting toward or away from traditional extraction industries. There
are, in all of these towns, conflicts resulting from this state of flux; many are unsure
how these changes will affect their small town’s character, and whether the economic
transition will result in economic growth or decline.
4. Quincy, Washington
In Washington and California, especially, but numerous other farming towns
across the country, an influx of Hispanic residents is changing the ethnic composition
of once primarily-white small towns (Figure 6.7). Many of these towns are also growing
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overall in population, yet unlike resort and exurban small towns, their economic health
has not improved. In some cases it has deteriorated. Quincy provides an interesting
example of a town that has experienced these socio-economic changes, yet accidents of
geography have provided a new source of income for the town government, if not most
resdents.
Quincy had more modest roots than Ellensburg. For Quincy, which had a
population of about 500 for its first 40 years, this boom came in 1951, when the first
waters of the Columbia River Basin irrigation project arrived (See map, Figure 6.5).
Coupled with the newly-harnessed water, the area’s rich soil made extensive farming
possible. Over the next half-century, farming shifted from family-owned to industrial
farming, but the size of the town remained much the same. What did change, however,
was the ethnic background of its population. The region’s earliest farmers were Anglos,
often from the Midwest with eastern European roots, according to local historian Harriet
Weber. However, in the past 10 to 20 years, the Hispanic population of Quincy has
Figure 6.8: Quincy’s economy remains rooted in agriculture (left). In recent years this has meant
the majority of residents are now Latino workers who migrated to Washington State for agricul-
tural employment (right, as “Paddy’s” restaurant becomes “La Placita.”)
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grown tremendously: to 66 percent of the total population by 2000. This shift mirrors
other irrigated farming areas in the West, where shifts in labor markets, and how and
what crops are grown, offer up promises of employment for new immigrants as w ell as
second- and third-generation farming families with Latino roots.
In addition to this demographic shift, the town’s identity has changed in other
ways. Although Quincy was long a sleepy farming town, in the last ten years, the town
been the subject of national headlines — both for good and for ill. Their first brush with
fame was an unpleasant one: the city was the subject of a series of Pulitzer-Prize winning
articles, and then a book (Fateful Harvest), by a Seattle Times reporter who told a complex
story of hazardous waste, family farms, and political wrangling (and possible cover-ups)
(Wilson 2001).
Less than ten years after the Seattle Times articles were published, and
republished across the nation, Quincy again made the news, this time in a far more
positive light. Quincy’s economy was booming in 2006, as Internet companies including
Microsoft and Yahoo bought large tracts of land on the city outskirts to use for server
farms. The farms, data storage and processing facilities, took advantage of the city’s
cheap land and power (due to the nearby dams of the Columbia River). Hundreds of
construction workers were needed to build the facilities, but the total employment for
each farm was only about 50 people. Nevertheless, the promise of high-tech companies
in farm country brought economic enthusiasm to the town not seen since the 1950s
irrigation boom. Quincy is now seeking stability following the boom of the high-tech
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industry. Working class residents, many of Latino descent, are struggling with the effects
of economic “success” on their rents and home prices.
5. Safford, Arizona
Like many small towns in the American West, Safford relies on resource
extraction to provide jobs (See map, Figure 6.8). However, these industries tend to be
boom and bust, highly dependent upon the rise and fall of the resource being extracted.
Safford is strongly tied to the copper industry. These ties, for better or worse, are the
basis for Safford’s economy. Safford also provides an example of an economically-
thriving center of regional retail. While its downtown is crumbling, a commercial strip
at the edge of town thrives – it includes a Home Depot, several supermarkets, numerous
gas stations, and one of the largest Wal-Mart Supercenters in the country (Figure 6.9).
The town of Safford was incorporated in 1901, but farming in the region began
the 1870s. The Safford area had long been known to Native Americans who stopped
there while traveling along the Gila River. It was acquired by the United States as part of
the 1852 Gadsden Purchase. The earliest U.S. settlement in the area w as tied to farming
that served miners in the Globe area. While located in an arid region, Safford residents
were able to use water from the Gila River to irrigate crops. Government agencies,
including Graham County, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service,
as well as two state and one federal prison, has kept employment in the city stable.
A less predictable factor in the area’s economic health is the mining industry.
Safford provides a residential and retail base for the nearby Morenci mine, which has
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been in operation since the 1870s. Locals celebrated in the early 21st century, when
plans to build a $600 million copper mine in Safford were announced. It would be the
first open pit copper mine in the country in 30 years (Jarman 2005). Currently, half the
households in Safford make under $25,000, while miners make $40,000 a y ear. Perhaps
suggesting future problems, the construction of the mine has already brought conflict
to the town as housing demand has grown and prices have more than doubled (Jarman
2006). The boom, however, did not last long. The global economic crisis brought
down the price of copper, and half the workforce was laid off at the Morenci copper
mine, where many Safford residents commuted to work. Between November 2008
and February 2009, 2,200 workers lost their jobs, and the copper company, Freeport
McMoRan, closed its offices in downtown Safford (Mares 2009).
6. Silver City, New Mexico
Like Safford, Silver City is a town heavily-supported by the copper industry (See
Figure 6.9: Location of Safford, Arizona and Silver City, New Mexico.
139
map, Figure 6.8). The Silver City area, however, is nearing the end of its copper supply,
and the town is looking for new industries. It has been successful in promoting tourism
to its downtown art galleries and nearby national forest (Figure 6.10). The town has been
less successful in its bid to diversify industrially — several call centers have come and
gone from a converted former Wal-Mart building. Cattle ranching also remains a small
but important part of the regional economy.
Silver City was founded in 1870 when silver was found behind what is today the
county courthouse. Copper quickly became the core industry of the area, with support
from what is today called Western New Mexico University (founded in 1893) and Fort
Bayard, once (1863) a military outpost and later a veterans’ hospital and nursing home.
The town, like many in the area, has Native American as well as Mexican-American
roots. Today, Silver City is 53 percent Hispanic.
The town lost 6.6 percent of its population between 1990 and 2007, which
Planning Director Peter Russell suggested was a significant loss of residents combined
Figure 6.10: Although agriculture (left, cotton field) is the historic economic base of Safford, in the
last half-century, it has become increasingly dependent upon the mining industry. The down-
town office of the local copper company, Freeport McMoRan (right), is set to close in February
2009 after the value of copper declined in late 2008.
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with an influx of retirees. He noted that housing construction increased, as there w ere
more households, just of smaller size. Retirees, while not employed themselves, support
services like the local hospital, where the city’s mayor, James Marshall, works. Retirees
and other amenity migrants also support the local retail industry, as do tourists attracted
to the town’s cultural and outdoor amenities.
Silver City was named a “dream town,” by Outdoor Magazine (2004), which
lauded its proximity to Gila Wilderness, Gila National Forest and Gila River. It has also
been included among more than a dozen “best of” lists, including historic preservation,
top public hunting areas, and art town. It was named an Arts District by the state of New
Mexico and has three historic districts on the National Register. Russell said he sees the
future of Silver City built upon the town’s cultural amenities.
End of an era? A small town in decline
7. Anaconda, Montana
While other mining towns are transitioning and diversifying their economy,
Figure 6.11: Silver City’s economic base has long been surrounding mines (left), but locals worry
that the industry is in decline there. The town has strong Mexican-Catholic roots, celebrated
(right) in the summer of 2008 at Sunday mass, part of an annual festival held in a downtown
park.
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Anaconda is an example of many towns that have lost their main industry and have not
yet recovered. Its population is in decline, with 14 percent lost between 1990 and 2007,
with a greater loss since the 1981 closure of its copper smelter. Unlike many other places
in Montana, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County has not benefited from the influx of new
residents and new money (Figure 6.11).
Anaconda was a company town — while not owned by the Anaconda Copper
Mining Company, it was founded by its owner Marcus Daly in 1883 as the smelting site
for the Butte copper mine. Daly invested heavily in the city, building a racetrack, park,
public buildings, and donating a lot in the center of the city that is still used for the
annual Christmas tree and as an ice skating rink. The city once had a streetcar running
from the city to the smelter, and was home to a newspaper that was one of the first to
include color photographs. But as copper became an increasingly unstable industry in
the 1960s, and urban renewal claimed some of its most historic buildings, Anaconda lost
some of its luster.
With the closure of its smelter, Anaconda suffered from both a financial and
cultural loss, as those whose fathers and grandfathers had worked at the smelter now
sought new skills and new jobs. Throughout the town are reminders of what was lost:
stately buildings, monuments to benefactors, and the large smokestack of the smelter.
“The only people left in Anaconda are the old people, and they’re dying off,” Jim
Sylvester, economist for the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University
of Montana told the Associated Press in 2001. Those who stayed are struggling to make
ends meet: 10 percent of the consolidated city-county’s population was unemployed in
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2000, with 16 percent living below the poverty line. Plans abound for diversifying the
town’s economy, but few have succeeded (Figure 6.12).
The city is also dealing with environmental repercussions of hosting the copper
industry for 100 years. The town is part of a 300 square mile Superfund site, with
cleanup negotiations ongoing with Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), the most recent
owner of the smelter (and inheritor of its environmental problems). Advertisements
in the newspaper advise residents to test their lawns for arsenic and on windy days,
clouds of presumed-toxic dust blow over the adjacent town of Opportunity. At the
eastern entrance to the city is a large slag pile: 25 million tons of waste from the smelting
Figure 6.12:
Location of
Anaconda,
Montana.
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process. One local motel gives out “bags of slag” to as a souvenir to visitors, but most
agree that the pollution is one of the greatest challenges to the town’s redevelopment.
Like many other small towns with declining populations, its economic problems are
cyclical: without investment, the town’s infrastructure declines, and this in turn further
discourages investment in the town by potential employers and retailers.
Distinct small towns, emerging patterns
The seven small towns described in this chapter all offer distinct insights
into the changing landscape of the American small town. They also suggest various
patterns in this change. Distinctions come with history and geography . An examination
of important events for each of these small towns, considered alongside changes in
total population, offer the beginnings of an explanation as to why their reactions to
national trends varied (Figure 6.13). Though many had similar roots in rural resource
extraction – through farming, ranching, and mining – their destinies shifted as the 20th
Figure 6.13: Anaconda must deal with the environmental consequences of a century of smelting
(the city’s slag heap can be seen behind the county courthouse, left) and the economic ramifica -
tions of losing its major industry after generations grew up in the shadow of the 585-foot smoke -
stack (right).
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century evolved. These case studies begin to provide a qualitative explanation for the
demographic changes described in Chapter 5. They also offer a connection betw een
cause and effect: forces of urban change and their effect on the small town landscape.
They contextualize the outcomes of change.
These contexts, while geographically unique, suggest patterns among small
towns, patterns that need qualitative as well as quantitative data to identify. Immigration
and, to an extent, commuting patterns, are the easiest to extract from basic census data.
Tying migration of older residents to small towns is more difficult because, while some
communities have a higher percentage of older residents, this may be due to an outflow
of younger residents, and vice versa. It is difficult to overlay age and migration trends
without knowing more about the nature of individual towns. The effects of the internet
are also difficult to quantify. Employment and its ties to digital connectivity are shifting
Figure 6.14: Key events and population change in the histories of the study sites.
145
quickly, perhaps more quickly than the traditional categories employed by the census
can track. Towns’ geography and history are important indicators of how attractive they
are to each type of migrant, as well as cultural roots that may account for demographic
trends in employment and racial composition.
The effects of population growth on towns are equally important in describing
town “types.” The discourses surrounding growth vary depending on local situation,
but tend not to universally equate growth with “progress” or “success.” Instead, the case
study towns highlight a variety of reactions to growth. In some cases, there is celebration
of new employment, and the increase in tax base that comes with new residents and
businesses. In others, there is concern about the affects of this growth on the intangible
“feel” of the small town, on its rural-ness, its isolation and the sanctity of its surrounding
countryside. Like the gentrification of large cities, there is recognition that an influx of
wealthy new residents often increases the cost of living for long-time residents.
In terms of how these towns are changing, I have found three key descriptors: 1)
population and migration, 2) economic health and 3) economic change.
2
Each of these
descriptors has both quantitative and qualitative elements, which combine to illustrate
how my study towns fit into a typology of small towns in the early 21st century (Figure
6.15). This typology, however, presents a simplistic picture of today’s small town. The
data described in this chapter suggest the importance of considering additional areas
of inquiry regarding the forces behind change in small towns, the effects of history and
2 As noted earlier, racial composition was important in the cluster analysis I conducted. Here
I include dynamic composition with “migration,” but withhold discussion of the complexities
of static racial composition for upcoming chapters, which will discuss the racial history/cultural
roots of the towns described.
146
geography on these changes, and how this change is to be evaluated.
The first key descriptor I consider in my typology is population growth, net
migration in and out of small towns. I entered this analysis with the hypothesis, based
on past academic research as well as recent media reports, that small towns are growing.
While I found that the demographic mean of small town population has increased at
a rate greater than the United States overall, the facts are far more complicated. There
are small towns growing at a far greater rate than others. There are towns that have not
declined, but are not growing at much more than a replacement rate. And there are a
good number of small towns that have declined in population. In an era in which the
United States is increasing in diversity, it is important not just to consider whether a
town is growing, but who these new residents are. Ethnicity was an important factor
in the growth of small towns — towns that were largely Hispanic were growing faster
than towns with a smaller percent of Hispanic residents. Media reports illustrate the
Figure 6.15: Typology of American small towns
147
importance of considering not just population change is positive or negative, but also
who these migrants are and where they are coming from/to. Recent influxes of urban
migrants, retirees, and commuters suggest that who is migrating is as important as where
they go.
A second important descriptor in examining small towns is the economic health of
a town: its residents average income, home values, and poverty rates. In considering the
state of the economy, we can examine the industries in which residents are employed,
be they services, manufacturing, farming, or education. Yet again, this only gives us part
of the picture of a town’s economy. Media reports suggest the importance of examining
the history of these jobs, and the cultural roots of those employed. Cost of living is also
important, as poverty rates do not take into consideration variations in cost of living
— a high cost of living can make an income in one part of the country worth less than in
other areas.
The third key descriptor used in creating my typology examines economic
change in small towns. Here I describe towns in which economic health appears to be
improving as “transitioning.” These places are often also seeing shifts in the industries in
which their residents are employed. Qualitative research is essential in determining how
and why these shifts are occurring: Are new industries appearing? Are old industries
becoming revitalized? Are jobs stable, but commuting increasing? At the opposite end
of the spectrum are towns with a decline in economic health, as shown by a stable or
declining median household income and an increase in poverty, places I call “troubled.”
It is possible, I note in my typology, to both be increasing in population, but also have a
148
relatively unhealthy, troubled economy.
The data collected for this study indicate the intricacies of the forces involved
in identifying and describing small town “types.” Only part of the story is told by
analyzing if a small town is healthy or unhealthy, transitioning or troubled. A key
question is, “why?”. Some important forces are revealed in data from the U.S. Census:
towns are affected by migration, by the type of industry that employs its residents, and
by immigration and increased diversity (or lack thereof). Yet equally important in this
analysis are details of history and geography.
These data suggest, too, the importance of a thorough evaluation of what
“success” and “progress” mean to a community. Far from being predictable in pre-
established cultural terms of ideal or dying; succeeding or failing, change in small
towns, like other urban (and rural) places, is multifaceted. The types of small towns I
describe illustrate the complex mixture of changes in population size, prosperity, ethnic
composition, and employment base. These cases illustrate that population and economic
growth are not always heralded as universal indicators of success, but rather produces
conflict and concerns about the affect of this growth on the town’ s sense of place. The
lack of correlation between population growth and economic health also suggests that a
growing small town is not necessarily a prosperous one for all its inhabitants.
Contextualizing change
The stories of these seven towns are stories about history and geography. Broad
historic trends — often war and dispossession — brought the land into American hands.
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Most small towns were the byproduct of the geography of natural resources: fertile
soil, coal, copper, oil. In the late 19th century, these resources could be extracted, or in
the case of agriculture, used to produce crops, and these products shipped by railroad
to larger cities. Towns were also the product of their geographical relationship with
larger cities; they provided stopping points for rail, but also for those traveling by
horse, wagon, and later, automobile and truck. In some towns, history credits a single
person with their success, someone who saw the value of the place, staked a claim, and
encouraged others to join them there.
Philosopher John Dewey (1929) wrote that “locality is the only universal”
(549). For Dewey, an attachment to region is the natural byproduct of national
homogenization. Although Dewey made this argument in 1929, in today’s era of Wal-
Mart, McDonald’s, identical suburban houses, and endless commercial strips, it is
equally relevant. In the West, debates over the future of the New West exemplify this
conflict. As global forces bear down on the West, there is a need to protect their regional
identity. Similarly, for some of the small towns described above, the preservation
of locality, of a sense of place and history, is their saving grace. Their uniqueness is
marketable to tourists and new residents and industries. Other small towns are trapped
by their geography, doomed to live, as Marsh (1987) would say, in places full of meaning
but without the means of economic sustainability.
The short history of these towns raises questions much like those posed to
their region: In what ways do national and global forces homogenize the landscape,
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if at all? Are physical geography, culture and history strong enough to overcome this
process? What patterns emerge when global processes are localized in places that not
only have strong defining physical characteristics but strong cultural mythologies as
well? The dilemmas of the West (and small towns across the country) include concerns
about natural resource (ab)use, the loss of jobs in the extractive economy, the increase of
tourism, and exurbanization. These concerns play out differently depending on history
and geography, but in many of these shifts, consistent patterns can sometimes be seen.
With these case studies selected, the next three chapters turn to an examination of the
analytical triad of changes in the form and character of the small town, and how these
changes are creating conflict in these places.
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Chapter 7
Same as it never was: Change and the contemporary small town
In fall of 2008, the national spotlight focused briefly on small towns. Republican
presidential candidate John McCain chose a small town mayor-turned-governor as his
vice presidential running mate, and campaign rhetoric took advantage of this. Sarah
Palin said that she and McCain, “believe that the best of America is in these small
towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the ‘real
America’” (Brooks 2008).
But something
interesting happened
when journalists took a
closer look at Sarah Palin’s
hometown of Wasilla: it was
not what they (or other big-
city Americans) expected
(Figure 7.1). The headlines read, for example, “Sorry, Frank Capra: Wasilla is no Bedford
Falls” (Coyne 2008). This Newsweek journalist found that not only was there was crime in
Wasilla, that it has one of the highest crime rates in Alaska. She concluded that Wasilla
is not a “bad place … It’s just not the gauzy, idyllic place of long-neglected ‘values’ that
Palin evokes. Rather, it’s an unexceptional, gritty town, bisected by a four-lane highway.”
Other articles were confused about what exactly Wasilla is: A suburb of Anchorage? An
Figure 7.1: “Downtown” Wasilla, Alaska
(Los Angeles Times)
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exurb? Is it isolated and rural, or connected and suburban? Los Angeles Times columnist
Steve Lopez (2008) visited Wasilla and found that what residents considered “main
street” was what he considered to be a strip mall (despite its faux Old West façade).
“They paved paradise,” he wrote, “and all they’ve got to show for it is chalupas and
discount tube socks.”
Unfortunately for those who rely on the nostalgia for small towns to market
everything from new housing developments to television shows to vice presidential
candidates, Wasilla is not an exceptional small town; it is the norm. It is not stuck in
time; it is growing and changing like most places in the country.
Urban change is about demographics. It is also about culture. These two are
inextricably linked. Here I describe the effects of urban changes on small towns, and
how it has changed their landscape over the last 20 years. This chapter focuses on the
“hard city” material manifestations of change. The three types of changes I describe
stand in contradiction to three myths about small towns; that they are compact,
homogenous, and isolated. These myths are stories we tell about small towns that are
a blend of perception and reality; they are combinations of change only now being
recognized and change that is indeed a recent phenomena. It is difficult, in some cases,
to separate these two types of change. The mythologized small town is not the small
town of today.
The American small town of the 21st century is increasingly sprawling, diverse,
and connected. As noted in Chapter 6, change is not easily encapsulated into a one-size-
fits-all “ American small town.” Some small towns are growing in population, others are
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declining. Like other cities, their economic bases vary based on geography, history, and
many other factors. Their ethnic composition varies as well. Yet there are many patterns
of change that can be seen in the landscape of nearly all small towns. In this chapter,
I look for commonalities between these diverse places. I find that what they have in
common is what they are not: they are not compact, they are not homogenous, they are
not isolated. While the manifestations of these negations vary, they suggest that small
towns face many of the same challenges as large cities in achieving environmental,
economic, and social sustainability.
Beyond Main Street: Commercial and residential sprawl
The small town of the American imagination is compact and walkable. It is
centered on Main Street, where local businesses serve local residents. Work is close to
home, and any industry, in Chicago-school-of-urbanism fashion, is at the city’s edges.
The small town myth surrounds these places with fields or forest, and suggests that
residents beyond its boundaries are few and far between, living in farm houses or
cabins. Contemporary small towns are not compact. Most main streets are either in
decline or have lost functional businesses like hardware and grocery stores. Commercial
strips proliferate at the fringe of small towns, and consist increasingly of national
or global corporations, not of locally-owned businesses. Residential sprawl has also
increased, as small towns (explicitly or implicitly) annex adjacent rural land. Sprawl is
increasing not just in booming small towns, but in stable and declining towns as well, as
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these land use patterns are tied not just to economic “success” but also to the demands
of national culture.
As with the rest of America, land use patterns in small towns began to change
with the automobile. Some commercial strips and subdivisions in the small towns I
studied date back to the 1950s. But most are far newer. The scale of sprawl has changed
in these towns in the last 10 to 20 years. Commercial sprawl has increased in part due to
an increasingly weak Main Street, in part due to an increasingly strong big-box/franchise
economy, and in part due to local culture that connects “success” to attracting these
businesses. Residential sprawl is the combination of suburban expansion and exurban
development both within and beyond the municipal boundaries of small towns.
A changing Main Street
Most small town main streets have become more vacant and less vibrant.
Businesses, many of them locally-owned are leaving, either going out of business
completely or moving to the towns’ commercial strips. This is not to say that most main
streets are boarded up — there are new businesses moving in. But these are different
types of businesses: insurance companies and other services in some towns, boutiques
and galleries in others. But neither of these types of businesses lend vibrancy to the
center of small towns.
Nearly all of the towns I researched had some empty storefronts downtown.
But the reasons for these vacancies varied. In Wellington, the veterinary clinic and video
store had just moved to the town’s commercial strip on 6th Street, about a mile closer to
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the interstate highway. They moved to new, larger, buildings, and their moving signs,
and people’s reactions to them, seemed more a celebration of their “success” than of
any concern of an increasingly-vacant main street (Figure 7.2). Wellington also lost their
downtown market in February in anticipation of the May opening of a new, larger,
grocery store off 6th Street.
The boarded up storefronts in Safford and Anaconda indicated a more
precipitous economic decline. Anaconda was a town built to serve 15,000 residents, but
its population had dwindled to below 10,000 (Figure 7.3). Safford, despite recent gains
in population and industry, had a Main Street that seemed stuck in the city’s “bust”
years, with new businesses locating on the commercial strip a few miles from downtown
(Figure 7.4).
1
Downtown Safford has many vacant, boarded up buildings. Few stores on
Main Street serve the day-to-day needs of residents: there are insurance companies, the
offices of the local mine’s owners, two photography studios, a gym and dance studio,
and a few restaurants and bars. A few blocks beyond Main Street are a grocery store and
1 Interestingly, a New York Times article about Safford noted a revived downtown with a “95
percent occupancy rate,” a figure that seems unlikely to have changed from the 75 percent occu -
pancy I found during my visit 3 months earlier (Rudolf 2008).
Figure 7.2: Both Silver Screen Video (left) and Wellington Veterinary Clinic (right) moved from
the main street to the edge of town in June 2008.
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hardware store, but most businesses are several miles from downtown Safford.
Ellensburg is an exception to this rule of vibrancy: it has three supermarkets
within walking distance of downtown, and a hardware store located a block from its
center (Figure 7.5). Yet even Ellensburg is losing some of its key businesses; former Small
Town editor Ken Munsell says this is not just due to competition from local and regional
big-box stores. It is also partly because of “generational shifts,” where stores closed
when their owners retired.
Downtowns that keep storefronts full face another threat to their vibrancy:
the loss of functionality. Functional downtowns offer services and retail aimed at the
daily/weekly needs of local residents. Steamboat Springs’s main street is full, but many
local residents shop elsewhere. Downtown Steamboat Springs is primarily gift shops
and galleries aimed at tourists (Figure 7.6). Restaurants draw locals, but not on a daily
basis. There is no hardware store or grocery store (though there are two health food
stores), and the pharmacy is such a novelty that its bags advertise it as the “last real
Figure 7.4: Downtown Safford also has many “for rent”
signs, boarded up windows, and hand-drawn signs.
Figure 7.3: Downtown
Anaconda includes many
empty lots and buildings.
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drug store in Steamboat Springs.” Local activists like former mayor Towny Anderson
worry that the city plans to move the Post Office out of downtown, just as the county
moved their courts to a large new complex at the city’s fringe. Government functions are
important to downtowns: what is left of the vibrancy of Anaconda’s Main Street comes
from the county courthouse, library, post office and high school, all of which help keep
downtown banks and restaurants alive.
A functional downtown is also important for attracting new residents: a website,
www.walkscore.com, ranks locations based on amenities within one mile the location,
with those within 1/4 mile ranking the highest. On this website, Ellensburg receives
one of the highest scores possible (98 out of 100), placing it above all but 32 urban
neighborhoods in the United States (including downtown Seattle, San Francisco’ s Nob
Hill, and New York’s Lower East Side). Most other small towns study sites received
scores high enough to be considered walkable (Figure 7.7). Only Wellington is deemed
“car-dependent,” as while it has recently gained a pharmacy, supermarket, and
hardware store, all of these were built on the town’s outskirts rather than in its center.
Figure 7.5: Woods Hardware is an important
piece of the downtown fabric in Ellensburg
Figure 7.6: Galleries far outnumber functional
stores in downtown Steamboat Springs
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While rudimentary in its methodology, Walkscore is important for its ties to the real
estate industry, as well as its valuation of high density, amenity-rich neighborhoods.
Commercial sprawl
While boosted by government and private services, downtown relies on retail
businesses, stores that are increasingly moving to commercial strips beyond Main
Street. Commercial strips are rarely infill development or within walking distance of
downtown. For these reasons commercial sprawl is environmentally costly. It also
changes the dynamic of community interaction as residents drive to shop and move
primarily within private, rather than public, space.
It is easy to blame the growth of the commercial strip on Wal-Mart, but the
phenomena of commercial growth at the fringe of small towns is beyond a single
retailer, no matter its global reach. However, in the towns where Wal-Mart has
reached, the impact is strong. Silver City and Safford both have large, busy, Wal-Mart
Figures 7.7: Walk score rating for the study sites, and amenity proximity based on Google Maps
distances and observations during fieldwork.
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Supercenters as part of their commercial strips (Figure 7.8). While residents at times
bemoan the perceived effect of the store on their downtowns, they also acknowledge the
importance of having a local discount store that draws shoppers in from surrounding
areas. For both towns, Wal-Mart is an anchor for their commercial strips which include
grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, and hardware stores — a mix of chain stores
and local businesses.
In following with Steamboat Springs architectural guidelines, the Wal-Mart there
is small and hidden from the main highway. Wal-Mart arrived in Steamboat after a fight,
and in part because of this debate. Those opposed to Wal-Mart called for a referendum
on its move into the city, a referendum that ended up passing in 1991. This helped pave
the way for Wal-Mart to successfully build a small store in a plaza two miles outside of
town. But it attracts a good amount of business, and has helped to transform the eastern
edge of town, which includes an expanding number of plazas and chain stores like
Staples, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and Ben & Jerry’s.
In Ellensburg, strong reactions to Wal-Mart come from both sides (Figure 7.9).
Figures 7.8: The rapidly-growing commercial strip between Safford and Thatcher is filling cotton
fields that once separated the two towns.
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Figures 7.9: Opponents (left) of big-box stores in Ellensburg argued that they w ould “kill”
downtown, while proponents (right) said that the town was losing time and money by shopping
40 minutes away.
After much discussion and debate, an ordinance that would pave the way for Wal-Mart
and other big-box stores passed on Monday, November 5, 2007. The following Tuesday,
one of the ordinance’s strongest supporters was replaced by an opponent of the plan. But
while some saw this as a swift reaction to the ordinance, Munsell notes that the arriv al
of the big-box was promoted two years previously with the approval of Ellensburg’s
Comprehensive Plan. The plan finds that the businesses demanded by residents
wouldn’t fit into downtown; “multiple property ownership and parcel configurations in
the central commercial zones act as barriers to large scale redevelopment” (2005, 44). The
plan called for permitting commercial development at the town’s two intersections with
Interstate 90, which runs between Seattle and Spokane. Many residents, including those
who spoke out at Comprehensive Plan visioning sessions, argued that allowing big-box
retail would hurt downtown (2005).
Opinions about Wal-Mart are also mixed in Quincy. While local historian Harriet
Weber said, “People don’t want big-boxes here … we will do anything to keep a Wal-
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Mart out of Quincy. It’s not what we want for Quincy. It’s not what Quincy is,” most
town officials seemed open to or enthusiastic about the idea. Councilman Jose Saldana
said, “We want people to shop locally, but the thing is, it’s expensive … I don’t have
anything against Wal-Mart because I’m a consumer.” Port of Quincy Board President
Curt Morris saw the town’s recent attraction of data centers as a draw for franchises: “I
think it’s going to be dynamite for Quincy,” he said. “It’s bringing things we’ve never
had.”
Only Anaconda and Wellington seem resigned to not having a Wal-Mart. Most
of Wellington’s residents already shop and work outside of town. Anaconda, in addition
to having financial and land pollution problems (a regional discounter , Bi-Mart, was
stymied in its plans to build there due to the discovery of beryllium on its land), is
already served by a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Butte. Anaconda Local Development
Corporation Director Jim Davidson worries about the addition of groceries to Wal-
Mart’s merchandise. Previously, the grocery stories in Butte were the same as Anaconda
(Safeway and Albertson’s), but Davidson fears that an expanded Wal-Mart may attract
many of the 90 percent of residents who previously shopped locally for groceries.
“Getting a Wal-Mart” or “getting a McDonalds” are seen by many town officials
as small town success stories. To attract a franchise means that your town is growing,
expanding, that it has economic promise and is a worthwhile investment. Ellensburg’s
tumultuous relationship with its downtown and the threat/promise of big-box stores
is indicative of the forces promoting (and preventing) commercial sprawl. For 30
years, the city held off major commercial development on its fringe. “Because we
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were stagnant, we didn’t get the seventies-style urban renewal, and we didn’t get the
Chipoltle franchises,” says Downtown Association Executive Director Timothy Bishop.
“The challenge now is not to succumb to the idea that this is the only sign of economic
development.”
The first two battles were plans by Seattle developers to bring K-Mart into
the city. After these failed to materialize, but calls for retail options remained, the city
offered a compromise. It bought land of a defunct lumber company near the railroad
station, about four blocks from downtown and sold it to regional retail chain Fred
Meyer. The store residents now call “The Fred” opened in 2005, selling household items,
clothing, and groceries. Downtown took a hit from this development, Munsell says, but
most businesses recovered.
In recent years, however, calls for more shopping options returned, along with
the suggestion that retail development could bring more jobs to town. With the approval
of the regional retail ordinance, the tide in Ellensburg may have irreversibly turned.
Ellensburg Mayor Nancy Lillquist said that locals need to be realistic about what the
town can be, given both individual decision-making and broader constraints:
My ideal, if I controlled everything, we would have a small town
with all the different services you could ever want, locally grown, locally
made, small cottage industries that provided the goods and services that
we need and we’d all be this self-sustaining ecosystem. That would be
lovely. We all can still work toward that, toward that ideal, and find a
way to make that work, but at the same time the rest of the world goes on
around us.
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Residential sprawl
All towns, no matter their population growth (or decline) or economic w ell-
being, were growing outward with large lots at the edge of town. In many towns this
growth took the form of new subdivisions built on annexed land. In some towns, most
growth was beyond the town borders, with many individual homes built on multi-acre
parcels. Other towns had both. All were forms of residential sprawl. As Ellensburg
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ron Criddlebaugh noted, “If you’re going to
try to experience the rural lifestyle, you don’t come over here to buy a city lot.”
All growing towns are undergoing growth in a traditional suburban pattern. In
larger cities, suburbs are often municipalities of their own. In small towns, suburban
areas are either part of the small towns or unincorporated county land surrounding the
towns, they are rarely distinct municipal areas. Yet in appearance, they are often the
same: housing developments with broadly-spaced single-family homes and curvilinear
streets, which sometimes include community centers such as churches or schools,
and occasionally have adjacent businesses. These residential areas are rarely walking
distance to the center of the small town or any of its businesses or services (Figure 7.10).
Figures 7.10 7.11: These scenes of residential (Safford, left) and commercial (Silv er City, right)
sprawl were common in small towns.
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Suburban growth comes from a number of forces acting upon the small town.
In Wellington, residents found they could afford a home, or a larger home, compared to
nearby Fort Collins. The construction of one subdivision in the 1990s proved that there
was sufficient demand for this type of development, which could not be met in Fort
Collins. Between 1990 and 2007, the town’s population grew from 1,340 to 4,835. The
town’s motto printed on signs posted at its border notes that it is “a great place to grow.”
The plan notes the town’s desire to be “user-friendly” for developers: “This plan is
vastly different from other Colorado communities who are attempting to limit growth”
(2005, 1). Wellington’s mayor, Larry Noel, said that while there are physical and legal
constraints in some directions, “our biggest growth here is north, we can go a long way,
all the way to the Wyoming border” (Figure 7.11)
The home construction boom in Quincy was a combination of meeting a long-
ignored need for middle-class housing and speculation on the need for upper-class
housing. The middle class homes, priced in the mid-$100,000s, sold easily to local
agriculture workers. After the announcement that Microsoft and Yahoo were building
Figures 7.12: The growth pattern in Wellington looks very similar to Ellensburg, with new
subdivisions at the city’s north and south edges. (Source for photo at right: Google Earth)
165
facilities in Quincy, several home buildings constructed developments aimed at Internet
professionals — who never arrived, as few employees were needed at the site. The result
of this speculation has strongly affected the town’s landscape. The developments were
stopped halfway through, as developers realized their error, leaving streets to nowhere
and empty foundations. Many of the homes, which protrude oddly from the landscape
in this community of two-bedroom single-story homes, remain vacant. These homes
have subsequently been downgraded in price, from $500,000 to $300,000 (Figure 7.12).
Suburban growth in Ellensburg is a combination of speculation and boom.
The housing industry has indeed boomed in Ellensburg, with migration from Seattle
and its suburbs. This migration is most often middle-aged adults seeking future
retirement homes. For many, digital connections make telecommuting a possibility, and
home prices in Ellensburg are far lower than on the “West side.” Yet some argue that
Ellensburg’s growth has been over-speculated. Similarly to Quincy, this leaves some
developments unfinished, and some with vacant homes (Figure 7.13).
Suburban growth is generally regarded as different from exurban growth. While
Figures 7.13: In Quincy, two large housing developments offer two very different type of home.
The smaller Aho homes (left) sold quickly for about $150,000, while the larger Serenata homes
had to stop construction as their $500,000 homes found few buyers.
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suburban growth involves clusters of homes in subdivided land of approximately one
acre, exurban growth is typically individual homes on large multi-acre lots. This type of
development occurs surrounding small towns, taking advantage of the amenities of both
rural land and the amenities of a small urban community. In many of the communities,
large, recently-constructed homes were sparsely scattered across the landscape. These
homes are indicative of a trend of exurban growth, of non-farm homes being built
on multi-acre lots beyond the boundaries of — yet still connected to — urban areas.
In Steamboat Springs and surrounding Routt County, in particular, residents have
expressed concerns about the subdivision of large ranch parcels into 5 to 7 acre lots.
Even in small towns that are declining in population, exurban growth can occur.
In Anaconda, for example, there is significant growth outside the urban core in the resort
community of Georgetown Lake. While residents of this community take advantage of
the businesses and services of Anaconda, their location 20 miles west of town allows
them distance from the smelter pollution and access to mountain amenities.
Figures 7.14: At Ellensburg’s fringe, housing developments are rapidly replacing fields. (Source
for photo at right: Google Earth)
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The implications of small-town sprawl
In each of the study sites, I mapped the location of businesses and government
services. In some towns, like Ellensburg, much of this documentation could be done
on foot. In others, like Steamboat Springs and Safford, a car and bike w ere necessary
(Figure 7.14). Anaconda, while adding few new businesses, also sprawled nearly a
mile east and west from its center: it was built to the scale of the streetcar, and grocery
stores were located at each end of town, too far for those in the center to walk to. Most
offered generous sidewalks and pedestrian-friendly storefronts on main street, but these
accommodations ended long before their new commercial “districts” began. As these
towns’ walkability scores indicate, there was a great variety in the types of businesses
located a mile or less from the towns’ centers.
Developers seek to emulate “traditional small towns” by putting homes close
together on small lots, allowing for community interaction and open space preservation.
They provide local services and gathering places including churches and schools, as
well as functional retailers like grocery stores and pharmacies, within walking distance
of the homes they build.
2
Yet real small towns are losing these characteristics. They are
increasingly sprawling places with homes separated from businesses separated from
services. The rural land that attracts new residents is being annexed by small towns
seeking room for homes for these newcomers, and commercial strips to serve the
demands of both new and long-time residents seeking more diverse shopping options.
2 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Neighborhood Design, for ex-
ample, awards points for developments within walking distance of a mix of functional uses.
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The heterogeneous small town: Cultural, economic, and political diversity
Small towns are increasingly diverse. These places are mythologized as
homogenous: places that are unified by race, class, and politics: that is, they are white,
working class, and socially conservative. Migration and economic restructuring have
changed the shape of the small town, promoting diversity, and sometimes conflict. Small
towns are gaining more minority residents, are increasingly divided between rich and
poor, and cannot be easily defined as cultural homogenous.
It is important to note that most small towns have long had a high percent of
white residents. In comparison to urban areas, most towns are still largely white. Other
towns that have been historically black or Hispanic remain so. However, this is not
always the case. Additionally, ethnicity is not the only measure of diversity (although it
is an important one). As with the other myths described in this chapter, some of these
changes are a change in perception, rather than in demographic reality. It is important to
consider the visibility/invisibility of differences that come with an increase in div ersity.
Ethnic diversity
As with the nation overall, most small towns have experienced an increase in
percent of Hispanic residents over the past 10 to 20 years. In some towns this change
is more noticeable than others. In Quincy, for example, the Hispanic composition of
the town increased from 37 percent to 65 percent between 1990 and 2000. Many of the
residents complained that there were few restaurants in town that did not serve Mexican
food. Mayor Jim Hemberry said, “There’s a lot of Mexican restaurants, but not a lot
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of restaurants where you can just sit down and have a regular dinner” (Figure 7.15,
7.16). At a prominent corner in downtown Quincy are two variety shops with many
handwritten signs in Spanish. Historian Harriet Weber said there were concerns about
this change on Main Street: “They don’t look the same as ours, they look transplanted
from Mexico.” Councilman Scott Lybert thought this shift could be an asset to Quincy,
that downtown could be transformed into a “Little Mexico,” but this idea nev er came to
pass, he said, because “we’ve got a lot of people who aren’t into that.”
Several Quincy residents suggested that an influx of workers and money
associated with the technology industry would shift the “balance of culture,” so to
speak, away from the Hispanic-dominated agriculture industry. “It’s always been a
Hispanic industry, and that’s good, it’s diversified,” said Lybert. “Thank heavens we’ve
got these technology industries that have come in and diversified us even more.” Other
subtle concerns about diversity and change came from residents who spoke about going
to the grocery store or post office and not knowing anyone. “You don’t have that small
town feel like you did before,” said Hemberry. “Part of that is due to growth, part of it is
Figures 7.15: The growing Latino population in Quincy is reflected in residential surnames and
dual-language business signs.
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demographics. There’s a huge Hispanic population in the city and the cultures don’t mix
too much.”
In Wellington, which, until recently, was also focused on agriculture, the
percentage of Hispanic residents was smaller: like other exurban small towns, its white
population was holding steady. Town trustee Mishie Daknis said that she was glad
her kids didn’t “have to deal with racial conflict” in school. She noted that the town’s
downtown market, run by a Hispanic family, didn’t carry basics like milk and bread,
and sent an advertising flyer out in Spanish. This didn’t go over well with local (white)
families, she said (Figure 7.17).
Few interviewees in the towns I researched, of any background, would concede
any overt racism. In Quincy, however, newspaper editor Chuck Allen did note that,
“there’s a little bit of fear that way, there’s a perception that Hispanics bring in crime and
that Anglos are going to have to provide them with things.” But, he said, “sometimes
people want to make it into a race thing, but what they’re really complaining about is
poor people.”
Figures 7:16, 7:17: The influx of new residents with a Mexican background can be seen through
multi-lingual postings at a grocery store (Quincy) and Mexican restaurants (Wellington).
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Economic polarization
The increasing division between rich and poor in (as well as between) small
towns is due in part to a nationwide economic restructuring. Low-paying service jobs
are increasing, at the same time that the well-paying “knowledge economy” is reaching
small towns. At the same time, employment in fields such as manufacturing and mining
has declined. Migration from larger cities to some small towns brings residents who
bring big-city salaries and savings accounts to small towns with lower costs-of-living.
Steamboat Springs is perhaps the most extreme example of this trend (Figure
7.18). While the resort town has long included a large number of temporary service
jobs, in recent years, particularly with the influx of new amenity migrants, the division
has become more noticeable. “For a long time here, we didn’t know how much people
were worth,” said Vision 2030 Project Manager Tammie Delaney. “It didn’t matter if they
were living in a cabin up at Hahn’s Peak or they were building a mountain mansion up
Figures 7.18: Many low-income workers in Steamboat must find homes in other towns and
commute due to the high cost of rent. Above, a sign suggests that residents “Save gas, move
from Craig to Hayden.” At the other end of the housing spectrum, wealthy residents build
“McMansions” at the rural edge of town.
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at Dakota Ridge.” She adds that a recent survey by the Vision 2030 committee showed
concern about “social stratification”:
People moved here because of the flat social structure. I grew up
here and never realized there was such a thing as social structure, until
I went out into the real world. At the county, regional level people are
starting to feel this have/have not (divide).
In Steamboat Springs, and increasingly in other towns as well, “solutions” to this
division have included government support and regulation of affordable housing. But,
said Noreen Moore, business resource director of Routt County Economic Dev elopment
Cooperative, there are still a number of residents who see this as “charity.” A 1999
community survey found that 51 percent of those surveyed agreed that affordable
housing is the “most important” issue to “ensure that the local community is preserved.”
But 22.5 percent disagreed with this statement. Vision 2030’s survey showed that while
residents believed that affordable housing was “threatened,” most did not consider the
issue to be as “important” as other issues such as open space preservation.
While Steamboat Springs’s divide between rich and poor may seem extreme,
other communities are also feeling this growing division. In Anaconda, historian
Jerry Hansen likes to tell visitors to the town’s museum about the diverse group of
immigrants who came there to work at the smelter: “That roaring monster on the hill
made a family of us.” But without the steady working class jobs at the smelter, the
familial bonds have dissolved, and former smelter workers and their children must
look elsewhere for employment. Longtime Goosetown resident and Anaconda-Deer
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Lodge County Commissioner Linda Sather said she was lucky that her children were
able to stay, many others leave to find work. “To live and work in Anaconda means
to make salaries in the low twenties,” said Montana State University extension agent
Barbara Anderossi, who worries about the increased polarization between residents.
Those struggling to get by live beside those who moved in after the smelter’s closure,
attracted to Anaconda and nearby resort area Georgetown Lake: what Bryson (2007)
calls “frustrated and dissatisfied urbanites.”
In Quincy, economic “success” for some meant increased struggle for others
(Figure 7.19). When Microsoft and Yahoo announced the construction of data centers
in Quincy, home prices and rents doubled, in part due to speculation, in part due to
demand from construction workers. One development, Serenata, planned more than 125
2,500 square foot homes, selling for $429,500. But high-tech jobs never materialized. Each
center brought only about 50 jobs, many of these were low-wage, entry-level positions.
The city profited greatly from sales tax, and residents saw an estimated $200 decrease
in property taxes. However, with their property value assessments also increased, so it
Figures 7.19: In Quincy, a new two-story garage dwarfs the typical one-story home. Trailer parks
are also common in town, and indicative of the town’s housing and financial challenges.
174
seems unlikely that residents saw much of this profit. Instead, councilman Jose Saldana
said, they saw only an increase in housing costs while their wages remained stable. Over
the past year, the housing market has stabilized; the Serenata homes, less than half of
which have sold, have been marked down to $289,900.
In Quincy and other towns, the divide between rich and poor can be seen in
debates about discount stores. What is “classy” to some is “unaffordable” to others.
Councilman Jose Saldana was frustrated with what he saw as the local marking-up
of household necessities, and said he and many of his constituents would welcome a
Wal-Mart. In Steamboat Springs, the debate over Wal-Mart revealed that the majority
of voters wanted a cheaper place to shop. While council president Loui Antonucci
complained about downtown stores that sold “t-shirts, tube socks, and underwear,”
today’s downtown Steamboat Springs has few clothing stores aimed at local residents:
expensive outdoor clothing shops are the norm. In Ellensburg, a 2007 advertisement
promoting the addition of regional retail quotes a resident who feels that the county
needs more affordable stores: “So many people think they speak for ev ery citizen of the
county … not all of the citizens can afford to shop at specialty stores.”
A diversity of ideas
Beyond race and class, diversity is also about a diversity of ideas. Small towns
have a reputation for being provincial, for being of singular mind when it comes to
politics and social values. Yet I found a range of political and social viewpoints.
Based on the controversy surrounding then-presidential candidate Barack
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Obama’s April 2008 remarks about small towns one might assume that small towns are
Republican-dominated strongholds (“it’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling
to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them … as a way to explain
their frustrations”(Fowler 2008)). When he heard I was conducting research on small
towns, the husband of a councilwoman I interviewed suggested as much: “You aren’t
voting for Obama then?,” he asked me at the town’s Fourth of July celebration. But small
town does not necessarily mean Republican (or Democrat).
The counties where my case studies were located were divided between the
Republican and Democrat presidential candidates in the 2008 election, with four of
seven voting for Barack Obama. The highest margins of victory were in Anaconda’s Deer
Lodge County (66.9 percent for Obama) and Safford’s Graham County (69.8 percent
for McCain). The closest counties were Ellensburg’s Kittitas County (McCain received
53 percent of the vote) and Wellington’s Larimer County (Obama received 54.1 percent
of the vote). Larimer County was the only county that changed its party choice from
2004 to 2008: George W. Bush won the county by 51.8 percent in 2004. The counties of
Steamboat Springs (Routt) and Silver City (Grant), voted for Obama, while Quincy’s
Grant County voted for McCain.
Diversity, particularly in this era of culture wars between the political/social left
and right, includes diversity of sexual orientations. In most of my case study towns, this
was not a topic of discussion, but in Silver City, there was a restaurant on the main street
flying a rainbow flag (Figure 7.20). An active gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexuals
(GLBT) organization is centered around the website Gay Silver (www.gaysilver.org).
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This website includes an updated news
and activity section, a monthly newsletter,
and information on gender identity issues.
It included advertising from 11 local
businesses that are “owned by LGBT folk
or are friendly and supportive.” One of
these businesses, Issac’s Restaurant and
Bar, was the main street business with
the rainbow flag, flown for a weekly
gathering of the GLBT community at its
Sunday brunch. Across the street, the local
coffee shop, Javalina, hosts weekly GLBT
gatherings for young people.
While the GLBT community does not have nearly the visibility in other small
towns, there were organizations with an internet presence in a few of the towns. Safford,
while heavily conservative and with a strong Mormon influence, had a support website
run by a local resident (www.alternativesofsafford.org). In Ellensburg, The Advocate
College Guide for LGBT Students named Central Washington University one of its top
100 best campuses. The university’s GALA-GLBTSA (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual
and straight students) is active on campus, and hosts numerous events including a
Pride Week every May (www.cwu.edu/~gala/). Kittitas County, where Ellensburg is
Figure 7.20: Issac’s Bar & Grill, on Silver City’s
Main Street, hosts a weekly GLBF gathering.
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located, also has an active PFLAG (parents, families, and friends of lesbians and gays)
organization (pflagkittitas.com).
A landscape of diversity
Silver City, among other towns, markets itself as having a “vibrant cultural life
and extensive arts community.” Small towns are increasingly marketing themselves
as “cultural.” While definitions of this term vary, it is clear that small towns are
certainly not the homogenous places that one might expect given the national cultural
discourse. In some cases, this means the integration of those with diverse backgrounds
and opinions. However, this “diversity,” as I describe it, can also mean an increased
polarization. Shifts in the nature of employment have pushed incomes to the high and
low ends of the spectrum, with an increase in low-paying service jobs, many of them
catering to those working in the “knowledge economy” and making city salaries in
rural places. The result of this increased diversity, for better or worse, is an increasingly
complicated landscape, one that is not easily categorized demographically.
Connectivity and cosmopolitanism
Small towns are often seen as isolated and behind-the-times. The 50-mile or more
distance between small towns and the nearest large city is seen as a disconnect between
these towns and contemporary America, and the world. In Main Street, Carol Kennicott’s
first impression of small-town folk was that they were “peasants,” “provincial … sunk in
the mud,” distant from all things urbane and new (Lewis 1920, 22). Today’s small town is
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connected digitally, financially, and socially to an increasingly globalizing society. These
connections are changing the landscape of the small town. In an answer to a question
about “sense of community” conducted by the city of Steamboat Springs in 2005,
one resident said, “When we moved here, the sense of community came partly from
our proud ability to survive what we did not have here.” In today’s small town, that
distinction (perceived or real) of isolation and “doing without” is narrowing. And while
some, like this resident, would argue that connectivity is hurting small towns, others say
that it is improving their quality of life.
The small town has long been connected to larger urban areas, the nation, and

Figure 7.21: Anaconda Mining Company has long connected the nation to Anaconda, and
Anaconda to the nation (and world). From This is Anaconda, 1960 New York: Anaconda Co.
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the world. It depended on other locales for goods, and also depended on these places to
purchase extracted resources and agricultural products (Figure 7.21). Highways of the
1950s and ‘60s bridged many physical gaps, making travel between small towns and
larger cities more routine. Social connections were made by migrants in both directions,
and annalog television and radio signals. Businesses owned by outsiders in large cities
are not new: stores like the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P grocery store)
and Woolworth’s department store were large chains long before the Wal-Mart era of
the 1980s and 1990s.
3
But while these connections have existed in American small towns
for decades (and in some cases, centuries), in recent years, they have changed and
intensified.
Digital connections
The internet is changing the landscape of small towns (Figure 7.22, 7.23). In
the towns I visited, the everyday lives of local residents, municipal governments, and
businesses were affected by the internet: they used the service to connnect socially (with
3 In 1930, there were 15,700 A&P stores in the United States (Lebhar 1963), compared with 1,258
Wal-Mart Supercenters in the United States in 2002 (Food Marketing Institute).
Figure 7.22, 7.23: Computer-repair stores and internet providers are commonplace on main
streets and commerical strips (Steamboat Springs, left; Silver City, right).
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friends and family both near and distant), to buy products and to attract customers, and
to share information and to learn from information posted there. The digital connectivity
in small towns is complicated, and there is a broad variety in quality and cost of
service provided. However, in all towns in my sample, high-speed internet was readily
available. All had businesses that offered wireless internet access, and most public
libraries also provided free wireless (and wired) internet.
The physical availability of high-speed internet to most small town residents
was indicated by numerous advertisements in local newspapers for this service, which
typically cost about $30 a month. Most towns had a social dialogue occurring online.
In Safford, the Eastern Arizona Courier offered a very active comment area under its
newspaper articles. Ellensburg’s newspaper, the Daily Record, also had a website for
comments and chat. Wireless hotspots were available in all towns, but some offered
more than others. In Ellensburg, the local coffee chain, D&M, which has four locations
in town, offered free wi-fi; and Starbucks, with two stores, had wi-fi for a fee. Steamobat
Springs similarly had numerous locations with wi-fi. While few businesses in Anaconda
advertised their free wi-fi online, several, including a coffee shop and cafe, offer this
service, as does the community’s public library.
The internet has transformed how municipal governments offer and collect
information. In the towns nearly all provided city council minutes and comprehensive
plans online (Figure 7.24)). Silver City offers video of its council meetings online. The
Steamboat Springs city website is the most extensive, offering everything from webcams
to a GIS clearinghouse of city-based shapefiles.
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The greatest impact of high-speed internet on small towns is likely its affect on
business and employment. The city of Ellensburg’s Community Futures Project puts
this change at the forefront of its draft vision statement, which reads: “enterprising
prfessionals will be a core element ... including telecommuters, writers, consulatants,
lecturers, pilots, financial experts, and others free to live anywhere, but choose
Ellensburg because of the community’s excellent quality of life.” Tim Bishop calls these
people “economic free agents” who are independently employed, but who seek the
same lifestyle, “creating a kind of vibrant urban village in a rural community.” I met
several people in Ellensburg and Quincy who worked from home and connected weekly
or monthly with their employers in Seattle.
Places like Ellensburg that have attracted telecommuters may also soon see a
phenomena identified by Steamboat Springs planners: the migration of location-neutral
businesses. Due to digital technology, these businesses, or at least their CEOs, can locate
anywhere with a broadband connection. Moore and Ford (2006) estimate that as many
as 10 percent of Routt County residents are engaged in “location neutral” business
activities, either as employees or employers based in the county but employed by, or
Figure 7.24: Municipal internet offerings
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employing, individuals in other counties or states. Both Noreen Moore and Jonathan
Schecter, who research resort towns, explained that towns continue to plan as if they
are still in the 20th century, when tourism was the only money-maker for amenity-rich
towns. “We’re only used to a place-based economy,” said Moore, noting that the same
amenities that attract tourists can be used to attract business that w ere once tied to large
cities.

Financial connections
The combination of digital technology and a search for new markets has created
increasing connections between global companies and small towns (Figure 7.25). These
connections occur for a variety of reasons. In Quincy, digital technology combined with
relatively cheap land prices, bridged the gap between Quincy and technology companies
on the Pacific Coast. With the proximity of power generation facilities on the Columbia
River, the town attracted Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Intuit to build large server farms on its
land (Figure 7.26). These buildings, connected digitally, did not need to be proximate to
Figure 7.25: In Ellensburg, a new national bank
sign is refllected in the window of an old local
bank, now closed.
Figure 7.26: In Qunicy, a sign for Yahoo!
stands out in the agricultural landscape.
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large cities, and in fact benefited from their relatively obscure location and the security
it provided. For the wife of a Microsoft employee who moved with the server to Quincy
from Tacoma, low home prices made the move away from the city worthwhile: “We
have always wanted to buy our own house. That was not a possibliity for us in the
Tacoma area,” Melanie Evers told the Post Register (27 December 2007). She said her
parents now plan to move to Quincy to retire.
These connections are enhanced by continued improvements in physical
connectivity. Steamboat Springs planner Tom Leeson sees small towns as suburbs of
cities: not just in Steamboat’s case of Denver, but also of Chicago and New York, which
are only a few hours away by airplane. Advertisements for national air service were
common in the alternative Steamboat newspaper The Local, which showed both non-
stop flights, and connections through Denver and Salt Lake City (Figure 7.27). My own
experience of living in Ellensburg for six months showed how I could be “employed”
in Los Angeles and live in a small town. I bought high speed internet ($33/month) and
Figure 7.27: Airport con-
nections from Steamboat
Springs (via Hayden) to
cities across the United
States.
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flew to Los Angeles from Seattle every other month: a shuttle from two locations in
Ellensburg connects directly to the Seattle airport four times a day in each direction.
In addition to the increased attraction of employers to small towns, national
chains have become interested in small towns. Starting with Wal-Mart, chain stores and
franchises have been increasingly interested in capturing the small town market. There
has also been a reverse effect, that attracting chain stores is seen as “success” by local
residents. These stores bring with them an inherently different land use pattern. They
also raise concerns about financial “leakage” to corporate headquarters, rather than local
reinvestment.
Social connections
The increase in national chains locating in small towns is not just about the plans
of these companies, it is also about the demands of local residents. Social connections, be
they digital or physical, have led to demand for increased variety in products, services,
and other amenities. This demand is altering the landscape of small towns. Those
interviewed offered numerous descriptions of this change from “metropolitanization” to
“gentrification.” On the ground, this means a shift in the type of businesses and v enues
to include stores and services previously associated with larger cities. It also means a
greater demand for these amenities that is not always satisfied.
In Ellensburg, where residents were debating over an ordinance that would
allow the development of big-box stores, the discourse surrounding this debate
provided insight into the demands of local residents in a growing and demographically
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shifting town. A letter to the editor, reprinted in an newspaper insert paid for by
developers, noted that Macy’s and Target sell items not currently available in Ellensburg.
Other stores mentioned in the insert (ostensibly an advertisement) included Eddie
Bauer, Kohl’s, Gap, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. To former Small Town edtor Ken
Munsell, this discussion was incredible. “I have people seriously tell me ‘How come we
can’t get a Nordstrom?’ ... Our perceptions are not close to our realities.” Munsell and
others pointed out that few stores beyond Wal-Mart and small chains like Payless Shoes
and International House of Pancakes would be interested in Ellensburg. The town, even
adding in the surrounding county, simply wasn’t big enough to attract the attention of
most large chain stores.
But while no town had a Target or a shopping mall (let alone a Macy’s or
Nordstrom), the “metropolitan” demands of residents and supply of businesses willing
to expand were changing the landscape. Ellensburg hosted two Starbucks stores, and
two Starbucks kiosks located within supermarkets. Steamboat Springs also had two
Figure 7.28: In Silver City, the diverse range of businesses included an international food store
(“The Curious Kumquat”) and a yoga studio, which is next door to a sustainable building
materials store.
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Starbucks. Yarn stores and yoga studios were common in most of the case study towns.
In Silver City, The Curious Kumquat sold international groceries and a food co-op sold
organic products (Figure 7.28). Chain grocery stores were also catching on to the organic
trend, and most towns had an organic section in at least one of their supermarkets.
Steamboat Springs, with its increase in amenity migrants and location-neutral
businesses, illustrated the most extreme change in this direction. Downtown stores
posted signs for ugg boots, a recent urban trend, and its main street had newspaper
machines that sold the Wall Street Journal in addition to local and regional newspapers
(Figure 7.29).
Figure 7.29: Global connections can be seen in
the Steamboat Springs landscape: A bumper
sticker (top left) reads, “New York, London,
Paris, Steamboat Sps.” and a newspaper
machine (top right) offers The Wall Street
Journal beside regional newspapers. The
city’s speed limit signs include translations
to kilometers per hour, for its international
visitors (right).
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Urban connections also create a different type of demand including a desire
for the planning commensurate with larger cities. In Steamboat Springs, in particular,
there were numerous visioning projects. The project I volunteered for (Vision 2030) was
characterized by a wide variety of knowledge and experience: local ranchers worked
alongside former CEOs and military leaders. Environmental organizations pushed for
sustainability plans and indicator reports in several of the towns. But these connections,
the desire to craft big-city plans for small towns, did not always go over well. In Silver
City, councilman Simon Wheaton-Smith said that new people want to make Silver City
into San Francisco: “they want to make it anything but what it is.”
Enhancing physical connections
These three types of connections, digital, financial, and social, help compensate
for physical distance. They provide a new source of employment and revenue, and
encourage demand for amenities previously not available in small towns. Digital
technology, in particular, offers the potential for the elimination of physical barriers
that separate small towns from metropolitan areas. The Internet connects small towns
financially and socially to the broader national and urban fabric. But so too, do national
and international chains: not just retail stores, but banks and insurance companies.
To the joy of some small town residents, and the dismay of others, the small town is
becoming increasingly cosmopolitan.
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Transforming the American small town
The everyday landscape of the small town is changing. Outside forces – cultural
ideals, shifting economic and social structures, technology – play an important role
in the transformation of urban form. This chapter described three aspects of this
transformation: increased sprawl, heterogeneity, and connectivity. It depicts a small
town America where residential and commercial growth is increasingly threatening
farmland and undeveloped land at the fringes of these small urban places. It illustrated
the impacts of an increasingly diverse population – some towns where Latino migration
is shifting demographics; others where social ideals are changing. And it described
how towns once depicted as isolated and static are increasingly tied to a shifting global
economy and national social impulses. Together these shifts in the small town landscape
are reshaping the American small town.
It is important to note that the changes described above cannot be understood
separately. Diversity in small towns is both enhanced and supported by digital
connectivity; and residential sprawl is tied to increasing economic polarization.
Demands for a more suburban lifestyle in the form of big-box retailers supports
commercial sprawl. Economic polarization has also affected sprawl, as demand by
wealthy newcomers for rural homes pushes homes further beyond the town’s edges. In
other locales, the demand for affordable housing necessitates building further from what
was once the town’s compact center. Connections to larger cities and internet shopping
are changing the face of main street. Through these interconnected phenomena,
economic and social forces at the national and global level are having a strong impact on
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the everyday lives of those who live in small towns.
The idea that large cities are increasingly sprawling, diverse, and connected,
is not new. It is at the core of most contemporary urban research, both empirical and
theoretical. This chapter described how many of these urban processes can be seen in
small towns. It is important to recognize the differences between the small town of myth
and the small town of reality. The changes described in this chapter are part of a complex
system; they are mediated through multiple scales of agency, and through public policy
and participation. These renegotiations vary by place, but play an important role in
the shaping of all small towns (as well as large cities). Chapter 8 will examine how the
changes in form described in this chapter are translated into changes in character. It
illustrates how socio-economic shifts affect the “soft city” perceptions of small town
resdents.
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Chapter 8
Negotiating space, creating place, changing character
Be it in small towns or world cities, space must be negotiated as place is formed.
The landscapes described in Chapter 7 are not simply the product of global/national
forces at work on a local landscape. Between demographic change and place, there is
a network of mediating processes, where ideas about character shape the form of the
city. These processes are political, in the broadest sense; they are a series of complex
societal relationships. An understanding of these relationships — of borders and
boundaries; citizenship and democracy; dependence and interdependence — are crucial
to determining the nature of contemporary urban change.
It is important not only to understand the actual process of change, but also to
understand what it is not: Just as myths of the physical and social landscapes of small
towns must be rethought, so too must the processes that create these landscapes. There
is an assumption, particularly in the policy documents reviewed, that the transition
from cause to effect is linear and hierarchical. This chapter considers disruptions
in this process, the benefits of overcoming linear ideas about space/place, and the
challenges of allowing these assumptions to govern how we think about place. These
disruptions connect changes in the physical landscape to local processes: sprawl to
municipal boundaries; diverse backgrounds and ideas to representation; connectivity to
interdependence. To understand the physical, we must understand the cognitive. These
processes are indicative of the multiple (re)negotiations of space that occur between
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demographic change and change in the everyday lived experiences of residents.
In order to better understand the outcomes of change, and conflicts that
result from it, the processes that create change and the renegotiation of space must
be considered. These processes reflect the changing character of small towns. In this
chapter, I describe how global and national changes -- technological, demographic,
and perceptual -- are translated into urban form. I examine the role of borders,
citizenship, and interdependence (and assumptions made about these processes) in the
transformation of the small town landscape. I then provide a critical assessment of the
role of these cognitive processes in changing communities’ sense of place.
Borders/boundaries
In chapter 5, I noted an important distinction between the municipal boundaries
of small towns and the extent of their influence. The U.S. Census, with surprising
insight, sought to account for this distinction in 2000 with the designation of “urban
clusters,” which measure small cities not by their municipal boundaries, but by the
extent of dense population (500 people per square mile) around an urban core (1,000
people per square mile). Small towns themselves, and the municipalities governing
the rural land surrounding them, have long ignored this blurring of boundaries. While
this is changing, it remains important to emphasize the effect of boundaries (and
their lack of connection to on-the-ground realities) on the impact of contemporary
change on landscape. Municipally-designated borders provide challenges, creating
competition over development, and with this competition, sprawl. At the same time, a
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re-interpretation of these borders creates new opportunities: regional tourism programs
and growth management that accounts for multiple levels of governance.
Sprawl and the challenges of municipal boundaries
Sprawl involves piecemeal, low-density development. Safford illustrates how
borders not only fail to control this type of growth, but actually encourage it. Safford
(population 9,224) was once distinct from the nearby town of Thatcher (population
4,696). Thatcher Engineer Heath Brown said that Safford and Thatcher used to be
distinct communities. “Traditionally, this was Thatcher, this block right here,” he
said, pointing to a map that now shows a proliferation of residential and commercial
development, “and this was Safford, and this was all farmland.” Sheldon Miller,
executive director of the Graham County Chamber of Commerce said that the two are
now socially and economically unified. “Economically, the economy doesn’t know any
boundaries, people live, work, and shop across the boundaries of Safford and Thatcher.”
The U.S. Census’s urban cluster designation recognizes this unification with a clustered
named “Safford-Thatcher,” as the city and town’s populations have merged (Figure 8.1).
While this means that both communities can benefit from economic growth,
it also affects where and how this growth occurs. As the area’s economy has boomed,
the towns have grown closer together as each has sprawled towards each other along
Highway 70, known locally as West Thatcher Boulevard. The highway was once
bordered by cotton fields, but is now surrounded by commercial strips. Originally , the
land was attractive for big-box stores and other retailers seeking to attract shoppers
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from both towns. In recent years, growth has also been encouraged here by competition
between Safford and Thatcher for the tax dollars generated by this growth. According
to Brown, Thatcher profits from the development on Highway 70 more than Safford.
“Safford has twice as many people, but their sales tax revenue, a lot of the businesses are
in Thatcher, so you have a lot of Safford residents shopping in Thatcher.” He said that
unlike Safford, Thatcher does not charge impact fees that fund public infrastructure, and
Thatcher offers an “old-fashioned” (i.e. faster) approach to development applications.
While a new Home Depot store was constructed in 2006 in Thatcher, the Wal-
Mart in town since 1999 built a superstore in Safford, and moved to the other side of the
Figure 8.1: U.S. Census boundaries of the Safford-Thatcher Urban Cluster (2000) in relationship to
municipal boundaries and the commercial landscape (2008).
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town line (Figure 8.2). To appease Thatcher, and speed the construction of the new Wal-
Mart, Safford officials agreed to give 30 percent of tax revenues from Wal-Mart to the
town of Thatcher. The result of this back-and-forth is a sprawling, piecemeal landscape
with development several miles from either town center (Figure 8.3). Similar forces were
at play in Ellensburg, where proponents of an ordinance that would allow “regional
retail” within the city argued that if they did not approve big-box stores, the county
would build them instead and profit from the increase in sales-tax revenue.
Residential development is also affected by the artificial boundaries of cities
and counties. Mayor Larry Noel said Fort Collins growth policies are increasing
development in Wellington:
Fort Collins is an anti-growth kind of town, pushes people out toward here and
Windsor, in 2000 we kind of started to grow. Basically their town board has been
kind of anti-growth so they’ve kind of stopped a lot of the growth by not letting
annexations go forward, so places like Wellington, Loveland, and Windsor, and
Tinmoth are growing.
Figure 8.2: Home Depot and Wal-Mart, at the Safford/Thatcher border (20th Avenue), shown
before construction in a Google Maps satellite image.
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He said that once the political balance of power was tipped against growth, housing
became more expensive and harder to find in Fort Collins. People began to look north to
Wellington, where they bought homes at a reasonable price and started commuting to
work in Fort Collins.
Larimer County must reconcile the desires of both Wellington and Fort Collins,
along with residents of rural, unincorporated land. One way that this is accomplished
is through designation of a “growth management area” (GMA). The GMA indicates
possible future zoning if the land is annexed by the city. For residents outside
Wellington, the GMA is a contentious issue, a sign for some of the incursion of urban
Wellington into their way of life. For others, however, the GMA presents an opportunity
to sell their land at a higher price for future residential or commercial use. The city’s map
(Figure 8.4) shows the range of this long-term planning, with the potential for the city to
expand northward for several miles.
Dozens of county residents attended a Planning Commission meeting (7 July
2008) asking for their properties to be added or removed from the GMA. One developer
Figure 8.3: Safford won the battle for Wal-Mart’s sales-tax dollars, as the new Supercenter was
built on the city’s side of the Safford/Thatcher border (left). But businesses continue to crisscross
this boundary, as a car dealership advertising a move to Thatcher indicates (right).
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Figure 8.4: Wellington’s growth management area (GMA): the current city boundaries are within
the center black area. The red line shows the GMA. (Map, provided by the Town of Wellington,
modfiied by author for clarity.)
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asked for a shoestring connection to the GMA in order to build a gated community
with hotel and convention center, which he said would bring 600 new jobs to the area.
Another man, who owned seven acres that had been added to the GMA, asked to be
taken out: “I had never planned on you guys moving into my area,” he said. The man
said he wanted developers in his neighborhood to be constrained by (low-density)
county regulations, rather than zoning requirements of the city.
Planning beyond boundaries
As with larger cities that are recognizing the importance of regional planning,
small towns are recognizing the need to plan beyond boundaries. Municipal boundaries
are artificial and fail to take into account shared history and geography . Futures can
also be shared, and improved, by blurring boundaries and making connections between
large cities, small cities, and rural areas.
Anaconda has long been a rival of its copper-producing neighbor, Butte.
Historian Jerry Hansen, for example, liked to explain Anaconda’s geography by saying:
The Chinook keeps us warmer in the winter than the rest of the state, goes to hell
in March, but from November to March, we don’t go as low as Missoula, Helena
or Butte. Butte, that’s the collective chill from their hearts over there.
Hansen had many other choice words about Butte, with tensions between the two cities
dating back to an 1894 vote on the state capital, which Anaconda lost to Helena (the
Butte tailor’s union was among those blamed for the defeat). Anaconda’s newspaper,
once the Anaconda Standard, now the Montana Standard, was also lost to Butte.
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Despite historical competitiveness, proponents of tourism have recognized the
importance of joining forces with the larger city to promote their common heritage. A
1993 Historic Preservation Plan identified the importance in finding common ground in
the “ Anaconda-Butte Heritage Corridor,” which noted that the copper industry created
both unique resources and challenges in the two cities. While the greenway that was
planned to connect the two cities is not yet complete, there are an increasing number
of connections between the two cities. Two conferences, the September 2008 National
Summit of Mining Communities and the June 2009 Vernacular Architecture Forum,
list both cities as host cities and plan tours of historic sites that criss-cross the 25 miles
between them.
The preservation of natural resources is also an issue that crosses artificial
boundaries. In Silver City, the Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP) champions
the Gila River despite Silver City’s 30-mile distance from the river. GRIP offers photo
exhibits, an annual festival, and other awareness measures that support the river’s health
and argue against unnecessary water diversion. The Cascade Agenda, which includes
member city Ellensburg, recognizes the importance of including Ellensburg in pushing
for the protection of 1.26 million acres of land in Washington State. The organization’s
2005 report notes that, “vibrant, livable cities, and new ways of looking at rural
development can take pressures off forests, farms, and the most sensitive rural lands”
(2005, 8-9). The Cascade Agenda notes that 2,000 people commute from Ellensburg’s
Kittitas County to the Seattle metro area, and many West Side residents have built
vacation homes in Kittitas County (2005, 24-24). They argue that proper planning can
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decrease fragmentation of animal habitat and the loss of agricultural landscapes.
Making invisible systems visible
The greater mobility of residents and businesses is blurring boundaries that
have been concretized in planning and other municipal documents. While this creates
challenges for communities that are rooted in these hierarchical relationships, it also
creates opportunities for increased visibility of long-present systems. While natural
and human systems that cross municipal boundaries are not new, they are becoming
increasingly visible. This visibility is promoting innovative measures for ensuring
the healthy and more transparent translation of forces of socio-economic change into
landscape.
Citizenship/democracy
Does size influence the level of engagement of a citizenry? Academics are
divided.
1
There was certainly a difference among the towns I visited, although not
necessarily related to size. More often, citizen engagement was dependent upon change
and perception of change. The level to which residents are participants in a democratic
local government was also dependent upon the accountability of local officials, and
vise versa. If citizens were not active, then public officials seemed less inclined to be
transparent in their decision-making process. A lack of engagement and accountability

1 Dahl & Tufte (1973) that smaller communities provide a better opportunities for participation
in the democratic process; Newton (1982) argues for the opposite conclusion, that larger units of
government can, in fact, enhance the democratic process.
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often meant the preservation of the status quo. Similarly public visioning and planning
processes played an important role in negotiating the final outcomes of local/global
forces of contemporary change.
Activating citizens
Towny Anderson, executive director of Historic Routt County spoke of his
concerns about over-development and the demolition of historic buildings. He said there
were some vocal residents, but they tended to emerge in reactionary opposition. “Why
can’t we mobilize in support of something?” he asked. Anderson knows about this from
experience. A former state preservation officer of Vermont, Anderson was a council
member in Steamboat Springs for only one term, after an election that locals said hinged
on Anderson’s support of an historic preservation ordinance and a recreation center.
While his administration was praised by many for its work on affordable housing, in the
end, the reactionary force against its other interventionist strategies was stronger.
In Ellensburg, the regional retail issue increased the voice of both sides. For more
than a year, citizens attended council meetings to argue for and against an ordinance
that would permit development at the city’s interchanges. At meetings those who feared
a new council would overturn the ordinance and prevent this development were more
vocal than those opposing regional retail. Proponents spoke about the need for shopping
alternatives and their belief that new development would create jobs that would allow
their children to stay in Ellensburg. Central Washington University students argued
that a Wal-Mart or other retailer would provide them with more part-time and summer
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jobs. Opponents, meanwhile, argued that regional retail would promote sprawl and
put downtown merchants out of business. One eccentric opponent boarded up his
prominent historic building and filed for a demolition permit to raise aw areness for
the potential effects of new development on downtown (Figure 8.5). Both sides posted
websites: Retailforellensburg.com and Savedowntown.org.
Accountability
In a democracy, accountability comes not only from an active populace, but
also from informed, responsible municipal leaders. For change to be negotiated, there
must be a willingness to move beyond the status quo, if necessary. There also must be
an acknowledgement of the rules of governance, and that the “casual” nature of the
small town need not mean municipal standards be set aside. In the towns with an active
citizenry, I found that public officials recognized their accountability, almost, in some
Figure 8.5: This building, at Ellensburg’s most
prominent downtown corner, become a billboard of
opposition against big-box development. The signs
read, “Residents first, developers last; sustainability
vs. speculation” and “Big box is a dirty word.”
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cases, obsessively. Public comment periods, in particular, were taken quite seriously,
with time carefully allotted and the distinction between what was or was not quasi-
judicial (the council members make a ruling based on what they see as the facts, not
based on their opinions about the issue at hand). However, this was not always the case,
and I found that the attitude of public officials, and the public itself, play ed a role in
creating the landscape.
When Larimer County (Colorado) Planning Director Russ Legg spoke about
Wellington, he said he remembered reading that there is a tipping point in population
between complacency and an active citizenry and a responsible government. Wellington,
he suggested, was a town that had not yet reached this point. Trustee Travis Vierra noted
his concern that only 143 people had turned out for the last election. At town meetings,
the most active participants were rural county residents, who did not vote for the
officials they interacted with.
Accountability also means following basic rules of governance. One example
of a disruption in this process occurred at a public meeting in Wellington (7 July 2008)
about expanding the town’s growth management area (GMA). The land within the
GMA boundary is zoned based on the town’s urban standards rather than county rural
standards. At this meeting, an audience member asked the Planning Commission if
they owned land that would become developable under this new boundary. Mayor
and commission member Larry Noel said, yes, he did own land there, but he would
not benefit from this because under the GMA expansion, “there would be more land
to develop.” An audience member asked him if this was a conflict of interest: he raised
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his eyebrows, and shrugged his shoulders. He did not verbally respond, the issue was
dropped, and did not appear in the local newspaper covering the meeting. The end
result was the appearance, if not the reality, of town leaders making decisions based
on personal gain. Wellington recognized problems with its grandfathered style of
government; a 2005 community assessment noted that transparency in the government
was lacking.
In Quincy, I found a similar attitude; the idea that shorter meetings are better,
that decisions are best made “by committee,” meaning outside of the public ey e.
Councilman Scott Lybert said the city council is “laid back,” and tries to keep the
meetings short. “The mayor pro-tem, his goal is to get out of there and back to his TV .
We’re still a little town.” At council meetings, there were rarely more than 10 people
in the audience, including Lybert’s wife and the local newspaper editor. “Hardly
anyone shows up to city council meetings,” councilman Jose Saldana said. “People only
complain after something happens … it’s kind of sad.” Saldana said that while in theory
the residents support growth (quietly), they often do not consider the negativ e impacts
of projects like the construction of the server farms.
Transparency was also a concern in Safford. Councilman Richard Ortega said
he was asked to join the school board, and later ran for council, as an opportunity for
new blood in city leadership: “I’m nobody’s token,” he said. “I’m a minority, and I’m
not their religion.” He said when he arrived in the city 25 years ago, it was entirely
Mormon-run. “I believe change in the council is good when people have been here for
four generations, that kind of puts blinders up; they have relations all over the county.
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It’s tough to make good decisions.”
While that these moments of unaccountability might be typical for small towns,
other towns, equally bereft of resources, were seeking to become more transparent.
Anaconda, for example, had hired outside planner Robert Horne to work with their
planning committee. At one meeting, he spoke for an hour about the responsibilities of
the “citizen planner.” In Silver City, Simon Wheaton-Smith said that the town has long
been on a “good old boy” system, but that he has pushed for a more open government,
including a personal website dedicated to responding to citizen concerns. He added
that the town needs to understand that the perception of residents is as important as the
realities of how the town is run.
Planning and visioning
Beyond voting and voicing concerns about legislative issues, engagement in the
formation of place can also come from participation in planning and visioning processes.
These processes vary greatly by location, as while the production of a comprehensive
plan is often a legal requirement, how this plan is produced is dependent on the town’ s
resources. Both financial resources and time – hours devoted to the project by municipal
personnel, contractual workers, and volunteers – play a role in the depth and vision of
the final plan.
The numerous planning and assessment projects in Steamboat Springs provide
insight into the opportunities available when resources are plentiful. The city is well-
funded financially by sales tax generated by the tourism industry , and rapid population
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growth and development spurs continued interest by citizens in managing this growth.
In addition to an extensive amount of planning by the city itself, Steamboat Springs
has numerous citizen-led organizations involved in the planning process. Beyond
pro-environment, pro-growth, and pro-business groups, there are also organizations
dedicated to gathering and disseminating information about the area.
Vision 2030 is a county-based organization whose research on the community’s
“heart and soul” I described in earlier chapters. This group is funded partially by the
county, but also by the Orton Family Foundation, which used the community as a
pilot study for a broader “heart and soul” project that encourages citizen participation
in planning for a sustainable future. The Vision 2030 project was notable for its wide
range of research techniques: an open-ended paper and web-based survey with
800 respondents, community gatherings, topical focus groups, and more creative
data gathering including providing cameras to local youth to document what they
valued most about their communities. Project Manager Tammie Delaney said she
was particularly interested in providing an open process where no one interest could
“hijack” the direction of the findings. The project will conclude by providing a report
of desired outcomes and recommended actions from its citizens committee. The
committee then plans to track the annual changes (or lack of change) in reaching these
recommended actions.
Yet thoughtful planning does not always mean successful outcomes. Anaconda,
for example, was selected as a case study of the Rural Community Design Workshop
(Hawks and Marstran 2005). The authors wrote that “Today, Anaconda is a growing
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community, attracting new businesses, residents, and visitors. Its downtown is putting
a new face as the vision plan is implemented” (13). Unfortunately, the planting of street
trees and the opening of a new golf course did not erase Anaconda’s employment and
pollution problems. Planners concede that there is still much to be done in Anaconda.
Robert Horne, brought in as an outside consultant to Anaconda said, “Sometimes I ask,
‘what have you been doing for the last 20 years?’ I mean the smelter closed down 20
years ago.” These problems are not just in economically stagnant places like Anaconda;
even in places like Steamboat Springs, the government tends to preserve the status quo.
Economic Development Director Noreen Moore said that sometimes, “Since we don’t
know what to do, so we don’t do anything.”
Dependence/interdependence
In Nature’s Metropolis, William Cronon seeks to reveal the connections between
the city and the country. In doing so, he erases the dichotomy between rural and urban
in which urban is consumptive, part of the world, and destructive; and rural is serene,
self-sustaining and isolated. He writes:
Americans have long tended to see city and country as separate places, more
isolated from each other than connected. We carefully partition our national
landscape into urban places, rural places and wilderness … we rarely reflect on
how tightly bound together they really are (Cronon 1991, xvi).
Cronon established a cyclical connection of production and consumption between
Chicago’s urban center and the small towns and rural places of the Midwest. My
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research on small towns shows similar connections between large cities and small
towns, although now set in an economy where knowledge and service industries are
increasingly edging out traditional industrial activities.
In the discourse of new urbanism, small towns and neighborhoods are set
apart as, “self-sustaining,” or at least possessing the possibility of independence. New
communities promoted as “sustainable” offer the promise of local employment, mixed-
use development, and a compact, walkable urban core (Mapes and Wolch, forthcoming).
Alternatively, the concept of dependence is thought to be an unfortunate necessity of
suburbia. The suburban lifestyle of connectivity, primarily through the automobile,
suggests a lack of independence from larger cities and national trends. Suburbia is
represented as erasing the essence of the individual, of relying on group decisions rather
than singular ones. So as the anti-suburbia, there is a suggestion, if not an outright
statement, that the ideal small town is independent. And yet small towns cannot be
easily defined as either dependent or independent of outside forces, or individual
choices. As in larger cities, small towns are interdependent as multiple scales of agency
interact to create the contemporary landscape.
Global/national
The small town has long had a role of providing natural resources – both
agricultural and mineral – to global and national companies. This boom and bust
economy, particularly in the West, has depicted small towns as at the mercy of global
trends. In Safford, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold spokesman Kimball Hansen
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predicted a bright future for the local mines, and possibly even a new larger mine to
come, but only three months after this interview, 600 mine workers were laid off after
copper prices dropped from $4 a pound in mid-2006 to $1.67 a pound in November 2008
(Rudolf 2008)
Anaconda similarly was affected by global trends, as Phelps Dodge found they
could extract copper more cheaply in Chile than in the United States. The environmental
devastation left behind by the smelting process means that even without Phelps
Dodge as an employer, the town’s redevelopment remains dependent upon Superfund
negotiations with the global corporation. Superfund documents fill shelf after shelf at
the local library; negotiations have been ongoing for 25 years; and local officials seem
resigned to this process. At a county commissioners’ meeting, an outside planner hired
to help the county said, “The most important news is there appears to be a plan about
the Superfund plan that has lasted longer than one month.”
It is important to recognize, however, that many Western towns are seeking
to escape the boom/bust cycle. A High Country News article describes the resistance of
Superior, Arizona, to the return of the mining industry. As Thompson (2008) writes:
There was a time when Western mining towns would have loudly welcomed
the return of the industry. But things have changed since the last bust, and
like a jilted lover being courted anew by a long-lost ex, the old mining towns
are wondering if they still have room for mining in their new cultures and
economies.
Towns like Superior, he argues, are torn between encouraging the more stable growth
that comes with an amenity-based economy and supporting the return of mining, which,
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while unstable, helps to preserve the character of their town.
Further complicating the relationship between small towns and national/global
forces is a new value being placed on open space for new industries. In addition to an
increased recognition of its environmental value, open space is also useful for such
ventures as wind and server farms. Wind farms are a growing industry for towns like
Ellensburg, where while the farm itself was outside of town, it became an important
issue for those in the town. The wind farm also had strong connections to the university,
where students helped create a museum about wind energy. In Quincy, farm land
became valuable as the location of server farms, which were located there by large
companies like Yahoo and Microsoft because of the low price of land and the low cost
of energy due to the proximity of the Columbia River. Remote rural areas lack the
infrastructure to support some of these projects, but small towns offer both open space
and water.
Ties to larger cities
The small towns in this study were all at least two hours from a larger city:
Seattle, Denver, and Tucson. For most cities this connection is heavily intertwined
with local. There is, in some cases, great dependence of the smaller city on the larger
city, for employment and amenities like retail stores, for example. However, the
relationship between these cities is not simply hierarchical. It is a relationship, too, of
interdependence. Steamboat Springs, for example, relies on the city of Fort Collins as a
distant shopping center, but also provides an outlet for Fort Collins-based restaurants to
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open a branch in Steamboat, expanding their business and increasing their profits.
Jonathan Schechter, who studies resort towns, argues that cities like Steamboat
Springs are “new suburbs” of Denver. Denver becomes an official home base, but
commuting is kept to a minimum by internet connectivity. And commuting need not be
four hours by car over Rabbit Ears Pass: the local airport offers eight daily commercial
flights to Denver, with non-stop flights to eight other cities (Resort Quest Steamboat
2008). Another variant of this new type of “urban flight” is Ellensburg, a pre-retirement
destination for bargain-hunting Seattle workers. These small towns, and others with
similar exurban qualities, illustrate a new type of suburb/city relationship in which large
cities are no longer daily destinations of workers.
Individual choice
Discussions about dependence and independence often dichotomize the local
and the global. In addition to looking at relationships between small and large cities, an
understanding of the extent to which small towns can affect their built landscape and
character must also include the influence of individual decisions.
In small towns, concerns about “small-town character” and the decline of main
street often ignore the effects of decisions about shopping locally or in larger cities, or
online. In Quincy, newspaper editor Chuck Allen said, “People complain, ‘we used to
have all these stores in town, now we don’t have any,’ well look in the mirror …. They
shop out of town.” Similarly in Ellensburg, where debates about allowing big-box stores
have divided the town, Mayor Nancy Lillquist found contradiction between what people
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say and what people do: “If you ask the people what they want they say they want a
vibrant downtown they love downtown, you ask them where they shop, they go to
Yakima. Regularly. We can’t have it both ways.”
In the Vision 2030 survey, residents of Routt County, most from small towns,
were asked what they wanted their county to look like in 20 years, and how they
thought this should be achieved. While a good number of respondents placed this
burden on the government, many also saw this as a personal responsibility. One
respondent writes, “I try to smile and contribute to the community by buying local
where possible. I have opened my office in Oak Creek and hired local HS students for
assistance.” Another writes:
I don’t think this friendliness is something that can be orchestrated or mandated
by a government or a strategy. It is about each person making a decision to act a
certain way or not and welcoming those that do.
Of those who focused on the importance of individual decisions, about half wrote
about the importance of being friendly (even to newcomers). The other half focused on
community involvement – their contributions to preserving a “sense of community”
through volunteerism, or to managing growth by being active in the community
planning process.
These answers suggest the importance of recognizing the agency of small-town
residents. As technology increases the mobility of residents, their choices also increase.
Unlike with the traditional suburb/city relationship, dependence is not a given. Instead
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it is the negotiation between individual choices, global change, and local reactions, with
many other scales playing a role as well.
Interdependence
In addition to, “What is changing?,” I asked research participants, “What control
do you have over these changes?” One Steamboat Springs-based Vision 2030 citizens’
committee member said she was concerned that despite her efforts, the town was
changing: “Though on one hand, I’m committed to preserving the things that I value
here, there’s part of me that thinks that’s out of my control.”
In many municipalities, there is a divide between the assessment of statistics
measuring socio-economic demographic change, and the creation of planning
documents dictating how communities will deal with this change. One assumes
dependence, the other independence. Of course in a world of grays, neither of these
tells the whole story of how small towns function in a constant renegotiation of space
between the local and the global. More often than not, the everyday lives of residents
are the result of interdependence between individuals, neighborhoods, cities, the nation,
and the world.
Rethinking the transition between cause and effect
I make two arguments regarding forces of change, changes in character and
perception (the soft city) and the creation of landscape (the hard city). First, I argue that
forces of contemporary change are mediated by political processes on their way to “the
ground,” to the everyday lived experiences of small town residents. Second, I find that
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while ideas about how these processes work – particularly those codified in planning
documents – assume a linear, hierarchical system, theses processes are increasingly
non-linear. They are often multi-directional, sometimes cyclical and nearly always
unbounded by human structures and rules about how they should or should not work
(Figure 8.6). I use this chapter to look at examples of how these mediating processes
–blurring boundaries, engaged (or disenfranchised) citizenry, interdependence work to
create landscapes. Small towns provide an important microcosm in which to study how
these processes – which occur in all human settlements, to varying degrees – impact
urban futures.
Sprawl involves piecemeal development outside of the city’s urban core; in
others it is low and moderate density residential growth in “rural” (i.e. unincorporated)
areas. Sprawl also thrives upon boundaries – commercial and residential development
serving two communities benefits from locating at the edge of both communities rather
than locating in the center of only one. Development at the municipal fringe is further
encouraged when communities compete for these projects and the tax revenue they
produce. While city and regional planning in small towns is beginning to look municipal
boundaries, other aspects of regional interaction are making greater strides. Independent
organizations are working to protect natural resources that know no municipal
boundaries. And cultural preservation organizations are working together to attract
tourists, rather than competing for their business.
Notions of citizenship are also expanding. As towns become more diverse, in
cultural background, political stance, and economic means, residents are becoming more
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active in influencing their futures. While some towns remain unengaged in the decision-
making process, many are moving toward a more engaged citizenry. Interpretations
about what is valuable in town – quality of life, cost of living, conservative or liberal
values – compete in town meetings, and in other forums like print media and online
blogs. Residents are voicing their opinion not just through municipal elections, but
through private organizations, citizens’ groups, and participatory processes like
comprehensive plans and other visioning documents.
In gaining this voice, citizens are also recognizing their ability to affect change at
Figure 8.6: De jure and
de facto processes in the
manifestation of urban
change
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the local and global level. Enhanced digital, financial, and social connections that come
with urban change also provide the opportunity to resist and renegotiate changes. On
one hand, small towns depend on other locales as a source of tourism, as customers
for extracted resources, and for many of the innovative technologies on which they
depend. And yet they also provide services to these places, as extractors of resources,
and providers of alternative “suburbs” for workers. In addition to rethinking the global-
to-local hierarchy, my research also reemphasizes the role of the individual, and the
importance of independent decision-making in the aggregate process of urban change.
The renegotiations of space described in this chapter are contingent upon a shift
in the character, and characterization, of small towns. These understandings mediate the
forces of change and disrupt the expected hierarchical, linear process. As boundaries are
blurred, citizenship enhanced, and interdependence recognized, the resulting landscape
is increasingly global yet retains a strong local voice. The recognition that change is not a
hierarchical process of global forces and local outcomes is the basis for the next chapter
of this dissertation. In Chapter 9, I examine the conflict that results from changes in
the form and character of small towns through two (seemingly counterintuitive) local
responses to change: calls to preserve a “sense of place” in small towns and efforts to sell
this sense of place to the highest bidder.
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CHAPTER 9
The real versus ideal small town: Landscapes of nostalgia
Small towns are increasingly sprawling, diverse, and more connected. But as
suggested by the multi-scalar negotiations described in Chapter 8, outside forces are not
the only influences at work in these places. At the local level there have been a variety of
reactions to the effects of change. While some reactions are supportiv e of these changes,
many involve concerns that outside forces are inexorably altering the best qualities of the
American small town. Many of the qualities seen as threatened are intangible; common
phrases mentioned by those I interviewed included concerns about the preservation of
“sense of place,” “small-town feel,” and “sense of community.” These concerns speak
to conflict between the everyday lived experience of the small town and internalized
mythological qualities.
While demographically exceptional (with high income levels and rapid
population growth) the attitudes expressed by residents of Steamboat Springs area
(Routt County) residents in a survey for Vision 2030
1
mirror concerns of many of the
residents in my case study towns (Figure 9.1). When asked “What do you want to
experience, see, and feel in 20 years?,” 36 percent of those surveyed said they wanted
to see the county’s “character” preserved: they wanted to retain the friendliness, the
1 As part of my research I volunteered for Vision 2030 and coded the 800 surveys described
here. I translated residents’ open-ended responses into key phrases that I selected through an
examination of the entire survey. In addition to asking “What do you want to experience, see, and
feel in 20 years?” The survey also asked “What should be done to ensure that what you hope to
see, feel, or experience is still here in 20 years?”
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Community character
35.9%
Economic
development
patterns
25%
Open space &
agriculture
19.1%
Other
12.5%
Environmental
awareness
Connections
to history/roots
Ranches/ranching
Character
Historic buildings
Western feel
Family-friendly community
Good schools
Low crime
Family/youth-friendly
Small-town feel
Sense of community
Small-town feel
Friendliness
Compact urban centers
Limited or
no growth
27.4%
Managed growth
67.1%
7.4%
Growth
More growth
Diverse retail
Healthy economy
Economic diversity among residents
Ability to live and work locally
Affordable housing
Home ownership & size
Growth focused in urban cores
Diversified economy
No big-box stores
Young people can return
Access to public land
Ranch and
agricultural
land
26.3%
Open space
Scenic views
Wildlife
Wilderness access
Recreational access
Auto
alternatives
Healthy
environment
Green building &
business practices
Healthy Yampa River
Clean air & water
Walkability
Expanded trails
Increased transit
Commuter rail
More bike lanes
Other
70.8%
Expanded services
5.4% Improved governance
4% Improved infrastructure
Recreation center
Higher education
Cultural amenities
Open lands
65.1%
17.9%
7.5%
52.1%
29.9%
8.6%
8.2%
21.7%
70.1%
19.8%
Figure 9.1: Survey results, Vision 2030 Final Report
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“small-town feel,” the connection to the county’s heritage through ranching and
historic buildings, and the family-friendliness of safe neighborhoods and good schools.
Environmental concerns were also expressed: residents wanted to retain open space,
both undeveloped public land and private agricultural and ranch land (19 percent). They
also wanted to see increased environmental awareness (8 percent): the promotion of auto
alternatives, green building practices, and the protection of local water and air quality.
Tying together calls for protection and preservation is a third foci of interest: 25 percent
called for a change in economic development patterns, with more than 92 percent of
these responses suggesting managed or limited growth.
This survey is indicative of my field experience: an increased sense of
nostalgia as shown through the reinvention, re-creation, or preservation of the town’s
perceived sense of place and history. I also found, to varying degrees, a different type
of preservation; a resurgence in environmental concerns, in part due to a nationwide
interest in all things green, but also with a recognition of the unique rural/urban nature
of small towns. Towns responded not only to support from local residents for these
nostalgic restorations and environmental protection, but also to the recognition that
this sense of place and celebration of natural resources could be used to attract tourists,
businesses, and residents.
This increased attention to what can broadly be called “sense of place” is a
force that reacts from below to broader forces changing the American small town. This
local reaction, and subsequent reconstruction of the landscape in the form of nostalgia,
environmental awareness, and place marketing plays an important role in the changing
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landscape of these towns. These locally-initiated changes suggest conflict betw een
a desire for economic “success,” for moving forward, and the desire to protect an
idealized landscape.
Nostalgia: Reasserting a sense of place and time
David Lowenthal (1975) suggests that nostalgia serves as a form of escapism
from the present. He writes: “Tangible history is a tonic that can dispel the distempers
of the contemporary rat race” (14-15). Actions based on feelings of nostalgia are
often in reaction to the recognition of the changes described earlier: a longing for
the mythological small town that is seen as disappearing or threatened. Three
manifestations of nostalgia that follow the de/con-struction of these myths are examined
here: the re-creation of Main Street, concerns about the preservation of community, and
the celebration of isolation and rural-ness.
Re-creating Main Street
The main streets of all the small towns I researched had at some point
deteriorated from their early-20th century prime. A few have recovered and are thriving,
while others are still struggling. In all cases, there has been a concerted effort to celebrate
the historic center of downtown. In five of the towns were part of the National Historic
Trust’s Main Street Program. To celebrate main street, however, there must be a main
street, in terms of form, function, and aesthetics. This often inv olves the re-creation of a
main street that has been lost or plans for the restoration of a main street that has been
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Figure 9.2: Historic buildings of downtown Silver City have gone from being seen as a liability to
being celebrated for their ties to the past.
abandoned. Emotional connections to the past, both real and imagined, play a strong
role in the creation of the physical landscape of today’s small town.
Somewhere in the middle between abandonment and revival is Silver City’s
main street, Bullard Street. Like leaders of many other small towns, at the end of the
20th century, Silver City decision-makers began to see their downtown as an asset rather
than a lablty. In Built to Last, a 1999 book about the city’s historic buildings, Berry and
Russell write:
A major paradigm shift has been seen in local thinking, where buildings once
considered merely ‘old’ (used up, worthless, ripe for replacement) are now ‘historic,’
(venerable, intrinsically valuable, filled with potential) (ii).
Thus downtown Silver City, along with two other historic districts in town, became
the focus of revitalization and preservation efforts. A Main Street group was formed
in 1985. The group hosts downtown events and encourages economic development,
infrastructure improvements, and historic preservation (Figure 9.2). Berry and Russell
argue that there is an important connection between long-term economic success and
historic preservation:
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Figure 9.3: The Montana Hotel’s partial destruction (top left) and removal of its historic interior
(the remainder of which are showcased in a front window, bottom right) are obfuscated by a
painting in its arts center (top right) and mural across the street from the hotel (bottom left).
A future economy, based at least partly on tourism and retirement, will draw
upon Silver City’s historic architecture as a resource. If there is one thing our
past should have taught us, it is to keep the good things that earlier people have
left for us. We have nothing to gain by destroying pieces of our own heritage
(iv).

In Anaconda, historic preservation is a reactionary force that has come too
late for many buildings. Anaconda’s downtown is a juxtaposition of destruction and
preservation through abandonment. On a block downtown bulldozed in the 1970s for a
pedestrian mall that never came to fruition, there is a replica of the town’s train station.
It is now a visitor center. Other lots claimed for urban renewal are now parking lots, and
in another unfortunate event of the 1970s, the top two stories of the Montana Hotel were
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Figure 9.4: Anaconda promoters have recognized that historic assets, like the Washoe Theater,
may have an important role in the town’s future and economic success.
removed. While these stories of destruction are perhaps the strongest narrative about
the town’s form, the town continues to use what remains to market itself as conforming
to the small town ideal. Images of the Montana Hotel depict not the current two-story
structure with Subway and a national investment company as its only tenants, but as the
four-story building of its past (Figure 9.3).
For Anaconda’s planners, as well as those involved in economic development
projects, historic buildings that remain are central to the town’s revival. The county’s
Growth Policy Statement of Vision (2005) argues for the “enhancement of our turn-of-
the-century image,” and the “preservation and development of our resources” (xix). The
Growth Policy goes on to say that, “ Anaconda’s appearance evokes the image of an ideal
small town … revitalization should take place, ensuring that the ‘small-town charm’ be
retained” (1-5). An outside planning firm, hired to help the town (which is for municipal
purposes consolidated with Deer Lodge County) consider its strengths and weaknesses,
showed an image of a new urbanist grid plan at a May 2008 county commissioners
meeting and a county planning meeting, noting that Anaconda already has what many
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developers are trying to create: a strong urban form and a sense of community.
While the destruction has restricted Anaconda’s restoration of its main street,
vacancy is more common. And in an era of renewed interest in place and history,
abandonment may, in the long run, have been an asset for the town. Anaconda has
many buildings that it celebrates in tourist literature: the town library, built with a
donation from Phoebe Hearst, the downtown theater that was named among the top five
best in the country by Smithsonian Magazine (Figure 9.4), and the county courthouse,
which, while in disrepair, is a testament to the town’s booming copper years. These
architectural treasures are increasingly celebrated in representation of the town, as
reminders of the town’s days as a copper boom town.
In Safford, councilman Danny Smith complained about the broken windows and
hand-written signs on Main Street. “Everything you see is post-1999 Wal-Mart,” he said,
looking out the window of a small café on Main Street to an empty storefront across the
street. Many of the storefronts, while open, were insurance companies and thrift stores,
others had bars on their windows. “You can have all the events down here and if it’s
scary to come here and there’s no place to shop, no one’s going to come. You have to
have it all,” Smith said.
In response to these concerns, the town, booming with the success of a local
mine, created a “Main Street Vision Plan” (2008) that suggests improvements to
the infrastructure of Main Street and other downtown locales. The plan suggests
the addition of street trees, sculptures, and a “park with water feature.” It turns an
abandoned train depot into a museum, and surrounding warehouses into a mixed use
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development. Before and after pictures of Main Street show a vibrant business district
with people walking downtown, and new buildings filling empty lots. This plan, and
others like it, relies heavily on the ability of a recreated/restored urban form to change
the function of the downtown and the town as a whole (Figure 9.5).
Like towns, main streets have their booms and busts. Each of the small towns
studied showed an interest in returning their main street to the condition of its heyday,
with the belief that a physical transformation would support, or create, economic
success. The Ellensburg Comprehensive Plan (2005) states that, “Ellensburg’s downtown
remains the main reail/commercial/nostalgic center of the city and the lower Kittitas
Valley.” Both individual and national projects celebrate Main Street as indicative of
‘ American values,’ of a ‘better time’ in American history. Main streets are also celebrated
as the heart of small towns, even in towns where the central business district has long
since been replaced by a sprawling commercial strip. The re-creation of Main Street
illustrates the desire to preserve what local residents see as the “sense of place,” with
Figure 9.5: Safford’s Main Street Vision Plan
(left) seeks to change its current landscape
(right) with pedestrian friendly “bump-
outs” and park benches.
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both geographic particulars and a national understanding of what should constitute a
small town.

Preserving a sense of community
Equally tied to sense of place is “sense of community.” This quality, while
intangible, is nonetheless celebrated in many of the small towns. A sense of community
to suggest friendliness. It refers to both close friends, to next-door neighbors and those
met through school activities and other community functions, and distant friends, those
you recognize but don’t know by name. All towns celebrated this in a variety of forms:
in planning documents, visioning statements, and marketing materials. It was a phrase
repeated by interviewees when they spoke about why they chose to live in a small town.
Echoing the fears of some residents that these connections are under threat in the midst
of growth and change, former Small Town editor Ken Munsell (1997)once argued that,
“ Any community values and identity are unique, and when outside forces come in with
sweeping ideas of change, ‘community’ begins to deteriorate” (61).
In the Routt County (Steamboat Springs-based) survey, this was expressed
through the idea of neighbors “coming together” when help was needed. Respondents
generally felt that in their community residents were friendly and generous. One
resident writes:
We are small enough that you know people on a first name basis, which to me
makes people respond and interact more respectfully and thoughtfully because
we are not so anonymous.
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Many respondents saw Steamboat’s sense of community as threatened. Some saw it
as disappearing or gone. One respondent wrote: “When your main street is filled with
galleries and real estate offices, you have lost the community.” (Response 538703102)
But overall, most respondents wrote that “sense of community” (although often left
undefined) is one of Steamboat’s most valuable assets, distinguishing it from larger cities
and other resort towns..
This sense of community was reinforced in the towns through community
events, including festivals and volunteer days (Figure 9.6). Volunteerism, members of
the Vision 2030 committee agreed, serves as an opportunity for new and old residents
to work together, and bridge gaps in income/class. Like many small towns, Steamboat
offers many town festivals, including Art in the Park, a weekly farmer’s market, and
downtown trick-or-treating. Some respondents, however, expressed concerns that these
events are increasingly geared toward visitors, rather than locals. Nevertheless, most
agreed that these events enhanced the town’s sense of community.
Figure 9.6: An annual volunteer day (left) and weekly
farmers’ market (right) celebrate Steamboat Springs’s
“sense of community.”
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In Wellington, community events are a great source of pride for residents, and
serve as a source of continuity in the face of rapid growth. Wellington’s Fourth of July
parade is the centerpiece of its Community Activities Committee’s list of annual events
(Figure 9.7). In Board of Trustee meetings before the parade, trustees worried about
the lack of participation in this committee, and suggested that the town might hav e to
take over previously volunteer events. Mayor Larry Noel said he was concerned that
the annual pancake breakfast might not happen due to the lack of volunteers, “it’s a
reflection on us and I don’t want a bad reflection,” he said at a June 24, 2008 Board of
Trustees meeting. But while volunteerism may be down, attendance for the parade was
strong, Trustee Mishie Daknis said that the parade has come to attract attendees from
nearby Fort Collins. The parade is followed by a festival in one of the town’s parks,
including free ice cream scooped by the Board of Trustees accompanied by a brass band
in a nearby gazebo.
In some places, this sense of community is seen as stronger than any other
geographic or historic trait. In Quincy, Post-Register editor Chuck Allen said, “Because,
really, Quincy, there’s a not a thing that’s great about Quincy, some big attraction. What
Figure 9.7: The Wellington town board took center stage at the town’s Fourth of July celebration,
in a parade (right) and serving free ice cream to the sounds of a brass band (left).
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makes Quincy a nice place to live is the people.” Many of those interviewed in Quincy,
which increased by 9 percent in population over the last eight years, said they feared
the loss of a sense of community. They defined this quality as recognizing neighbors
in the grocery store or post office, which many, like Councilman Scott Lybert, found
increasingly difficult.
No one equated the advance of time and growth (or loss) of population with
an increased sense of community. Nearly all see a sense of community as important,
but threatened. “It is a difficult thing to balance progress versus keeping the soul of a
community,” said Quincy historian Harriet Weber. Having more people, and particularly
more new people, was seen as decreasing the connections between residents, decreasing
the shared experience of the small town. Most residents – rightly or wrongly – saw
newcomers (people as well as businesses and industries) as somehow “different” or
“disconnected” from a shared sense of place and history.
A celebration of isolation: rural, agricultural, ‘Old West’
Sense of place is also connected to a sense of history. More often than not, this
is a past that connects an increasingly mobile and globally-connected society to ‘the
land.’ At the same time, nostalgia for a time of rural isolation disconnects the small town
from the urban hierarchy; although increasingly connected, small towns also celebrate
their isolation. Rather than supporting the adage of newer-better-bigger, towns have
increasingly promoted (if not succeeded in preserving) their rural, agricultural heritage
(Figure 9.8). In some ways, this celebration of the “Old West” is not new. This image has
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long been marketed regionally. But this history has taken on a greater importance: one
that moves beyond themed hotels and gift shops. It also comes at a time when the reality
of small towns – their economic and social base – is moving further and further from
their historic roots. This division both intensifies the attraction to the past and forces an
inauthentic recreation of a disappearing landscape.
In Steamboat Springs, residents view the city’s agricultural heritage as an
important part of its small-town character. “Take the resort away from us and it’s still a
cow town,” wrote the Steamboat Pilot’s editorial staff in support of the local cattlemen.
“Take Steamboat’s cowboy image away from the resort and it’s just another ski area
– and an out of the way one at that.” In Steamboat’s chamber of commerce, a timeline
notes that the city ended the annual cattle drive down the main street in the 1970s: it
was deemed “unsuitable for Steamboat’s image and tourism.” But in 2001, the chamber
Figure 9.8: Cowboy motif in downtown Steamboat
Springs (left, western clothing store F. M. Light) and
Ellensburg (right, the roof of The Tav).
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decided to bring back the cattle drive. Sureva Towler (2002), a local writer and critic of
the “new” Steamboat, describes the event in a Denver Post column:
Last summer the town ran a herd of cows down Main Street in tribute to the
Good Old Days. A handful of tourists and a dozen failing ranchers, paid $100 by
the chamber of commerce, ran 100 head of cattle down Main. It was high noon
and high heat, 98 by one guesstimate, so they didn’t actually run. They sank into
liquid asphalt … a few tourists and two poodles gawked as the cows lumbered
out of trucks, plodded down three blocks and struggled back into trucks.
It is not realistic, I believe, to separate the “new” Steamboat Springs, the one deemed
“inauthentic,” from the “real” Steamboat Springs. Just as American Indian festivals both
celebrate and market their heritage, events like Steamboat’s weekly rodeo attract not
just eager-to-please tourists, but also local ranchers and former ranchers who see it as
an opportunity to preserve their heritage while practicing and showcasing their skills
(Figure 9.9).
Figure 9.9, 9.10: An advertisement celebrating El-
lensburg rodeo (left) and preparations for Steamboat
Springs’s weekend summer rodeo (right).
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Ellensburg also has a rodeo, but only once a year. The rodeo is a regional
event more than a local one, timed to coincide with the county fair. Town residents,
particularly the newer ones, often left (or claimed to have left) town for the weekend of
the rodeo to avoid traffic and cowboy-hat wearing visitors who waited in lines outside
local restaurants. But even for those who are not participants, the rodeo is important to
the town’s image. It is featured throughout promotional literature and on billboards and
building facades throughout town (Figure 9.10).
Quincy, too, while focusing on a high-tech future, promotes its past (and present)
through agricultural imagery. “Farming is the heart and soul of Quincy. It’s the heritage
of farming here in the valley,” said historian Harriet Weber. On vacant storefronts,
the town has painted old farming equipment, and at street corners, it has placed old
Figure 9.11: In Quincy, Councilman Scott Lybert
has pushed to create an agricultural theme, with
“old-time” paintings on empty buildings (right)
and “ag-tiques” on street corners. The centerpiece
of this effort is a sculpture (left) Lybert created that
celebrates the irrigation that makes farming viable
n the area.
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rusted farm equipment. Councilman Scott Lybert said this was his idea, the “avenue of
ag-tiques” to promote and celebrate the town’s past. At the town’s main intersection,
a vacant building has been painted with scenes from the 1950s, the town’s boom days
after irrigation brought water to its farmland (Figure 9.11). Along a small commercial
strip about half a mile from the center of town, is a restored farm house, which has been
turned into museum.
Celebrating the ‘Norman Rockwell image’
Museumization is a common theme for small towns as a method of preserving
a disappearing past. Buildings like railroad stations, with a sense of history, but now
without a functional use, are often turned into museums. The city of Ellensburg acquired
the vacant train station through eminent domain in 2005 and is working to restore it.
Steamboat Springs’s station is now an arts center (Figures 9.12, 9.13). Safford’s railroad
station is vacant, but becomes a museum in the town’s Main Street Vision Plan (2008).
In Anaconda, I went to a sparsely attended festival at the old roundhouse. A local
Figure 9.12, 9.13: Anaconda’s former city hall, saved by historic preservationists, is now a histori-
cal museum and arts center (left). Steamboat Springs’s former train depot is now an arts center
(right).
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entrepreneur has revived the old railroad running between Butte and Anaconda as a
scenic railway. The train station itself was demolished, but was replicated on an empty
urban-renewal block and now serves as a visitor center.
The Anaconda Vision Statement (1995) notes that the town’s “Normal Rockwell
image” should be “the foundation” of the community’s future (12). But how does an
image translate on the ground? How much of this translation is preservation and how
much is re-creation of something that never was or is long gone? These questions
suggest a challenge to the authenticity of the new-and-improved small town image
being imposed on the landscape of these towns.
Environmental awareness
The image of the small town is dependent not just on its history, but also on its
rural surroundings – not just its human heritage but its natural heritage as well. I found,
in some towns, a translation between local affinity for natural resources, and concerns
about national and global well-being. The concept of “sustainability” was, if not
embraced, then certainly debated, in many of the small towns I visited. In Ellensburg’s
Community Futures Project (2005), a town meeting focused on gauging “issue priorities”
found that, overwhelmingly, “sustainability” was most important to attendees, followed
by parks and recreation and civic identity.
2

2 The “pennyweighing” approach was used in this project, conducted by Cascade Associates.
Residents were given 10 pennies and allowed to spend them on specific issues. 180 pennies were
given to sustainability, 114 to parks and recreation, 113 to civic identity, and 103 to public safety.
Others between 100 and 75 were: public transportation, fiscal health, affordable housing, and
retail expansion.
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Individuals and organizations made a number of efforts aimed at ov erlapping
scales of consequence. Three of these efforts are noteworthy: a push for a compact,
walkable, small town that promotes the pedestrian over the automobile; calls to protect
local and regional natural resources from development; and awareness campaigns for
the clean-up of pollution associated with mining and agricultural activities. Together,
these efforts constitute an increased interest in the impact of local activities on global
change, rather than just vise-versa.
Walkability
After years of sprawl, several of the small towns sought to promote walking
and bicycling in their downtown. This was accomplished primarily through small-
scale projects like signage and road markings, rather than through changes in zoning
and other legislation that discourages growth at the cities’ edges. Nevertheless,
these projects provide an example of small towns’ desires to meet the quality-of-life
expectations expressed by residents.
In the comprehensive plans of most of the small towns, the municipalities
expressed a desire to preserve or re-create a pedestrian-friendly downtown. In Silver
City’s Comprehensive Plan (2004), for example, celebrates its downtown urban design as
that of a “classic American town”:
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Interconnected networks of streets reinforce this pedestrian-orientation, as
they are designed to encourage walking, reduce the number and length of
automobile trips, and conserve energy … Within neighborhoods, a broad range
of housing types and price levels can ideally bring people of diverse ages, races,
and incomes into daily interaction, strengthening the personal and civic bonds
essential to an authentic community (3-10) (Figure 9.14).
Along with local Main Street programs, cities worked to “fix” infrastructure mistakes of
past (re)designs of downtown: to add park benches, crosswalks, and street trees; to make
walking downtown a pleasant and safe experience.
In Ellensburg, the work of the Cascade Agenda highlighted the big-picture
importance of preserving or restoring the compact nature of small towns. In 2008,
Ellensburg voted to become a member city of the Cascade Agenda, “a collective 100-
year vision for conserving Washington’s remarkable landscapes in the face of a growing
population and a changing economic base” (www.cascadeagenda.com). The program
makes important connections between desire for a sustainable metropolitan region,
Figure 9.14, 9.15: A walkable downtown is often conducive to both pedestrians and bicycles. In
Steamboat Springs, the Yampa Core Trail connects ‘suburban’ homes to downtown Steamboat
and also provides recreational opportunities (left). Silver City, which celebrates its traditional
walkable downtown in its master plan, offers bike racks throughout its downtown (right).
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preserved open space, and small cities beyond the borders of the Seattle-Tacoma metro
area. It encourages cities to join (for free) as member cities to express a commitment
for “complete, compact, and connected” urban design, and offers staff assistance and
educational programs toward this goal. They also provide a guide to the Washington
State planning process to encourage individual support of these urban design goals.
Ellensburg also offered a map of bicycle lanes and trails, and has a non-
motorized transportation committee headed by Mayor Nancy Lillquist. On April 5,
2008, a local health organization offered free pedometers to residents who completed
a walkability survey on the downtown and university area. Steamboat Springs took
an even more ambitious (and expensive) route in creating a more walkable and
less congested downtown area. The city built a 7-mile long trail running along the
Yampa River through town connecting downtown to the city’s western residential
neighborhoods and, in the other direction, to its southern commercial development
(Figure 9.15). The trail was constructed not only for recreational use, but to provide an
alternative to driving, for walking or biking in the summer, and with groomed cross-
country ski trails in the winter. A common complaint among residents was the amount
of traffic in downtown, where an increase in commuters stresses an already-busy state
highway that serves as the city’s main street. The trail provides a car-free route for
bicyclists in the summer and cross-country skiers in the winter.
Protecting natural resources
Many small towns had municipal policies and private organizations dedicated to
protecting natural resources. “Protection” ranged from concerns about sprawl and open
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space, to protecting rivers and promoting water conservation, to cleaning up pollution
caused by extractive industries. Concerns about resource protection were not exclusive
to towns growing in population, as the quality of growth was as important as the
quantity. In Silver City, for example, Mayor James Marshall expressed concerns about
growth outside the city boundaries. He noted that the number of homes was increasing,
even as the population remained stable, due to an influx of retirees who built large
homes but had a small household size (one or two persons). In addition to residential
growth, individual, industrial and agricultural activities were also of concern in the
towns. Energy use, waste production, and water use were often addressed in both public
planning and private advocacy.
The most active and wide-ranging organization dedicated to natural resource
protection was in Silver City. The Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP) began in
1998 as a group advocating the clean-up of environmental contamination caused by
mining companies, and expanded to include water resource protection and promotion
Figure 9.16: Illustration celebrating the Gila River Resources Information Project’s activities.
238
of community involvement in planning decisions, Executive Director Allyson Siwik
said (Figure 9.16). The project offers a seasonal newsletter, extensive website, and action
alerts aimed at getting residents involved in pollution and other environmental health
ssues.
Siwik said that the group began in part due to concerns that those affected by
mining pollution, who tended to be lower-income Latinos, were not being adequately
represented in mining clean-up plans. She said that higher-income Anglo residents
“wanted to ignore pollution to keep home values up.” Residents were also concerned
that supporting GRIP’s advocacy program would hurt the mining industry, a major
employer in the area. “Most people were afraid to be on our side,” she said. In part
due to newcomers, in part due to political shifts, this attitude is changing; “There is
more awareness environmentally and interest in sustainability.” In Anaconda, interest
in pollution cleanup was also slow in coming. There, most advocacy comes from the
government, which is working to enforce the Superfund site cleanup of substances left
Figure 9.17: In Steamboat Springs,
energy conservation, through green
building (left, at the LEED-certi -
fied new library) and alternative
fuels (right, a festival sponsored by a
biodiesel company) are increasingly
part of the city’s mainstream.
239
behind by the smelting activities of the 20th century, including arsenic and beryllium.
While some local residents remain unconcerned about the pollution, there is increasing
support for cleanup and leaders who will work with the EPA to push for funding these
measures.
Some towns are also working to promote energy conservation through green
building and alternative energy sources. In 2008, Steamboat Springs approved an
ordinance that made it the first municipality in the nation to deem green building
practices a public benefit, allowing variances for a new building project that will be
LEED-certified (Gee 2008). The city’s new library, opened in 2008, is LEED-certified
and includes a “green” theme of leaf patterns, environmental poetry engrav ed in wood
panels, and windows overlooking the Yampa River (Figure 9.17). A project proposed
for 500 acres on the west edge of the city, Steamboat 700, is part of the LEED for
Neighborhood Design pilot program.
In early 2009, Silver City was in the process of obtaining public comment on a
Climate Action Plan. The draft plan attempts to connect local quality of life to municipal
frugality to global environmental health. It calls for reducing local greenhouse gas
emissions by 15 percent (no timeline given). The plan quantifies current levels of
greenhouse gas emissions (primarily through electricity use) and offers 13 recommended
actions. Among these actions are the municipal installation of more efficient
infrastructure, installation and use of solar power, and the promotion of biking and
walking with a local trail system. Discussion of a ban on plastic bags is suggested, with
the note that in addition to reducing litter, the move could be part of a broader plan to
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“rebrand our community” (Climate Protection Agreement Citizens Advisory Committee
2009, 25). The report notes that the “green collar economy” may help generate new jobs
and replace those lost to mining lay-offs (ibid, 4).
While some see these actions as inspiring, others are more cynical about these
small efforts to mitigate environmental impacts of human activities. Jonathan Schecter ,
who has studied Steamboat Springs and other resort towns in the West, argued that
these environmentally-friendly innovations are superficial and do little to curb the
impacts of these growing communities. “There is a sensitivity to environmental stuff,
but at the end of the day, there is a contradiction,” he said. Many of those who move to
these resort towns lead “massive consumptive lifestyles,” building large homes, and
driving and flying long distances, he said in an interview. He noted that ski areas have
large carbon footprints unlikely to be offset by small environmentally-friendly gestures.
Economic and environmental connections
Environmental consciousness was more powerful in some towns than others. In
Wellington, Chamber of Commerce President Wendell Nelson pushed for a park to be
paved to provide more parking to an increasingly-vacant main street. In Safford, the
new mine was welcomed despite its environmental side effects. In some towns, there
was an anti-environmentalist backlash that seemed to be tied to antipathy associated
with control over individual actions that affect environmental health. When asked what
conflicts existed in town, Judy Ward, councilwoman in Silver City, pointed towards
“the environmentalists.” She said they conflicted with ranchers, and with mining. She
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complained that they had introduced a measure calling for a plastic bag tax in town,
which she felt was “ridiculous.”
Despite some opposition to regulating environmental health and resource
preservation, I found an increasing acceptance of this trend. The small towns I
appeared to be recognizing an important connection between their socio-economic
and environmental well-being. A compact city center can decrease automobile use,
decrease traffic, promote a healthy (mobile) lifestyle, increase sense of community ,
and is conducive to the mobility of both youth and seniors. Protecting open space and
natural resources attracts visitors and investment, preserves the community character,
and also protects wildlife habitats. Cleaning up pollution caused by extractive industries
can encourage investment by new (cleaner) industries, as well as provide a healthy,
equitable home for residents. For economic, aesthetic, or purely environmental reasons,
the preservation of natural resources is part of a broader piece of an increased desire
by small towns to promote the “sense of place” that comes with living in a small city
surrounded by rural land.
Place marketing
Nostalgic re-creations and environmental protections are constructed not just
to answer the calls of local residents. A reassertion of the small town identity is also
profitable: as Towny Anderson, former mayor of Steamboat Springs and executive
director of Historic Routt County, noted: “Places that will be prosperous are those that
preserve their cultural heritage. People don’t come here for Wal-Mart.”
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With the decline of traditional industries such as mining and agriculture, small
towns must seek out new sources of revenue. The preservation, restoration, and re-
creation of small-town identity and natural resources not only have the potential to
draw tourists, but also to increase property tax base through new residents and to attract
new businesses.
I found three phases of place marketing or attraction to place: tourists, migrants,
and businesses. While not all towns were entirely successful in their bid to market
place to tourists, in many cases these plans were so successful they had begun to attract
amenity migrants as well. Many towns may also begin to attract businesses in a similar
fashion. Attracting tourists, was a goal expressed by all towns in planning and place
marketing literature. In an increasingly-mobile society, the impact of these promotions
has expanded to include permanent residents and new businesses.
Attracting tourists
Tourism as a force in small town economies is not new for most locales. It has long
Figure 9.18, 9.19: Art galleries are part of the “new” downtown, one that seeks to attract tourists
as well as residents. In Steamboat Springs (left), monthly art walks provide free snacks and drinks
to visitors, and in Silver City (right), the multi-colored galleries on Yankie Street draw shoppers
away from Main Street.
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been an important part of both resort towns, like Steamboat Springs, college towns like
Ellensburg, and “arts” towns like Silver City. However, as the economy shifts away from
traditional employment like manufacturing, agriculture, and resource extraction, towns’
reliance on tourism increases. Most of the small towns included tourism as part of their
development plan. I found three types of tourist marketing, many of which overlapped.
Heritage tourism focuses on the town’s past, in mining or agriculture. Cultural tourism
includes the creation of “art walks” and other events along with the advertisement of
art galleries and other destinations (Figures 9.18, 9.19). Natural tourism promotes the
natural features of a town and its surrounding rural areas both for aesthetic purposes
and for outdoor sports. These three types of tourist promotions relied upon the towns’
“small town feel” to support the local economy.
As a source of revenue, Anaconda has perhaps moved the furthest toward
attracting tourists (Figure 9.20). In its smelting days, Anaconda had no need for
tourists. As a rough-around-the-edges industrial town, it attracted few. But after the
smelters closed in the early 1980s, Anaconda needed a new source of employment and
Figure 9.20: As part of an attempt to bring tourist dollars to Anaconda, the county gave tax breaks
to a golf course (with slag sand traps) and approved a state park surrounding the smokestack of
the former smelter.
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revenue. As Bryson (2007) points out, Anaconda has sought to revive its lost smelter,
if not physically than through a surge of nostalgia. The Anaconda Local Development
Corporation advertises itself as “reinvesting in our past to shape our future today” in
the local visitor’s guide (2008, 5). The last remaining piece of the smelter, a 585-foot tall
smokestack (built in 1919), was preserved by local activists and is now the focus of a
state park (although, ironically, it is inaccessible due to pollution concerns).
While not all of Anaconda’s tourism promotion plans have been successful,
the town has been able to draw some tourists through a golf course designed by Jack
Nicklaus, which includes sand traps filled with slag (a dubiously safe byproduct of the
smelting process). According to its promotional brochure, the course was named best
course in America with under $50 greens fees. A hotel that was supposed to accompany
the golf course never materialized, much to the dismay of local officials, who had
provided numerous financial incentives for the complex (Haffey 2004).
Farm towns seek, too, to capitalize on their heritage. The Ellensburg Rodeo has
come to be both local celebration of ranching and agriculture, and a vehicle for attracting
tourists. While the rodeo is only one weekend a year, it is advertised prominently
throughout the town. In events like the annual Western Art Show, Ellensburg seeks
to unite heritage tourism with cultural tourism. A brochure aimed at those traveling
between Seattle and Spokane (“We’re on the way to anywhere”) advertises downtown
Ellensburg as a destination: “featuring many beautiful brick buildings dating back to
1889, gives a feeling of entering another, more relaxed era.”
Other towns also combine historic buildings with a more modern attention to
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arts events. Silver City, while not statistically growing or prospering, has been hugely
successful in its marketing of its sense of place and artistic offerings. A town brochure
boasts: “Year after year, Silver City is consistently rated one of the best small towns in
America, one of the nation’s best places to visit, live, and retire.” Among the honors
it lists are best small town, best mining town, best small art town, healthiest to live
and retire, top retirement spot, best towns for art and music lovers, and “outstanding
community.” In addition to selling Silver City as a thriving art community, the town’s
Chamber of Commerce also markets Silver City as a “gateway to 3.3 million acres of
solitude,” and promotes its proximity to the Gila Wilderness.
Safford, two hours west of Silver City, advertises connections to the Gila River
and other natural areas. On the cover of the Graham County brochure, a photo of a man
fishing with his daughters advertises, “Life the way it ought to be.” Safford’s advertising
includes several themes common to small towns. It is part of a food-themed driving tour,
the Salsa Trail, which runs through small towns of Arizona and includes farm stands
and Mexican restaurants. The “Old West Trail” also runs through several Arizonan small
towns, including Safford, with “600 years of Western history along a route steeped in
legend” (Graham County Chamber of Commerce 2008).
Attracting migrants
While most articles in National Geographic’s Adventure magazine are aimed at
outdoor tourism, they also offers advice to migrants. Each year, the magazine lists its top
50 best places to live.
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A change of address can bring instant gratification. You could wake up tomorrow
in Missoula and kayak off your own deck at dawn, sneak in singletrack at lunch
in Chattanooga—or choose your own adventure in any one of the country’s best
base camps. But a move is a long-term investment. So this year we selected 50
innovative towns that aren’t just prime relocation spots right now, but smart
choices for the future. Not only do they have the action. They’ve got a plan.
The magazine offers a connection between tourism and migration: an attraction
to “authenticity” and to proximity to rural areas. It lists Silver City as one of these
towns, noting that it is “what Santa Fe was before trustafarians took over,” a place
with trails adjacent to town and connections to regional wilderness areas, mountains,
and the Continental Divide Trail (2008). This connection is increasingly being made by
those who study amenity migration and its effects on towns that w ere once just tourist
destnatons.
ROUTT
MOFFAT
RIO
BLANCO
GARFIELD
MESA
EL PASO
EAGLE
LARIMER
WELD
JEFFERSON
DOUGLAS
ARAPAHOE
DENVER
BOULDER
LOS ANGELES, CA MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ
(PHOENIX)
Counties with more than 20 exemptions
78
22
35
45
40
64
26
33
23
26
57
23
41 46
24
27
32
23
104
22
Source: Internal Revenue Service
Figure 9.21: Migration in northwest Colorado by county, 2006 (illustration by author for
Community Indicators Project, 2009)
247
Yampa Valley Partners’ indicator report (2009) finds that many migrants to
northwest Colorado are coming from Denver suburbs, Phoenix, and Los Angeles (Figure
9.21). Jonathan Schechter, who studies the growth of resort towns, said in an interview,
“people are moving to these places because they want to, because they love these places
in a deeply personal way, and because they can.” Thus while increased mobility is
universal, the effects of this mobility are inherently geographic. Noreen Moore, business
resource director of Routt County Economic Development Cooperative, agrees: “These
people shop around for a community.” Moore said that to newcomers, Steamboat
represents a “real community.” “They’re not here to be Lone Eagles, they clearly picked
this community so they could be part of it.” Advertisements by developers support
this: many advertise the sense of community and small-town feel offered by Steamboat
Springs.
For towns like Steamboat Springs, which developed a tourism-based economy
before the increased mobility of the past ten years, amenity migration may be an
unintended (if nevertheless profitable) side effect of place promotion. Many towns
are now proactively seeking migrants. Their advertising campaigns often use the
same promotion techniques used to attract tourists. Anaconda and Wellington’s
comprehensive plans, which express a desire to grow in population, suggest the
importance of using small-town qualities to attract new residents and industries.
Silver City’s Gila Resources Information Project Executive Director, Allyson
Siwik, said that investing in downtown is key to attracting new residents, those who
“want to come to a town that’s real.” She said that while long-time residents tend to
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take their vibrant downtown for granted, “I think people who come from elsewhere,
who have lost a downtown, they see it.” Ellensburg’s attraction of pre-retirees suggest
another type of migration, one that combines both flexible work plans with the desire of
baby-boom retirees to find affordable, attractive places to live.
Attracting businesses
A 2007 New York Times article, “Off to resorts, and carrying their careers” about
a new type of business owner described “location neutral” CEOs and lower-key leaders
who were finding that in a digitally-enhanced world they no longer needed to live in
large cities to run productive companies. Location neutral businesses are those that
follow their owner to places they choose for lifestyle reasons. One example the New York
Times article gives is a family looking to avoid the stresses of urban life:
For Bill and Stephanie Faunce, who run a marketing company for cable
operators, small-town life often means starting work at 7 a.m. and quitting at 11
p.m., but with breaks to hike, ski or be with their two young children. Their goal
in coming here was not to slow down but to eliminate urban distractions and
pressures. “There are no stressors here,” said Mr. Faunce, 43.
The term location neutral was coined by Noreen Moore, business resource
director of Routt County Economic Development Cooperative. Moore said that area
leaders are reluctant to see these newcomers as an important part of the economy. A
report by Moore (Moore and Ford 2006) surveyed 61 location-neutral business owners
and employees, and she believes that there are many more who are benefiting the local
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economy. “We’re used to a place-based economy,” she said. “It has been a one-horse
town, mining, or ranching, or tourism.”
Timothy Bishop, executive director of Ellensburg’s Main Street Program sees an
opportunity for the town to retain college students who might otherwise seek jobs in
Seattle and other “West Side” suburbs. “ At the same time that businesses are becoming
location neutral, entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly location-specific,” he said.
“They’re thinking, ‘I really want this quality of life’ and that’s where they’re opening
their business.” He suggested that the city needs to work on a plan for supporting
networks of independent contractors who are based in Ellensburg but use the Internet to
work with national and international clients.
In Safford, Sheldon Miller, executive director of the Graham County Chamber
of Commerce, noted, “everybody has to be a visitor before they become an investor.”
Similarly, Silver City Main Street Program Director Frank Milan said that the program’s
goal was to create a “climate of opportunity” downtown, to encourage businesses to
open in a town with a strong sense of place, which can attract both tourists and locals
who patronize these businesses.
Variations on protectionism
The landscape of many American small towns is one of protectionism. In these
places, “protectionism” means not preventing change, but re-crafting it. Two local
forces of change overlap: preservation and boosterism. Preservationists seek to manage
development in a way that cultural heritage – historic buildings, farm and ranch land,
250
and the traditional urban form (main street) – is protected. This movement leans on the
small-town ideal, even when this means a landscape is manufactured or re-created to
achieve the desired effect. In between preservation and boosterism, calls to protect the
environment are both aesthetic and financial in nature. Local environmental activists
often recognize the connections between an amenity-based economy and preserving
regional ecological health. Small town boosters seek to use these preserved (or re-
created) landscapes to “sell” the town to tourists, migrants, and businesses.
These contradictory forces create a landscape that is oftentimes ironic. Both seek
to “save” the American small town, but while preservationists seek to reduce growth (or
at least, manage how and where it occurs), boosters seek to enhance growth, preserving
the town’s economic viability. Oftentimes both of these movements overlap. As a
result, the “authentic” sense of place and history valued by local residents is used as a
marketing tool, bringing growth, and with it, the threat of change.
In Steamboat Springs, the result is an increasing divide between the “real”
past and the manufactured present. In Steamboat Springs’s early tourism days, they
advertised an authentic “Old West” experience; a 1975 advertisement boasted:
Steamboat is the West … it’s something we don’t manufacture. It’s here….You
walk into the hardware store, and the talk is more likely to be about fences and
cattle than downhill skiing.
Yet in the last 30 years, the ranch town has been edged out by the ski town, the
hardware store has disappeared from downtown, “Old Town Real Estate” (where the
City Council president works) is not in old town, but instead at the Wal-Mart plaza.
251
Across the street from this plaza is a preserved historic barn that is now at the center of a
housing development marketed around the “barn” concept.
Economically-thriving towns like Steamboat Springs are still working to
find the proper balance between preserving its unique qualities and selling them.
In economically declining towns like Anaconda, ties to the past are either so strong
they obscure paths to the future or are weakened by population loss and prone to
abandonment, perhaps to the detriment of the town’s future. Yet successes like the
historically-themed local golf course and the preservation of the local street light system
suggest that the town could still capitalize on its “small-town character,” albeit in
different ways than towns like Steamboat Springs. More stable towns like Silver City,
suggest a more harmonious balance of measured marketing campaigns, combined with
historic preservation and town “re-branding,” may be a more reasonable path to the
preservation of economic vitality.
Local efforts to preserve nostalgic landscapes and natural resources, be they for
economic or emotional profits, are modifying the outcomes of outside forces of change.
This chapter illustrates the effects of preservation efforts on the small town landscape.
It suggests that small towns, while in many ways experiencing universal urban change,
are molded by reactions that are tied to the unique position of the small town in the
American imagination, and illustrate the important role of sense of place in spite of (and
because of) broader urban trends.
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Chapter 10
Rethinking the American small town
The small town of the American imagination no longer exists. Nostalgia is not
enough to protect small towns from urban forces of contemporary change. Small towns
are becoming less compact, more diverse, and more connected to outside influences.
These changes affect the form, the “hard city,” and the character, the “soft city,” of
small towns in the United States. Yet despite these changes, nostalgia persists, putting
changes in urban form in conflict with the perceived city, “landscapes of nostalgia.” The
preceding chapters have focused on this conflict, as small towns negotiate a transition
into a new urban condition.
This dissertation uses the phrase “small town” deliberately: not small city,
micropolitan, non-metro, or urban cluster. That “small town” matches with no
quantifiable definition (U.S. Census, or otherwise) is purposeful. From the start, this
dissertation has sought to wed the quantifiable attributes of settlements with the
unquantifiable; to recognize the influence of perception on reality; to distinguish space
from place. In addition to suggesting a small, dense settlement, “small town” also
describes a place in the American imagination. The American small town is ascribed
with nostalgia for the past, but also hopes for a more sustainable future.
As important as it was to document the individual voices of small town residents
and experiences of unique towns, in the end answers to questions about change in
small towns spoke to shifts in urban, cultural, and environmental geographies. More
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importantly, my conclusions address the connections between these three areas of study,
areas that are too often kept distinct in academic research projects. These connections
offer insight into how sense of place contributes to urban and environmental policy as
well as individual decisions.
Here I deconstruct the small town ideal, reconsidering how we understand the
American small town. To accomplish this, my overall research goal was to describe how
small towns are affected by contemporary urban change, and to examine the conflicts
that results from this change. Research supported my argument that small towns should
be seen as dynamic urban places. In addition, it revealed how the evolving landscapes of
small towns can be instructive in better understanding more ‘universal’ urban processes.

The transitional small town
I found that transitional small towns are indeed undergoing an “urban
revolution” in two ways. First, global and national processes are affecting small
towns, but at the same time, the local is pushing back. Local forces are resisting and
manipulating these changes into a form more congruent with desires to resist change
that affects residents’ sense of place. Second, perceived space is pushing back against
“real” space, the hard city, as ideals about small towns are both shifted and shifting the
landscape. Despite nostalgic ideas about the rural idyll of small towns, they are facing
urban challenges. Yet the small towns studied here offer important examples of how
sense of place can create value and how nostalgia can provide an impetus for promoting
sustainable urban policies.
254
While comprising a relatively small percent of U.S. population, the small town
continues to be seen as an ideal type of settlement, portrayed as incorporating the best
qualities of both the urban and rural experience. While the effects of change v ary by
geography and history, concerns about these effects, in the form of discussion about the
changing character of small towns, appear to be increasingly universal. Small towns
are neither static nor linear in their evolution. Idealized views of small towns fail to
appreciate their dynamic nature; they are not stuck in time. Similarly, literature that
considers small towns “rural” fails to recognize their susceptibility to these outside
forces.
Small towns are urban places, with distinctly urban challenges. Forces of urban
change — technological shifts, economic restructuring, sprawl, increased economic
polarization — play a strong role in the everyday lived experience of American small
towns. Many are growing in population and their socio-economic attributes are shifting,
overall becoming more diverse, wealthy, and educated. However, these changes are not
evenly dispersed. In chapters 4 and 5, I described forces of change, both cultural and
demographic. In Chapter 6, I then used seven case study towns to illustrate the results
of these changes on the urban form and processes of small towns. While history and
geography play a strong role in distinguishing how these forces affect small towns,
patterns also begin to emerge. As shown in Chapter 7, there are similarities between
these towns: they are becoming more sprawling, more heterogeneous, and more
connected to larger cities and global trends.
It is important not just to reconsider how we think about small towns, but how
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we use small towns to think about other places. Small towns continue to be portrayed
as a utopian form of settlement; places that can be self-sufficient and harmonious.
While it is important to learn from small towns, we will not comprehend these places
by idealizing them. Instead, we should consider unique solutions these places offer to
urban problems; they provide a microcosmic ground for experiments in democracy and
reconsiderations of identity.
Conceptualizing small towns as urban places recognize that they are threatened
by outside forces contributing to increasingly unsustainable characteristics: sprawl,
economic inequalities, and dependence. Small towns are not the identical in how they
approach these challenges, but there are patterns to their responses. In Chapter 8, I
described how the resulting evolution of the small town is (re)negotiated through non-
linear spatial processes that reflect grassroots recognition of the de facto political process.
In Chapter 9, I examined local forces that react to changes in the landscape and call
for preservation of community character, while simultaneously using this character to
achieve economic success. Small towns are not just evolving through a process beyond
their control; they are also working to recreate and restructure their own everyday lived
experience. Small towns are not insular, but nor are they subject only to the whims of the
global economy.
As urban places, small towns face challenges of achieving or maintaining
economic vitality while remaining socially and environmentally sustainable. In recent
years, these have challenges have increased. Yet many towns have risen to the challenge
of renegotiating these changes. An increased recognition of the non-linear processes
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translating forces of change into landscape can and should result in a reexamination
of how small towns understand their own agency in creating and maintaining a sense
of place. An increased pace of change and challenges to local sustainability also results
in resurgence of interest in local identity, both for financial and emotional purposes.
Together these changes are shaping the landscape of the contemporary American small
town.
Reassessing place
Change manifests in the small town landscape differently according to nuances
of history and geography. But while it is important to contextualize change, it is also
possible to identify patterns of population shifts, economic health, ethnicity , and
employment base. Global and national forces are changing small towns, increasing
residential and commercial sprawl, economic polarity and racial diversity, and
connections to larger cities and global trends. Rather than simply funneling “down”
from global/national forces or “up” from the local level, change in the small town
landscape (both hard and soft) is negotiated through a series of mediating factors.
Analysis of these factors suggests that far from the simple linear, evolutionary models of
change; they are complex systems that need to be considered in the context of a nation’s
urban hierarchy. The effects of global and national forces on the small town landscape
have resulted in an increase in nostalgia for a (real or imagined) small town landscapes
of the past (Figure 10.1). Reactionary forces at the local level also play role in changing
the small town landscape, as residents and local leaders push for the preservation of
257
“small town character” for both sentimental and economic reasons. However, this
preservation can also be magnified by demographic change, as increasingly-mobile
migrants are attracted to small-town character and sense of place.
To understand how small towns are changing, it is useful to return to the
individual towns selected as case studies for this dissertation. In aggregate, these towns
illustrate the importance of rethinking both small towns and urban processes.
Steamboat Springs is growing both economically and demographically at a
tremendous rate. It is rich in amenities, but increasingly becoming a place only the
wealthy can afford. As a result, it is facing pressures on its environmental resources, and
complaints of mounting social inequity. Many who work in Steamboat Springs work in a
different town or county. Thus, while Steamboat’s core incorporates sustainable features
– a free bus system, commuter trail, and dense development – its economic inequities
Figure 10.1: Global and local change in the contemporary American small town
258
make it inherently unsustainable.
What is happening in Steamboat Springs is important for two reasons. First, it
may reflect the future of small towns that are successful in attracting new tourists and
businesses. Steamboat may be the first municipality to recognize, name, and study the
concept of “location neutrality,” which opens up amenity migration (once primarily
retirees) to business-owners and families. Second, it is an example of what can be done
(or not) in a municipality with a large amount of capital, both fiscal and human. The
Steamboat Springs area is rife with grassroots planning and innovative features like the
commuter-friendly Yampa Core Trail, and yet it lacks a comprehensive plan to promote
affordable housing or preserve historic buildings.
Wellington is a town that embraced its role as an exurb. Its borders have
expanded, with residential suburbs replacing farmland. Yet town residents recognize the
value of its “small town-ness,” in parades and festivals, in a local grocery and hardware
store. Local officials argued that growth need not mean the loss of community character ,
even as small businesses disappeared from their downtown and volunteerism declined.
There are concerns that too many services that should be local, including the high school
and social services, are located ten miles away in Fort Collins. There are also few local
jobs.
In Wellington, progress is equated with growth. The town, long declared dead
or dying, found a role as an exurb of Fort Collins, Denver, and Cheyenne. Although
participation by town residents in deciding how the town will grow has lagged, county
residents have been more vocal. They have argued against making their rural land
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“urban” by expanding the town’s growth management area, and sought to have a
voice in town affairs. Wellington provides an example of a town just recognizing the
need to, if not control growth, then to manage it. Officials are pushing for commercial
and industrial development to counterbalance residential growth, and a county-wide
planning system is protecting some rural areas.
The city of Ellensburg was the largest of those studied, and also among the fastest-
growing. Yet, unlike Wellington, residents are not convinced that it is a “successful”
small town. Downtown business owners posted out-of-business signs that complained
about “the economy.” A strong pro-development element in town pushed for the city
to promote big-box development, arguing that new stores would provide jobs and
shopping alternatives. Opponents, some of whom fought battles against K-Mart in the
1970s and 1990s, said that allowing big-box stores would hurt the city’s “small-town
character,” a valuable asset to attracting tourists and new businesses.
The debates in Ellensburg proved not its failure, but its success. Its city
council meetings were well-attended, and were broadcast on local television stations.
Students from the local university attended, and faculty offered their expertise for city
committees. New residents from the urban/suburban “West Side” of the Cascades added
to development pressures and sprawl, but they also pushed for sustainable growth and
offered suggestions at how to achieve this. Long-term residents were divided between
encouraging growth and development, and preserving the city’s farming heritage. These
varied voices, through municipal planning processes as well as private organizations,
showcased an evolving small-town democracy.
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Quincy provided an interesting case of a relatively stable economy jolted by the
impact of digital technology. A farm town, Quincy was already transitioning, becoming
more industry-based, with fewer family farms, and attracting an increasing number
of Latino immigrants. The arrival of companies like Microsoft and Yahoo!, which built
data servers on farmland, increased home prices and rents but provided few new jobs.
Speculation increased residential sprawl, with one housing development halted halfway
through construction because of poor sales. Its half-million dollar homes dropped to
$300,000 within two years, and still were not selling.
In Quincy there was an unsteady balance between the past and the future.
Connections to an idealized past of community togetherness and family farms conflicted
with the influx of newcomers and agribusiness. Downtown Quincy was a mix of vacant
stores, clothing stores selling calling cards to Mexico, an original barber shop, and real
estate companies. The real estate boom brought little gain for the av erage resident,
particularly new migrants renting homes, and benefited only a few landowners. T axes
went to pay for infrastructure like skate parks, but not to provide affordable housing. It
was unclear whether in the future, citizens of Quincy would become more vocal in their
concerns about these inequities.
Safford , like many mining towns in the American West is in a constant cycle
of boom/bust. Recent economic growth following the construction of a new open pit
copper mine — and severe job loss when copper prices fell — exemplified the instability
of reliance upon a single, traditional resource base. Unlike Silver City, which has begun
to successfully diversify its employment offerings, Safford’s fate remains tied to the
261
copper industry and a single global corporation.
The Safford area also provides an example of the effects of sprawl on the small-
town landscape. The city has succeeded in becoming a regional retail center, with Wal-
Mart, Home Depot, and many other chain retail stores. But its downtown has long
been ignored, and today has many vacant and deteriorating buildings. A resurgence of
interest in restoring Main Street in Safford mirrors other towns, where protection of the
town’s sense of place is increasingly tied to changing patterns of its urban form.
The cultural economy is becoming a powerful force in Silver City, which
recognized in the 1970s the importance of preserving local buildings. As the mining
industry declined, and the town began to rely more on retirees and tourism,
preservation played an important role in place marketing. Local galleries have
boomed as the town markets itself to visitors as one of New Mexico’s arts districts.
Environmental awareness is also strong in Silver City, where the city is working to create
its own climate change policy and “re-brand” itself as an environmentally-friendly
place. Downtown businesses include a 30-year-old grocery co-op, a new green building
materials store, and several restaurants advertising “slow food.”
Silver City offers an intriguing portrait of a town that is not continuing to
grow, but is showing indications of strengthening economic health. Local officials are
preparing for the eventual closure of area mines, and have encouraged tourism as well
as service-oriented businesses like a Sprint call center. There remain vacant buildings
downtown and on the town’s commercial strip, yet there are also many thriving
businesses, including a coffee shop and restaurants on the town’s main street that remain
262
open and active until 10 p.m., and a Wal-Mart Supercenter at the edge of town. These
two landscapes — the downtown and the commercial strip — suggest that Silver City
has been able to balance growth with the preservation of its community character.
Anaconda provides insight into the challenges of a small town with a declining
population. It is evidence of the ability of history to freeze places in time, but also
toinspire. Unfortunately, after more than 20 years of decline, Anaconda’s sense of pride
in its smelting heritage has done little to attract new jobs to the region. In fact, beliefs
of local residents in the infallibility of the industry has led to stagnation, as has the
industry’s constant renegotiation of plans to clean up pollution that has prevented
reinvestment.
The city also exemplifies the problems of seeing tourism as a panacea. Ev en with
many historic resources and a new award-winning golf course, Anaconda has failed to
thrive. However, local officials are beginning to recognize that tourism and preservation
need not be in opposition to the development of other industries. Local development
plans now call for the use of city’s character to attract not just tourists, but also new
residents and small businesses.
Looking back, looking ahead
Small towns, like large cities, are affected by forces of urban change, both global
and local. Thus it is important to study small towns as exemplars of this change, both to
contribute to urban theory, and to expand research conducted on cities across the urban
hierarchy. This project offered a description of demographic shifts at the national level,
263
as well as analysis of change from the ground up through seven distinct case study
towns. By tying these changes to broader theories of urban patterns and processes,
it expands research on both small towns and the contemporary urban condition as a
whole.
Research described in preceding chapters finds that change in small towns is
indicative of the challenges and possibilities of reconciling the hard with the soft city.
Understanding this connection, between the perceived and the real, between form and
character, is important for looking ahead to sustainable urban futures. In preceding
chapters, I argued that this connection is creating conflicting “landscapes of nostalgia”
that seek to both preserve and change local landscapes.
While ambitious in its scope, this project is limited by its aim for both breadth
and depth. In seeking for breadth, there is a tendency to generalize through statistical
analysis of growth and decline. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the use of case
studies is constrained by its limited time at each locale, and the regional context of the
American West. For example, it is important to note the temporal nature of this study.
Research was conducted between October 2007 and August 2008. Most interviews were
conducted in the spring and summer of 2008. During this time, gas prices increased
to more than $4 a gallon, and the economic downturn of fall 2008 had not yet become
apparent.
Despite these limitations, this project offers important insights into the nature of
small towns and implications for urban theory. It suggests a number of future research
topics, which can be grouped into four foci. First, small towns should not be researched
264
solely as rural places. They are increasingly affected by generic processes of urban
change. As such, they provide insight into urban change not just as small cities, but as
elements of the urban hierarchy. Second, the release of data on the U.S. Census-defined
urban cluster following the 2010 census will provide a wealth of data on small town
growth and decline, as these measures are based on population density, not municipal
boundaries. Third, individual aspects of change merit research in greater depth: these
include sprawl, Latinization, economic polarization, amenity migration, the digital era
and digital divide. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, New Urbanist assumptions
about the “ideal form” of development should be reconsidered given the challenges
faced by small towns.
Small towns are at a crossroads. They are increasingly facing urban problems of
unsustainable land use and socially and economically divided populations. Yet in part
because of their unique cultural and demographic roots, many small towns are working
against these trends. Residents and leaders are questioning whether “progress,” through
population growth and economic development can be equated with “success,” and if
growth and development must be managed to preserve the towns’ quality of life. There
is, of course, a danger in protectionism without proper reflection. There is also a failure
to recognize that nostalgia is often felt for a place that never was. Yet identity need not
be sculpted solely around reality. Sense of place is calculated into decisions made at
multiple scales; the small town ideal is shaping the small town reality.
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Appendix A
Archives
Small Town Institute collection, Central Washington University, Ellensburg
Ellensburg Public Library Northwest History Collection
Quincy Public Library
Anaconda Public Library
Marcus Daley Historical Society collection, Anaconda
Tread of Pioneers Museum local history research library, Steamboat Springs
Wellington Public Library
Fort Collins Public Library (Wellington materials)
Fort Collins Museum local history archive (Wellington materials)
Silver City Public Library
Safford Public Library
290
Appendix B
Local archival material
Anaconda
Almost gone: The third story of the old Montana Hotel is almost gone (photo caption). 7
July 1978. Anaconda Leader.
Almost there: The third floor of the old Montana Hotel is almost gone. (photo caption).
27 September 1978. Anaconda Leader.
Anaconda 2008 Visior’s Guide. Anaconda Leader.
Anaconda Chamber of Commerce Committees. 21 September 2005.
Anaconda Environmental Education Institute (AEEI). 2008. Community Superfund
issues: Questions and concerns. 1(2). April.
Anaconda waits, watches, worries. 1980 Anaconda Leader. 1 October.
Anaconda, Montana. (brochure) Anaconda Chamber of Commerce.
Anaconda’s heritage, Anaconda’s families: Vote Yes for your cemeteries. (brochure). 2008.
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Planning Board Training Module (powerpoint slide
printout). 2008.
Anacondans OK mall injunction. 8 November 1978. Anaconda Leader.
Anderozzi, B. 2007. Anaconda community action and coaching narrative and budget.
Horizons: Community leadership to reduce poverty.
Anderozzi, B. 2008. Report information for visioning phase. Horizons: Community
leadership to reduce poverty.
Building to be razed? Hotel restaurant, bar closing doors. Anaconda Leader. 25 June 1976.
Butte-Silver Bow and Aanconda. Relocation guide 2007-2008.Nelson Promotions, Inc.
Committee wants to save City Hall, or part of it. 1978. Anaconda Leader. 14 July.
Community Development points to… Advertisement. Anaconda Community
Development Department. 1976 Anaconda Leader.
Copper King Express. Anaconda, Montatna. (pamplet)
Copper Village News. 2008. 2(1): April.
Curtain falls on Imperial (Theater). 1978. Anaconda Leader. 17 February.
Demolition issue tops agenda. 27 September 1978. Anaconda Leader.
Discovery map: Butte/Anaconda/Deer Lodge/Phillipsburg. 8th edition. 2007.
District development map. City of Anaconda. Regional Historic Preservation Plan.
Anaconda Historic Street Light District. 1996.
Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. (pamphlet)
Gene Higgins: ‘No decision’ on fate of historic Montana Hotel. Anaconda Leader. 25 June
1976.
Government agency studies possible impound of hotel sale funds. 1 September 1976.
Anaconda Leader.
291
Here are a few of the ways Copper Village Museum and Arts Center serves our
community (handout).
Higgins asserts ‘no plans’ to demolish hotel. Anaconda Leader. 20 August 1976.
Higgins construction company. Is this fair? Advertisement in Anaconda Leader. 1976
Historians bless hotel plans. 31 march 1978. Anaconda Leader.
Historic Beaudry house, built in 1895 will be demolished by the Anaconda Community
Development Department. (photo caption). Anaconda Leader. 31 March 1976.
Horizons Strategic Poverty Reduction Plan.
Horizons:Community leadership to reduce poverty: Community progress on outcomes.
Mall demolition work expected week after next. 1978. Anaconda Leader. 15 September.
Maps of Old Works historic sites.
Marcus Daly: Old hotel to be restored. Anaconda Leader. 7 April 1976.
Montana Old Works Golf Course. (pamphlet) Troon Golf management.
Moving faster: Work on removing the top of the old Montana Hotel is picking up. (photo
caption). 9 June 1978. Anaconda Leader.
New effort underway to ‘save’ Marcus Daly hotel. 1977. Anaconda Leader. 13 July.
Only three persons showed up for the much talked about demonstration in front of the
Marcus Daly Hotel. (photo caption). 20 July 1977. Anaconda Leader.
Plans outlined for old hotel. 1977. Anaconda Leader. 29 July.
Sad day for the Irish. 11 January 1978. Anaconda Leader.
Stone pieces above the windows on this building will be salvaged. (Photo caption). 18
January 1978. Anaconda Leader.
Timetable set for mall construction. 1977. Anaconda Leader. 9 Feburary.
Top development officials resign. 17 November 1978. Anaconda Leader.
Visitor Center Information (visitors total, home state/country). 2003-2008, by month.
Walking tour of historic Anaconda.
We thought you’d like to know. 1978. Advertisement. Anaconda Leader. Anaconda
Chamber of Commerce.
We want Anaconda to Grow! 3 November 1978. Advertisement. Anaconda Chamber of
Commerce. Pg. 7.
Ellensburg
City of Ellensburg Building Permits. 1999.
Community Futures Project. 2005. (methods for Comprehensive Plan)
Ellensburg First Friday Art Walk. 2008. Ellensburg Arts Commission. 4 April.
First Friday Art Walk. Historic Downtown Ellensburg. (pamphlet)
Have you been to Ellensburg lately? Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce. (pamplet)
It’s your time. 2006. Suncadia. (Advertisement). 23 Sunday. Pacific Northwest Magazine.
Kittitas County Community Develolpment Services. Presentation to Leadership
Ellensburg. 2008. Powerpoint slides.
292
Lamb, R. Triple L Regional Retail for Ellensburg. 2007. 20 December.
Local sustainable tourism is Sunday topic. 2008. Daily Record. 2 April.
Ride Ellensburg and Kittitas County. February 2008. Map.
Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering. 2008. (pamphlet)
The 36th Annual Ellensburg National Art Show & Auction. 2008. Western Art
Association.(pamphlet)
Town Talk. 2006. City of Ellensburg. Spring.
Town Talkl. 2008. City of Ellensburg. Spring.
Safford
2008 Farm Fresh Produce from Southern Arizona (pamphlet).
City directory. 1970-1998.
Commercial and residential development status. City of Safford. 25 June 2008.
Copper: More than metal. Educational Supplement. Phelps Dodge Foundation.
Discovery Park Campus. Eastern Arizona College. (pamphlet)
Graham & Greenlee county Visitors Guide 2008.
Graham County Chamber of Commerce. List of numbers.
Graham County Historic Walking and Driving Tour (pamphlet).
Life the way it ought to be. Graham County Arizona (pamphlet)
Morenci Copper Mine Tour. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. (pamphlet)
Mt. Graham International Observatory. The University of Arizona. (pamphlet)
Northern Arizona University. Distance Learning (pamphlet).
Old West Highway Guide. 2008
Take a ride with ‘Senor Salsa’ on Arizona’s Salsa Trail. (pamphlet)
Thriftee Food & Drug. Advertisements. August 2008.
Valley Crosswinds. 2008. 3(1): Summer.
Quincy
Comprehensive Plan and Zoning map. Quincy. 19 December 2006. (with notation by
Curt Morrs)
Quincy, WA area profile. Quincy Chamber of Commerce.
Quincy: Planted, cultivated, and growing fast! 2006. Columbia Basin Herald. 12
September.
Silver City
Get a GRIP . Newsletter of the Gila Resources Information Project. 2001-2008.
Gila Cliff Dwellings. National Park Service.
Gila Resources Information Project. 2008. Pamphlet.
293
Historic Silver City Area Scenic Tours. Grant County Chamber of Commerce.
Land use and growth management plan. 1995. Town of Silver City.
Naegle, C. Arizona and the West. Reprint of the Rebellion of Grant County, New Mexico
in 1876. University of Arizona Press.
Saving the Gila. New Mexico’s Last Wild River. Gila Conservation Coalition. (pamphlet)
Silver City Grant County Chamber of Commerce. 2008 Annual Leadership Awards.
(newspaper insert)
Silver City MainStreet Project Fact Sheet. 2005.
Silver City Museum (pamphlet).
Silver City nabs hallmark EDA award for preservation-based economic development.
2008. MainStreet News. No. 251, pg. 15.
Silver City New Mexico: One of the Best Small Towns in America (pamphlet).
The Official Historic Downtown Guide & Business Directory. Silver City Downtown
Merchants and Silver City MainStreet Project (pamphlet).
Visit the Tyrone Mine Reclamation Overlook (pamphlet).
Walking tour maps: Gospel Hill, La Capilla, Downtown.
Wellington
Barlow, D. Born-again Wellington is turning the corner. 1979. Coloradoan. 14 October.
Barlow, D. Wilson Leeper: Wellington’s prime mover. 1979. Coloradoan. 14 October.
Bearwald, M. 1968. Wellington, the town that wouldn’t die. Empire Magazine.
Bee Family Centennial Farm Museum Interpretive Guide.
Community Work Group. Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Values. 2008.
Gagnon, J. 1971. Some Wellington residents grateful, others suspicious. Coloradoan. 19
December.
Halverstadt, J. 1980 Prosper or die: Wellington: Changes must be made. Sunday Review.
Coloradoan. 30 March.
Patton, G. 1977. Wellington sets out to maintain a ‘community.’ Coloradoan. 6 November
1977.
Persons, D. 1995. Attraction to rural community keeps building. Coloradoan. 2 December.
Proctor, G. 1980. Racing: Big boom for Wellington? Coloradoan. 31 August.
Ruisard, D. 1999. Wellington building has seen (and been) it all. Coloradoan. 2 August.
Smith, G. 1979. Proposed Wellington comprehensive plan completed. Wellington Hi-
Ltes.
Transition to Community Inclusion Team. 12 May 2008.
Travis, W. 2008. Seeing the end of suburbia in a tank of gas (unpublished)
Wellington Street Map.
Wellington: Decade of Change. 1967-1977. Supplement to the Wellington Hi-Lites.
October 1977.
Wellington’s First 100 Years.
294
Steamboat Springs
8 million dollar transaction. 1969. Steamboat Pilot. 25 September.
9,000 people call Steamboat home. 9,000 when you’re here. Steamboat Resorts
advertisement. 2000s.
Blake, P . 1969. Steamboat Springs’ ship comes in. Rocky Mountain News. 9 Feburary.
Carrier, J. 1985. Computers in the pines: It’s a spacey idea for resort jobs. Denver Post. 27
January.
Carrier, J. 1985. Growth, hopes for world –class resort status conflict with past. Denver
Post. 27 January.
Engelken, N. Community Housing Update. 10 June 2008.
Jarchow, N. 1994. Growing concerns: A community ponders its future. Steamboat
Magazine. Summer/Fall.
Ling-Temco Vought advertisements, 1980s.
Ross, T. 2006. Discounts at a price. Steamboat Pilot. March.
Steamboat Springs area maps. Summer/Fall 2008.
Steamboat Springs Population Estimates as of July 1, 2007. City of Steamboat Springs.
Department of Planning Services.
Steamboat Springs Transit Spring Schedule 2007 (pamphlet).
Taking care of our own. 1999. Steamboat Pilot. Opinion column.
The Gold Mine: Steamboat’s Nationally Known Gourmet Restaurant. Advertisement.
1974.
The Steamboat Guide Book. Summer/Fall 2008.
Tread of Pioneers Museum (pamphlet)
Wahl, R. and D.K. Landers. Illustrations by S. Scanlon. 1983. Up Home: Steamburgh Falls.
Cartoon Strip & Coloring Book. A spectrum of life in northwest Colorado.
Wal-Mart chain of events. 1987. Steamboat Pilot. 9 April.
Welcome to Historic Routt County! (pamphlet)
295
Appendix C
Interviews conducted March to August 2008
Ellensburg
Ron Criddlebaugh, Executive Director, Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce, 17 March
Mike Smith, Senior Planner, City of Ellensburg, 24 March
Timothy Bishop, Executive Director, Ellensburg Downtown Association, 24 March
Jeff Robinson, managing editor, Daily Record, 28 March
Kenneth Munsell, former director, Small Town Institute, 2 April
Nancy Lillquist, mayor, City of Ellensburg, 4 April
Stan Bassett, council member, City of Ellensburg, 8 April
Erin Black, curator, Kittitas County Museum, 24 April
Quincy
Tim Snead, City Administrator, 18 March
Harriet Weber, Quincy Valley Historical Society, 18 March
Linda Smith, Chamber of Commerce, 18 March
Scott Lybbert, councilman, City of Quincy, 27 March
Janet Lybbert, City of Quincy, 27 March
Curt Morris, Board President, Port of Quincy, 1 April
Jose Saldaña, Councilman, City of Quincy, 1 April
Jim Hemberry, Mayor, City of Quincy, 3 April
Chuck Allen, editor, Quincy Valley Record, 25 April
Anaconda
Robert Horne Jr., planner, Applied Communications, 13 May
Connie Daniels, county planner, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, 13 May
Jerry Hansen, director, Anaconda Historical Society, 14 May and 20 May
Linda Sather, commissioner, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, 14 May
Becky Guay, chief executive, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, 15 May
Kathie Miller, editor, Anaconda Leader, 19 May
Barbara Anderossi, extension agent, 22 May
Jim Davison, Economic Development, 23 May
Faye Najaar, board member, Anaconda Chamber of Commerce, 23 Friday
Steamboat Springs
Sandra Evans Hall, executive vice president, Steamboat Springs Chamber of Commerce
Resort Association, 3 June
Jonathan Schechter, executive director, Charture Institute, 9 June
Loui Antonucci, president, Steamboat Springs City Council, 9 June
296
Tracy Barnett, director, Mainstreet Steamboat Springs, 4 June
Tammie Delaney, project manager, Vision 2030, 5 June
Noreen Moore, business resource director, Routt County Economic Development
Cooperative, 4 June
Tom Leeson, director, Steamboat Springs Department of Planning and Community
Development,12 June
Jonathan Spence, planner, Steamboat Springs Department of Planning and Community
Development, 11 June
Alexis Casale, historic preservation planner, Steamboat Springs Department of Planning
and Community Development, 11 June
Towny Anderson, executive director, Historic Routt County, 13 June
Wellington
JoAn Bjarko, editor, North Forty News, 26 June
Mishie Daknis, trustee, Town of Wellington, 26 June
Elizabeth Harrison, manager, Bee Centennial Farm, 2 July
Russell Legg, director of planning, Larimer County, 3 July
Larry Noel, mayor, Town of Wellington, 3 July
Wendell Nelson, chairman, Wellington Chamber of Commerce, 4 July
William Schneider, director, Wellington History Museum (Vestige Press), 7 July
Travis Vieira, trustee, Town of Wellington, 7 July
Silver City
Judy Ward, councilwoman, Town of Silver City, 17 July
Susan Berry, director, Silver City Museum, 18 July
James Marshall, mayor, Town of Silver City, 18 July
Faye McCalmont, Mimbres Region Arts Council, 23 July
Allyson Siwik, executive director, Gilla River Information Project, 28 July
Simon Wheaton-Smith, councilman, Town of Silver City, 28 July
Frank Milan, director, Mainstreet Silver City, 29 July
Peter Russell, Director of Community Development, 29 July
Safford
Sheldon Miller, executive director, Graham County Chamber of Commerce, 4 August
Kimball Hansen, public relations, Freemont McMoRan, 5 August
Dustin Welker, Community Development, City of Safford, 5 August
Danny Smith, councilman, City of Safford, 6 August
Heath Brown, planner, City of Thatcher, 6 August
Richard Ortega, councilman, City of Safford, 7 August
Jake Schroder, owner, Thriftee Food & Drug, 7 August
JoJo Schroder, owner, Thriftee Food & Drug, 7 August
Hal Herbert, historian, City of Safford, 8 August
297
Appendix D
Questions submitted to University of Southern California’s IRB for review
My name is Jennifer Mapes, I’m a graduate student in Geography at University of
Southern California. I study small towns, and have chosen X as one of my study sites.
I’m interested in how towns are changing and how they are (or aren’t) tied into global
changes like globalization, the internet and regional migration. I’ve been living in
the city for the past X weeks, and have spent time reading up on the history of your
town and attended city council meetings, but would like to also get community leader
perspectives in my research.
I am hoping to interview key decision-makers in X about their views of the town, and
how it has or hasn’t changed in the past 10- 20 years. I was wondering if you would
have time for a short conversation (15-20 minutes) sometime within the next month?
If you would be willing to speak with me, I would be able to meet with you at your
convenience, in person or on the phone (cell: 213-590-8657; email, jmapes@usc.edu,
would also work).
The following are some very generic questions, I’m interested in how they apply
specifically to your community.
Q1: How has the form of your town changed in the past 10-20 years?
— New/different forms of employment
— Population growth: who is moving into the town?
— New buildings, stores or industries?
— Has the town been “improved” with new infrastructure, etc.?
Q2: How has the character of your town changed in the past 10-20 years?
— If your town is expanding physically, does this affect the town’s character?
— Has the “sense of community” changed in the past years? Increased,
decreased, shifted in focus?
— How would you describe the character of your town, compared with what
you see as the “typical” small town
— What other expectations do people have about small towns and how do/don’t
they apply to yours?
Q3: Assuming you think your town has changed in the past 10-20 years, what type of
conflicts have emerged as a result of these changes? (Conflict does not necessarily mean
arguments, but differences of opinion between residents or town leaders)
— Are there pro/anti growth factions in town?
— Are there differences in terms of the type of development/employment
people would like to see?
— Are there differences in opinion about whether “change” (in any capacity) is
a good or bad thing?
298
Appendix E
Media articles on small towns, 2000-2007
Author Publication Title Date
Allen, G. National Public Radio Hispanic workers transform Mid-
west towns
Alvarez, F. Los Angeles Times If you’ve heard of Santa Paula, it’s
because of him
28-Nov-
05
Bailey, J. New York Times Subsidies keep airlines flying to
small towns
6-Oct-06
Banda, P. Los Angeles Times Battle snowballing over Telluride
project
7-Oct-01
Beyette, B. Los Angeles Times Walla Walla: A little Napa in ‘no-
where’
28-Nov-
04
Boorstein,
M.
Washington Post Va. Cities proudly sustain tradition;
independence prized, but it carries
price in taxes sometimes
16-Feb-
03
Bulkeley, W. Wall Street Journal Small town is furious at IBM, once
local hero
31-Jul-03
Burek, J. The Christian Science
Monitor
ocky mountain sigh as slow-lane
life speeds up
6-Apr-06
Butterfield,
F.
New York Times As drug use drops in big cities,
small towns confront upsurge
11-Feb-
02
Carlton, J. Wall Street Journal One tiny town becomes internet-
age power point
7-Mar-07
Cauchon, D. USA Today Big cities lure away North Dakota
youth
24-Feb-
04
Chittum, R. Wall Street Journal Call centers phone home: Small-
town economics lure more compa-
nies to outsource in remote corners
of U.S.
7-Jan-08
Chura, H. New York Times A sleepy mill town coming to life
Church, F. The Oregonian Newcomers swell small town 29-Jun-
05
Cohen, S. Los Angeles Times As small towns fade, so do houses
of worship
15-Sep-
02
Collins, R. Boston Globe Transplants finding best of both
worlds by mixing small-town life-
styles and big-city paychecks
4-Oct-00
299
Constable, B. Daily Herald (Chi-
cago)
Way of life turns into wistful
memories as growth washes over
small towns
15-May-
04
Crary, D. Los Angeles Times Small towns struggle to find den -
tists
28-Sep-
03
Dietrich, W. Seattle Times A town in between: Gangly, charm-
ing and confused, Anacortes seeks
its self
20-Feb-
05
Dribben, M. Philadelphia Inquirer Mexicans feel Bridgeport brush-
off; Language, rental and job rules
leave immigrants uneasy
12-Feb-
07
Duke, L. Washington Post Building a boom behind bars: pris-
ons revive small towns, but costs
are emerging
8-Sep-02
Egan, T. New York Times Seeking clean fuel for a nation, and
a rebirth for small-town Montana
21-Nov-
05
Egan, T. New York Times Amid dying towns of rural plains,
one makes a stand
1-Dec-03
El Nasser, H USA Today Population boom spawns super
cities
11-Jul-05
El Nasser, H USA Today For political trends, think micro-
politan
23-Nov-
04
El Nasser, H USA Today Small-town USA goes ‘micropoli-
tan’
28-Jun-
04
El Nasser, H USA Today Va. Town on slow city pace before
movement began
22-Nov-
06
Essick, K. Wall Street Journal Striking gold: A mining town built
in the mid-1800s, Murphys, Calif.,
is now attracting retirees to the
Sierra Nevada foothihlls
22-Sep-
07
Ferdinand, P. Washington Post Small towns ride snowmobile wave 15-Mar-
01
Fish, L. Philadelphia Inquirer On Great Plains, a population drain 29-Apr-
01
Gardner, M. The Christian Science
Monitor
Outsourcing comes home 22-Oct-
07
Gardner, M. Christian Science
Monitor
Small towns confront an urban
problem
7-Mar-03
Gavin, R. Wall Street Journal Missing: Little Lake in Oregon --
Boat business evaporates, too
3-Oct-01
300
Geranios, N. Los Angeles Times Word out about West’s ‘best small
town’: Housing prices in the Idaho
lakefront community have sky-
rocketed, but are still lower than in
better-known resorts
28-Mar-
04
Gillman, T. Dallas Morning News Small-town blues: Suburbs, brain
drain take toll on slice of Ameri-
cana
30-Jul-01
Gruley, B. Wall Street Journal Rural renewal: Energy boom lifts
small-town hope on Northern
plains
1-Dec-06
Hagengruber,
J.
Spokesman-Review
(Spokane)
On the map and getting bigger:
Formerly small towns strive to bal-
ance boom, preservation
25-Jul-04
Hernandez,
B.
Los Angeles Times Goodbye, city life; Craving green
acres? Urbanites who make the
switch may be in for a rude awak-
ening
25-Jun-
06
Hopkins, J. USA Today High-speed net finds way to small-
town USA
5-Feb-03
Howlett, D. USA Today Minn. Small town just says no to
‘Starbucks Nation’
1-Oct-03
Jacobs, A. New York Times In one small town, radioactive
waste is a welcome sight
29-Mar-
04
Janovich, A. Seattle Post-Intelli-
gencer
Commuting over Cascades is a
‘piece of cake’: Many Kittitas
County residents make trek to jobs
in King County
25-Oct-
04
Jonsson, P. The Christian Science
Monitor
High-tech brings rural towns back
to life
18-Dec-
07
Jonsson, P. Christian Science
Monitor
Rural Greyhound passengers get
last boarding call
26-Aug-
05
Jubera, D. Atlanta Journal-Con-
stitution
Protest in Alabama shows Latino
numbers on the rise in small-town
South: The times, and the economy,
are changin
30-Apr-
06
301
Jubera, D.
and T. Baxter
Atlanta Journal-Con-
stitution
Now South: Lofts, lattes in May-
berry; Even tiny towns are turning
old buildings into trendy apart-
ments close to spas and wired cof-
feehouses
28-May-
06
Kadlec, D. Time Land of the free 7/5/2005
Keen, J. USA Today Fight to save post office is also
fight to save town
6-Mar-06
Kotkin, J. New York Times In small-town America, A big me-
dia market
17-Jun-
01
Kotkin, J. New York Times Downloading some life back into
downtown
18-Jun-
00
Leland, J. New York Times Off to resorts, and carrying their
careers
13-Aug-
07
Lipsher, S. Denver Post Spotlight signals change for small
towns
15-Apr-
02
Lloyd, J. Christian Science
Monitor
Drugs take root in rural America 4-Apr-00
Lloyd, J. Christian Science
Monitor
O Pioneers! Reversing the Great
Plains drain
28-Oct-
03
Machalaba,
D.
Wall Street Journal Stepping back in time: Hanover,
NH, home to Dartmouth College,
is trying to preserve its small-town
feel
10-Nov-
03
Maney, K. USA Today Company town: There’s no escap-
ing the consequences
20-Feb-
07
Manuel, M. Atlanta Journal-Con-
stitution
Big changes in small town, USA:
Locals have second thoughts about
welcoming Honda plant to Ala-
bama
25-Jun-
00
Mehren, E. Los Angeles Times Small town warily sizes up a big
box
18-Apr-
05
Mertens, R. The Christian Science
Monitor
Rural U.S. towns -- left out by
broadband -- build their own
7-Jun-07
Morris, F. National Public Radio Oklahoma mining town a victim of
its own successes
Norris, M. National Public Radio Small Washington town tailors laws
to gang issue
22-May-
07
302
Olson, C. Omaha World-Herald Gretna growth strains roads, small-
town feel
6-Jul-05
Oppen-
heimer, L.
The Oregonian Small towns: The towns they are
a-changin’
2-Oct-05
Pae, P. Los Angeles Times Some firms move jobs ‘onshore’:
To cut costs, Northrop and others
are shipping work to small towns
21-Oct-
07
Palast, G. The Observer The ugliness of Pleasantville USA 22-Oct-
00
Pappas, L. Philadelphia Inquirer Sprawl-out challenge; When Wal-
Mart tries to come to town, it tests
a zoning limit
27-Feb-
03
Parker, S. Christian Science
Monitor
In Arkansas, rural schools say no to
merging
29-Jan-
04
Paulson, A. The Christian Science
Monitor
Some cities reach out to illegal im-
migrants
9-Nov-
07
Phillips, J. Los Angeles Times Time catches up with idyllic small-
town life
30-Jun-
03
Povich, E. Kiplinger Retire to the simpler life in a small
town
3-Oct-07
Robbins, T. National Public Radio Fast-growing Nevada town seeks
neighbor’s water
4/6/2007
Salzman, A. New York Times Small-town sensibility clashes with
commerce
27-Aug-
06
Sanchez, R. Denver Post The growth of ‘exurbia’ 25-Nov-
05
Schneider, K. New York Times Small-town shops bulk up on the
web
16-Nov-
05
Shogren, E. National Public Radio Boomtowns and wildlife in an era
of energy expansion
Sommer-
stein, D.
National Public Radio New York towns hope wind power
will save economy
Stark, J. St. Petersburg Times Developing a development: Mira-
bay; big project, small town
28-Dec-
02
Talk of the
Nation
National Public Radio Small towns and immigration 2/2/2006
303
White, E. Wall Street Journal Call centers in small towns can run
into problems; To deal with attri-
tion, 1-800-FLOWERS.com chang-
es its approach
22-Oct-
07
Wilgoren, J. New York Times What the tooth fairy forgot: Den-
tists for rural America
7-Aug-
02
Wilkinson, T. The Christian Science
Monitor
Gas bonanza shakes dust from
Western towns
11-Apr-
07
Witkowsky,
K.
National Public Radio Montana town suffers from asbes-
tos contamination
Yancey, K. USA Today Someplace special from Beufort
to Bonaparte, these gems of small-
town America sparkle
13-Apr-
01
Zezima, K. New York Times Its mill days gone (and not coming
back), a small town tries plans B
and C
2-Sep-07
The Economist In the Great American Desert 15-Dec-
01
304
Author Topic main Topic sub Topic sub Location focus
Allen, G. Immigration Population
growth
Lexington, NB
Alvarez, F. ST marketing Economic
decline
Santa Paula, CA
Bailey, J. Services Long dis-
tance com-
muters
Lewistown, MT
Banda, P. Development
conflict
ST character Tourism Telluride, CO
Beyette, B. Tourism Agricultural
industry
Walla Walla, WA
Boorstein,
M.
Loss of ser-
vices
Fredricksburg,
V A
Bulkeley, W. Pollution Industry pull
out
Job loss Endicott, NY
Burek, J. Population
growth
Tourism Lake City, CO
Butterfield,
F.
Crime Unemploy-
ment
Poverty Prentiss, MS
Carlton, J. Centers-data Increase
home prices
Quincy, WA
Cauchon, D. Population
decline
Brain drain Dickinson, ND
Chittum, R. Centers-call Employ-
ment
Coeur d’Alene,
ID
Chura, H. Exurbaniza-
tion
ST character Fort Mill, NC
Church, F. Population
growth
Economic
well-being
Ridgefield, OR
Cohen, S. Loss of ser-
vices
population
decline
Virginia, MN
Collins, R. Commute-
long dist
ST character Devel-
opment
conflict
York, ME
Constable, B. Exurbaniza-
tion
ST character Lakemoor, IL
Crary, D. Loss of ser-
vices
Berlin, NH
305
Dietrich, W. Population
growth
ST character Retirees Anacortes, WA
Dribben, M. Immigration Diversity Unem-
ployment
Bridgeport, PA
Duke, L. Employment-
prisons
Malone, NY
Egan, T. Energy boom Resource
boom/bust
Helena, MT
Egan, T. Population
decline
Loss of ser-
vices
Poverty Superior, NB
El Nasser, H Exurbaniza-
tion
Affordable
land/loca-
tion on hwy
Distri-
bution
centers
Ardmore, OK
El Nasser, H Influence Population
increase
Distri-
bution
centers
Wilmington, OH
El Nasser, H Population
growth
Census defi -
nitions
Roanoke Rapids,
NC
El Nasser, H ST marketing ST character Floyd, V A
Essick, K. Migration-re-
tirees
Amenity
migration
Gentrifi -
cation
Murphys, CA
Ferdinand, P. Tourism Millnocket, ME
Fish, L. Population
decline
farming
decline
Bowbells, ND
Gardner, M. Commute-
tele
Goessel, KS
Gardner, M. Homeless-
ness
Unemploy-
ment
Poverty Burlington, WI
Gavin, R. Tourism Drought Detroit, OR
Geranios, N. Migration-
amenities
Housing
prices too
high
Tourism Sandpoint, ID
Gillman, T. Population
decline
Small town
character
Edenton, NC
Gruley, B. Energy boom Alternative
fuel sources
Job gain Washburn, ND
Hagengruber,
J.
Population
growth
Develop-
ment con-
flicts
Sandpoint, ID
306
Hernandez,
B.
Migration-re-
tirees
Springville, CA
Hopkins, J. Internet con-
nections
Mt. Vernon, IL
Howlett, D. ST marketing Excelsior, MN
Jacobs, A. Pollution Poverty Unem-
ployment
Snelling, SC
Janovich, A. Commute-
long dist
Population
growth
Afford-
able
housing
Ellensburg, WA
Jonsson, P. Internet con-
nections
server farms rural econ
devnt
Fitzgerald, GA
Jonsson, P. Loss of ser-
vices
Decreased
connections
Windsor, NC
Jubera, D. Immigration Diversity Albertville, AL
Jubera, D.
and T. Baxter
Revitalization Gentrifica -
tion
Bennettsville, SC
Kadlec, D. Population
decline
Revitaliza-
tion
Marquette, KS
Keen, J. Loss of ser-
vices
population
decline
Rockford, IA
Kotkin, J. Influence Population
growth
Batavia, OH
Kotkin, J. Internet con-
nections
Decline/re-
vitalization
Decline/
revitaliza-
tion
Manning, IA
Leland, J. Commute-
tele
Amenity
migration
Steamboat
Springs, CO
Lipsher, S. Population
growth
Small town
character
Gypsum, CO
Lloyd, J. Crime Hwy con-
nections
Internet
connec-
tions
Alamosa, CO
Lloyd, J. Population
decline
Revitaliza-
tion
Stratton, NB
Machalaba,
D.
Migration-re-
tirees
Develop-
ment con-
flicts
ST char-
acter
Hanover, NH
307
Maney, K. Employment-
change
Corning, NY
Manuel, M. Development
conflict
Small town
character
Corpora-
tions
Lincoln, AL
Mehren, E. Development
conflict
ST character St. Albans, VT
Mertens, R. Internet con-
nections
Digital
divide
Sullivan, IL
Morris, F. Pollution Decline
(resource
town)
Picher, OK
Norris, M. Crime Diversity Sunnyside, WA
Olson, C. Exurbaniza-
tion
Location on
highway
Gretna, NB
Oppen-
heimer, L.
Population
growth
Develop-
ment con-
flicts
Small
town
character
Scappoose, OR
Pae, P. Internet con-
nections
Call centers Afford-
able
housing
Corsicana, V A
Palast, G. Development
conflict
ST character Shelter Island,
NY
Pappas, L. Development
conflict
ST character Pennsburg, PA
Parker, S. Loss of ser-
vices
Valley Springs,
AK
Paulson, A. Immigration Anit-immi-
gration law
Diversity Addison, IL
Phillips, J. Development
conflict
ST character Gentrifi -
cation
Margarita, CA
Povich, E. Migration-re-
tirees
Amenity
migration
ST mar-
keting
Walla Walla, WA
Robbins, T. Population
growth
Water re-
sources
Mesquite, NV
Salzman, A. Development
conflict
ST character Salisbury, CT
Sanchez, R. Exurbaniza-
tion
Develop-
ment con-
flicts
Franktown, CO
308
Schneider, K. Internet con-
nections
Manitowoc, WI
Shogren, E. Energy boom Population
growth
Devel-
opment
conflict
Cody, WY
Sommer-
stein, D.
Energy boom Decline Martinsburg, NY
Stark, J. Development
conflict
ST character Apolo Beach, FL
Talk of the
Nation
Immigration Wausau, WI
White, E. Centers-call Employ-
ment
Alamogordo, TX
Wilgoren, J. Loss of ser-
vices
population
decline
brain
drain
Gregory, SD
Wilkinson, T. Energy boom Develop-
ment pres-
sure
Pinedale, WY
Witkowsky,
K.
Pollution Decline
(resource
town)
Libby, MT
Yancey, K. Revitalization Tourism Market-
ing
Beufort, SC
Zezima, K. ST marketing restructuring Berlin, NH
Population
decline
farming
decline
Cayuga, ND
309
Oakhurst, CA
2,501
Wellsboro, PA 2,501
George West, TX 2,501
Stanton, TX 2,501
Chandler, OK 2,502
Tornillo, TX * 2,503
Polo, IL 2,506
Floral City, FL 2,508
Gate City, VA 2,509
Madison, ME 2,511
Chase City, VA * 2,511
Cadiz, KY 2,512
Farmington, IL 2,513
Brookville, IN 2,513
Hermann, MO 2,515
Stanfield, OR 2,517
Ocean Park, WA 2,517
Sterling, KS 2,519
Atoka, OK 2,519
Steele, MO 2,520
Havana, FL 2,523
New Wilmington, PA 2,523
Eunice, NM 2,528
Ashland City, TN 2,529
Bethany, MO 2,532
Brierwood Bay, TX * 2,532
Kelseyville, CA 2,534
Hope, IN 2,534
Roaring Spring, PA 2,534
Moulton, AL 2,535
North Judson, IN 2,535
Bar Harbor, ME 2,535
New Ellenton, SC 2,537
Queenstown, MD 2,538
Santa Rosa, NM 2,540
Prairie Grove, AR 2,541
St. Johns, AZ 2,542
Henry, IL 2,544
Norwood, NC 2,544
Pawling, NY 2,545
McConnelsville, OH 2,547
Trenton, GA 2,548
San Carlos, AZ 2,549
Appendix F
Urban Clusters by population, 2000 (U.S. Census)
*indicates clusters for which no equivalent incorporated place was available for 1990/2000 data
Richwood, WV 2,549
Madawaska, ME 2,552
Somerset township, MI* 2,552
Versailles, OH 2,552
Mount Orab, OH 2,553
San Saba, TX 2,554
Pittsfield, ME 2,555
Peculiar, MO 2,560
Belle Plaine, IA 2,561
Jasper, FL 2,563
Louisburg, KS 2,566
West Point, VA 2,567
Water Valley, MS 2,568
Drumright, OK 2,568
Mason City, IL 2,570
Iowa, LA 2,570
Kimball, NE 2,570
Greenwich, NY 2,571
Eudora, AR 2,572
Lake Odessa, MI 2,572
David City, NE 2,572
Brewster, OH 2,573
Winamac, IN 2,575
Reed City, MI 2,575
Vienna, GA 2,577
Bald Knob, AR 2,579
Lafayette, OR 2,579
Greensboro, AL 2,580
Tellico Village, TN 2,581
Bunker Hill, IN 2,582
Needville, TX 2,583
Bartlett, TX 2,584
Petersburg, WV 2,584
Covington, IN 2,586
Hampshire, IL 2,591
Union township, IN * 2,593
Sheridan, IN 2,595
Alderson, WV 2,596
Jefferson, OR 2,598
Amboy, IL 2,599
Elmwood, IL 2,599
Checotah, OK 2,599
Granville, NY--VT 2,600
Warrensburg, NY 2,602
French Lick, IN 2,603
Wellington, CO 2,605
Woodcreek, TX 2,607
Girard, KS 2,608
Daingerfield, TX 2,608
Port Aransas, TX 2,608
Plain City, OH 2,609
Metamora, IL 2,616
Junction, TX 2,616
Donalsonville, GA 2,617
Merkel, TX 2,617
Calais, ME 2,618
Carlisle, IN 2,619
Petersburg, IN 2,620
Greensboro, GA 2,621
Charlestown, NH 2,625
White Sulphur Springs,
WV
2,625
Portola, CA 2,626
Ironton, MO 2,627
Oostburg, WI 2,628
Spiro, OK 2,631
Rancho Murieta, CA 2,634
Bellevue, IA 2,634
Evarts, KY 2,640
Covington, OH 2,640
Sylvania, GA 2,641
Bonners Ferry, ID 2,642
Sardis, MS 2,643
Spooner, WI 2,644
Galva, IL 2,645
Jasonville, IN 2,645
Sunset, LA 2,647
Welsh, LA 2,648
Springfield, GA 2,651
Comfort, TX 2,651
Seymour, TX 2,651
Vinton, LA 2,652
Trenton, IL 2,658
Grangerland, TX * 2,659
Schulenburg, TX 2,659
Mattawa, WA 2,661
Rock Valley, IA 2,662
310
Dunkirk, IN 2,665
Cass City, MI 2,670
Coushatta, LA 2,671
Susquehanna Depot, PA 2,671
Zumbrota, MN 2,672
Pea Ridge, AR 2,674
Lena, IL 2,677
Phillipsburg, KS 2,679
Sabina, OH 2,679
Middleville, MI 2,680
Calhoun City, MS 2,681
Buffalo, MO 2,681
West Lafayette, OH 2,688
Stigler, OK 2,688
Scottsdale North, AZ 2,692
Knightstown, IN 2,692
Norway, MI 2,695
Roseau, MN 2,697
Cactus, TX 2,699
Hanceville, AL 2,701
Aromas, CA 2,701
Owensville, MO 2,701
Hartshorne, OK 2,703
Depoe Bay, OR 2,703
Burlington, KS 2,704
Mannford, OK 2,704
Irrigon, OR 2,706
Spring Hill, KS 2,707
Gladwin, MI 2,714
Mount Vernon, KY 2,715
Philippi, WV 2,715
Marked Tree, AR 2,716
Homedale, ID 2,717
Carthage, IL 2,717
Oconto Falls, WI 2,721
El Paso, IL 2,723
Middletown, IN 2,723
Onawa, IA 2,723
New Buffalo, MI 2,724
Hamburg, AR 2,725
Harrisburg, OR 2,725
Montpelier, ID 2,726
Arcola, IL 2,726
Richgrove, CA 2,728
Waterloo, WI 2,728
Butler, IN 2,731
Clarion, IA 2,731
Ithaca, MI 2,731
Loudonville, OH 2,731
Sibley, IA 2,732
Buckner, MO 2,732
Bandon, OR 2,732
Kanab, UT 2,734
West, TX 2,735
Long Beach, WA 2,735
Freer, TX 2,737
Ward, AR 2,739
Camano West, WA* 2,739
Valentine, NE 2,741
McColl, SC 2,742
Bloomfield, IN 2,745
Royse City, TX 2,746
Oceana, WV 2,746
Melrose, MN 2,748
Conrad, MT 2,748
Heavener, OK 2,749
Cold Springs, NV * 2,751
Muldrow, OK 2,753
Hillsboro, KS 2,756
Lyndonville, VT 2,756
Vergennes, VT 2,756
Walters, OK 2,758
Fayette, MO 2,760
Brazoria, TX 2,761
Dayton, WA 2,761
Carson City, MI 2,763
Royston, GA 2,766
Ellsworth, KS 2,769
Caledonia, NY 2,770
Montgomery, MN 2,771
Millstadt, IL 2,773
Sodus, NY 2,774
West Union, OH 2,774
England, AR 2,775
Ridge Manor, FL 2,775
Angels City, CA 2,776
Kalkaska, MI 2,777
Metter, GA 2,778
Mackinaw, IL 2,778
Staples, MN 2,778
Colfax, WA 2,782
Lindsay, OK 2,783
Monee, IL 2,787
Earle, AR 2,791
Dublin, PA 2,792
Tonganoxie, KS 2,794
Cokato, MN 2,794
Quanah, TX 2,795
Appleton, MN 2,797
Wonder Lake, IL 2,798
St. Ignace, MI 2,801
Pawnee, IL 2,802
St. Helen, MI 2,803
Ticonderoga town, NY 2,803
Coeburn, VA 2,804
Monterey, TN 2,805
Deer Park, WA 2,805
Narrows, VA 2,807
Ozark, AR 2,808
Wilton, IA 2,809
New Concord, OH 2,809
Canton, SD 2,810
Fairfield, TX 2,813
Bethel Island, CA 2,816
Garner, IA 2,817
Green Forest, AR 2,819
Durant, MS 2,822
New Castle, CO 2,823
West Brookfield, MA 2,824
Martinsburg, PA 2,824
Big Lake, TX 2,825
Lykens, PA 2,827
Poplar, MT 2,828
Hinton, WV 2,828
Dell Rapids, SD 2,830
Alturas, CA 2,831
Pixley, CA 2,831
Flemingsburg, KY 2,832
Livermore Falls, ME 2,832
Dryden, NY 2,832
Dawson Springs, KY 2,833
Tishomingo, OK 2,836
Eaton, CO 2,837
Premont, TX 2,837
Loogootee, IN 2,839
Caledonia, MN 2,840
Central City, NE 2,843
Darien, GA 2,848
Oakland City, IN 2,848
Caldwell, TX 2,848
Mangum, OK 2,849
Winters, TX 2,849
Amery, WI 2,849
Cadiz, OH 2,850
Whitehouse, OH 2,851
Scotland Neck, NC 2,852
Many, LA 2,855
311
Moorhead, MS 2,855
Reynoldsville, PA 2,855
Fairfax, SC 2,855
Citrus Springs, FL 2,856
Marion, KY 2,856
Youngsville, PA 2,857
McLeansboro, IL 2,859
West Liberty, KY 2,859
Maxton, NC 2,859
Manila, AR 2,860
Moore Haven, FL 2,860
St. Charles, MN 2,860
Fayette, MS 2,864
Weed, CA 2,865
Tahoka, TX 2,865
Eureka, KS 2,866
Hallsville, TX 2,869
Shady Cove, OR 2,871
Middlebury, IN 2,874
Ava, MO 2,874
Homerville, GA 2,877
Abernathy, TX 2,877
Pine Grove, PA 2,881
Lodi, WI 2,882
St. Maries, ID 2,885
Wiggins, MS 2,885
Hamilton, TX 2,886
Omro, WI 2,888
Rugby, ND 2,892
Conneaut Lake, PA 2,893
Yadkinville, NC 2,896
Meyersdale, PA 2,896
Apalachicola, FL 2,900
Hartford, MI 2,900
Sandusky, MI 2,900
Crescent City, FL 2,902
Moravia, NY 2,907
Zimmerman, MN 2,908
Roland, OK 2,908
Brillion, WI 2,908
Minden, NE 2,909
Connell, WA 2,910
Neodesha, KS 2,913
La Conner, WA 2,913
Bulverde, TX * 2,915
Yountville, CA 2,916
St. Francis, MN 2,916
Mound Bayou, MS 2,916
Beulah, ND 2,916
Fulton, MS 2,920
Illnos (part) 2,921
Waterbury, VT 2,921
Long Prairie, MN 2,923
One Hundred Palms, CA* 2,924
Pulaski, WI 2,924
Kemmerer, WY 2,925
New Carlisle, IN 2,926
Adel, IA 2,928
Alma, GA 2,929
Story City, IA 2,929
Haskell, TX 2,930
Morton, MS 2,933
Newport, PA 2,933
Saluda, SC 2,933
Mountain City, TN 2,934
Adairsville, GA 2,940
Sissonville, WV 2,941
Corinth, NY 2,945
Redfield, SD 2,946
Tularosa, NM 2,947
Henrietta, TX 2,947
Newcastle, WY 2,947
Cedar Springs, MI 2,952
Watertown, MN 2,952
Spring Creek, NV 2,960
Lucasville, OH 2,960
Lake Village, AR 2,961
Mount Hood Village, OR 2,962
Galena, KS--MO 2,963
Providence, KY 2,963
Brownstown, IN 2,967
Shepherdstown, WV 2,972
St. Gabriel, LA * 2,973
Berryville, VA 2,973
Everson, WA 2,974
Okemah, OK 2,976
Gretna, NE 2,978
Steeleville, IL 2,981
Blanding, UT 2,984
Waldron, AR 2,986
Norwood Young America,
MN
2,987
Holden Beach, NC 2,989
Stansbury Park, UT 2,989
Gunnison, UT 2,990
Hoisington, KS 2,991
Pine City, MN 2,993
Delta, OH 2,994
Cherokee Village, AR 2,995
Charleston, MS 2,996
Port Gibson, MS 2,998
Bushnell, FL 3,002
Bloomer, WI 3,003
Pine Ridge, SD 3,005
Ozona, TX 3,005
Alachua, FL 3,006
Genoa, OH 3,006
Fairmount, IN 3,009
Laureles, TX * 3,009
Nashville, IL 3,012
Almont, MI 3,012
Lehman township *(Pike
County), PA
3,013
Charlestown town, RI* 3,013
Manti, UT 3,013
Grottoes, VA 3,013
Prescott, AR 3,016
Llano, TX 3,016
New Cordell, OK 3,018
Lordsburg, NM 3,019
Benson, NC 3,019
Santo Domingo Pueblo,
NM
3,020
Delhi, LA 3,021
Walton, NY 3,022
Wilburton, OK 3,023
Shelby, MT 3,025
Windsor, MO 3,028
Warsaw, NC 3,033
Rockville, IN 3,034
Port Barre, LA 3,034
Soda Springs, ID 3,035
Soperton, GA 3,036
Brocton, NY 3,036
Granite Falls, MN 3,037
Ortonville, MI 3,038
Millen, GA 3,039
Tunkhannock, PA 3,042
Spearman, TX 3,044
Greentown, IN 3,046
Mora, MN 3,049
Cuba, MO 3,051
Spicer, MN 3,052
Lodi, OH 3,052
Refugio, TX 3,053
Blissfield, MI 3,057
Hodgenville, KY 3,058
Belvidere, NJ--PA 3,058
Ocean Shores, WA 3,060
Quartzsite, AZ 3,061
312
Dahlonega, GA 3,064
Pageland, SC 3,064
Gilman, IL 3,068
Scottsville, NY 3,068
Seymour (Outagamie
County), WI
3,069
Lebanon, VA 3,073
Oneida, TN 3,074
Cle Elum, WA 3,076
Stanton, KY 3,077
Rogers City, MI 3,080
Howard township, OH* 3,080
Sunbury, OH 3,082
Madison, WV 3,083
Cross Plains, WI 3,083
Boardman, OR 3,084
Arcadia, LA 3,087
Avalon, CA 3,096
Boscobel, WI 3,096
Johnsonburg, PA 3,097
Petersburg, IL 3,099
Elkton, VA 3,100
Odem, TX 3,101
Farmersville, TX 3,102
Tipton, IA 3,104
Nine Mile Falls, WA* 3,104
Wewoka, OK 3,107
Canton, TX 3,107
Locust Grove, GA 3,108
Denton, MD 3,109
Salmon, ID 3,114
Houston, MS 3,114
Windham, OH 3,114
Paris, AR 3,116
Rhinebeck, NY 3,117
Macon, MS 3,121
Waynesville, OH 3,122
Geneva, AL 3,123
Marysville, KS 3,123
Grand Saline, TX 3,124
Frazier Park, CA 3,128
La Grange, NC 3,134
De Soto, KS 3,136
Welch, WV 3,139
Halls, TN 3,142
Fairfield Glade, TN 3,147
Delta, UT 3,147
Lake Arthur, LA 3,149
Eagle, CO 3,151
Missouri Valley, IA 3,153
Murfreesboro, NC 3,153
Cut Bank, MT 3,154
Stilwell, OK 3,156
Winner, SD 3,156
Cleveland, OK 3,157
Ripley, WV 3,158
Barron, WI 3,158
Newton, IL 3,160
Newport, NH 3,160
Yuma, CO 3,163
Windsor, VT * 3,163
Saltillo, MS 3,166
Hillsborough, NH 3,167
Electra, TX 3,167
Akron, NY 3,173
Thayer, MO--AR 3,174
Livingston, TN 3,174
Park Rapids, MN 3,175
Camdenton, MO 3,175
Plainview, MN 3,176
Chilton, WI 3,176
Chaffee, MO 3,177
Portageville, MO 3,179
St. Pauls, NC 3,179
Lagrange, IN 3,186
Ruleville, MS 3,187
Lakeview, OR 3,189
Casey, IL 3,191
Cross City, FL 3,195
Lexington, MS 3,198
Churchville, NY 3,199
Millersburg, OH 3,202
Thomasville, AL 3,208
Delphi, IN 3,208
Burgaw, NC 3,212
Tonkawa, OK 3,212
Kingman, KS 3,213
Ocilla, GA 3,218
Lonaconing, MD * 3,218
Lillington, NC 3,218
Clinton South, TN 3,218
Newberry, MI 3,219
Ajo, AZ 3,221
Tipton, MO 3,221
Newaygo, MI 3,222
Lindsborg, KS 3,224
Sonora, TX 3,226
Princeton, TX 3,231
Louisville, GA 3,233
Bethel, OH 3,233
Grangeville, ID 3,235
Walworth town, NY* 3,238
Burney, CA 3,239
Thermal, CA * 3,239
Shelby, MS 3,239
Ellijay, GA 3,241
Rushville, IL 3,241
Farmerville, LA 3,243
Estacada, OR 3,243
Monticello, IA 3,245
Poteet, TX 3,245
Wills Point, TX 3,246
Westfield, NY 3,247
West Liberty, IA 3,248
Romancoke, MD * 3,248
Johnstown, OH 3,248
Old River-Winfree, TX 3,248
Newton, MS 3,250
Jackson, KY 3,253
Hooks, TX 3,256
Spencer, WV 3,258
Superior, AZ 3,260
Tehama, CA 3,261
Walkerton, IN 3,261
Everett, PA 3,263
North Baltimore, OH 3,267
Maringouin, LA 3,268
Aumsville, OR 3,269
Dermott, AR 3,270
Shallowater, TX 3,271
Glasgow, MT 3,272
Kewaskum, WI 3,272
Franklinton, LA 3,273
Winnsboro, TX 3,274
Louisburg, NC 3,276
New Hampton, IA 3,278
Lyons, GA 3,280
Dyer, TN 3,282
Holton, KS 3,285
Blaine, WA 3,287
Jasper, TN 3,288
Tomahawk, WI 3,288
Troy, NC 3,289
Winnie, TX 3,291
Honea Path, SC 3,296
Jackson, MN 3,298
New Baden, IL 3,305
Belfast, ME 3,305
Bushnell, IL 3,306
Jean Lafitte, LA 3,307
313
Post, TX 3,307
Eagle Grove, IA 3,309
Richland township
(Belmont County), OH*
3,311
Summersville, WV 3,316
Cazenovia, NY 3,317
Washington, GA 3,321
Gypsum, CO 3,323
Hollandale, MS 3,329
Nocona, TX 3,332
Nyssa, OR 3,336
Federalsburg, MD 3,338
Pilot Point, TX 3,338
Forks, WA 3,338
Le Roy, IL 3,340
Baldwin City, KS 3,341
Oak Harbor, OH 3,341
Baltimore, OH 3,342
Taylorsville, NC 3,343
Boyne City, MI 3,348
Eldridge, IA 3,349
Kellogg, ID 3,358
Peotone, IL 3,358
Blackstone, VA 3,359
Red Bud, IL 3,360
Richland, PA 3,360
Topton, PA 3,364
Osage, IA 3,365
Clare, MI 3,368
Vail, CO 3,370
Hesston, KS 3,373
Abbotsford, WI 3,373
Weedsport, NY 3,376
Gibson, IL 3,377
Garnett, KS 3,380
Lowville, NY 3,382
Corning, AR 3,390
Marshall, WI 3,396
Emporium, PA 3,397
Grand Bay, AL 3,398
Lake Wissota, WI 3,398
Vivian, LA 3,401
Tappahannock, VA 3,402
Palmyra, MO 3,407
Wartburg, TN 3,408
Karnes City, TX 3,410
Chelan, WA 3,410
Boonsboro, MD 3,412
Rose Hill, KS 3,413
Barnwell, SC 3,413
New Madrid, MO 3,419
Brodhead, WI 3,420
Cold Spring, NY 3,422
Wolf Point, MT 3,427
Booneville, AR 3,428
Lake Panasoffkee, FL 3,429
Terra Bella, CA 3,430
Columbus, KS 3,430
Provincetown, MA 3,431
Brookshire, TX 3,432
Piggott, AR 3,433
Preston, ID 3,434
Port Royal, PA 3,437
Hiawatha, KS 3,439
Carrollton, OH 3,439
Tybee Island, GA 3,441
Thermopolis, WY 3,442
Swanton, VT 3,444
Maurice River township,
NJ*
3,447
St. Anthony, ID 3,448
Fowlerville, MI 3,450
Mount Gilead, OH 3,452
Blue Earth, MN 3,453
Meadow Lake, NM 3,454
Paulding, OH 3,455
Harrington, DE 3,457
Las Animas, CO 3,458
Olney, TX 3,458
Peshtigo, WI 3,458
Galena, IL 3,460
Milbank, SD 3,460
Skaneateles, NY 3,464
Jim Thorpe, PA 3,467
Two Harbors, MN 3,468
Mount Pleasant, TN 3,469
De Witt, AR 3,471
Benson, MN 3,471
Mescalero Park, TX * 3,474
North Webster, IN 3,477
Stamford, TX 3,478
Avra Valley, AZ 3,481
Byron, MN 3,489
Glouster, OH 3,490
Bishop, TX 3,490
Mount Morris, IL 3,491
Auburn, NE 3,491
Beloit, KS 3,492
Wheatland, WY 3,494
Bolivar, OH 3,497
Hoosick Falls, NY 3,500
Buena Vista, CO 3,501
Hohenwald, TN 3,502
Pinckneyville, IL 3,504
Waldport, OR 3,505
West Point, NE 3,506
Crisfield, MD 3,513
Hawthorne, NV 3,513
Clyde, TX 3,515
Broken Bow, NE 3,516
Horntown, VA * 3,529
Sleepy Eye, MN 3,531
Jefferson, OH 3,532
Knox, IN 3,533
Blackshear, GA 3,534
Livonia, NY 3,534
Crosby, MN 3,535
Kingwood, WV 3,535
Williams, CA 3,537
Clifton, TX 3,539
Jackson, LA 3,540
Rising Sun, MD 3,541
Attica, IN 3,553
Estill, SC 3,554
Sweeny, TX 3,555
Newfane, NY 3,556
Gothenburg, NE 3,559
Smithville, TN 3,559
Algoma, WI 3,559
Richland, MI 3,560
Crane, TX 3,567
Hicksville, OH 3,569
Rigby, ID 3,574
Baldwin, IL 3,575
Hardin, MT 3,575
Coopersville, MI 3,580
Mobridge, SD 3,580
Lago Vista, TX 3,580
Albia, IA 3,581
Horicon, WI 3,581
Ridgeland, SC 3,585
Union City, PA 3,590
Century, FL--AL 3,591
Aledo, IL 3,591
Carrollton, MO 3,595
Pawhuska, OK 3,596
Goldendale, WA 3,596
Gooding, ID 3,598
Pagosa Springs, CO 3,604
Lake Placid, NY 3,607
314
Cairo, IL 3,610
Oakridge, OR 3,611
Lafayette, TN 3,613
Chipley, FL 3,614
Madison, GA 3,616
Kimberly, ID 3,616
Belle Plaine, MN 3,616
Toledo, OR 3,617
Abingdon, IL 3,624
Forestville, CA 3,625
Georgetown, OH 3,626
Daytona Highridge
Estates, FL*
3,627
Eagle Lake, TX 3,629
Cisco, TX 3,631
Clarksville, TX 3,631
Whitesboro, TX 3,631
Mauston, WI 3,635
Hanover, IN 3,639
Carthage, TN 3,639
Lyons, KS 3,642
Cassville, MO 3,643
Williamson, WV--KY 3,646
Willcox, AZ 3,647
Upland, IN 3,647
Jordan, MN 3,650
Cold Spring, MN 3,654
El Dorado Springs, MO 3,654
Boiling Springs, NC 3,656
Tunica, MS 3,658
Cuthbert, GA 3,662
O’Neill, NE 3,664
Nokomis, IL 3,665
Ossian, IN 3,668
Hidalgo East, TX 3,673
Dewey-Humboldt, AZ 3,674
Laurel Lake, NJ * 3,674
Wallace, NC 3,674
Johnston City, IL 3,676
San Joaquin, CA 3,678
Bamberg, SC 3,680
Homer, LA 3,683
Waverly, TN 3,683
Paoli, IN 3,684
Cannon Falls, MN 3,687
Emmetsburg, IA 3,691
Dublin, TX 3,692
Maiden, NC 3,693
Vassar, MI 3,694
Floydada, TX 3,697
Lyons, NY 3,700
Burlington, CO 3,701
Centralia, MO 3,701
Le Sueur, MN 3,702
Prescott, WI 3,702
Buffalo, WY 3,702
Wrightwood, CA 3,705
Hominy, OK 3,706
Manchester, GA 3,707
Chinle, AZ 3,708
Momence, IL 3,711
Mercer, PA 3,715
Farmington, ME 3,716
Manistique, MI 3,719
Cresco, IA 3,720
Ashdown, AR 3,721
East Prairie, MO 3,721
Lambert, MS 3,722
Hamilton, NY 3,722
Dilley, TX 3,722
Battle Mountain, NV 3,723
Camden, TN 3,724
Norton, KS 3,726
Lake Isabella, CA 3,727
Elizabethtown, NC 3,727
Horse Cave, KY 3,735
Sumiton, AL 3,736
Dundee, MI 3,738
Hobart, OK 3,745
Carlisle, IA 3,748
Hugoton, KS 3,751
Scott City, KS 3,752
Burnet, TX 3,756
Hampton, IA 3,760
Rio Dell, CA 3,763
Sheridan, AR 3,765
East Troy, WI 3,768
Carthage, MS 3,773
Bishopville, SC 3,777
Ligonier, PA 3,778
Brinkley, AR 3,784
Benton City, WA 3,784
Harrison (Clare County),
MI
3,785
Prairie View, TX 3,786
West Hurley, NY 3,795
Mocksville, NC 3,795
Holbrook, AZ 3,796
Vandalia, MO 3,798
Eastland, TX 3,798
Palmetto, GA 3,799
Butler, MO 3,803
Freeburg, IL 3,804
Port Hadlock-Irondale,
WA *
3,804
Pierre Part, LA 3,809
Cottonport, LA 3,811
Orofino, ID 3,815
Chincoteague, VA 3,819
Wingate, NC 3,822
Angier, NC 3,827
Wurtsboro, NY 3,833
Nowata, OK 3,833
Jamestown, OH 3,835
Allendale, SC 3,840
Spout Springs, NC * 3,844
Woodville, TX 3,846
Sauk Centre, MN 3,851
Camano, WA * 3,857
Fellsmere, FL 3,858
St. James, MO 3,858
Mount Vernon, MO 3,859
Fairview, TN 3,859
Jena, LA 3,860
Dyersville, IA 3,862
Brent, AL 3,863
Bluffton, OH 3,867
Baldwin, WI 3,867
Lancaster, KY 3,868
Smithville, TX 3,869
Madill, OK 3,878
Fort Gibson, OK 3,880
Castroville, TX 3,880
Bellville, TX 3,881
Jackson, AL 3,882
Watkins Glen, NY 3,882
Friona, TX 3,882
Carey, OH 3,884
Paris--Norway, ME* 3,887
Havana, IL 3,894
Madisonville, TX 3,895
Sayre, OK 3,900
Cedarville, OH 3,903
Kayenta, AZ 3,904
Marshall, IL 3,908
315
Fair Haven, VT 3,910
Folkston, GA 3,914
Iron River, MI 3,914
Littleton, NH 3,920
Bonifay, FL 3,925
Scottsville, KY 3,927
Vado, NM * 3,931
Dodgeville, WI 3,931
Woodstown, NJ 3,935
Redland, FL* 3,936
Wahoo, NE 3,936
Mount Morris, NY 3,936
Lead, SD 3,936
Ely, MN 3,937
Eagar, AZ 3,941
Smithville, MO 3,941
Avon, NY 3,942
Wisconsin Dells, WI 3,943
Veneta, OR 3,946
Fayette, AL 3,948
Stuarts Draft, VA 3,948
Yerington, NV 3,950
Walworth, WI 3,950
Alfred, NY 3,954
Hawkinsville, GA 3,957
Plymouth, NH 3,957
Cambridge City, IN 3,958
Red Springs, NC 3,958
Treasure Lake, PA 3,958
Denmark, SC 3,958
Alvarado, TX 3,960
Fort Branch, IN 3,964
Princeton, MN 3,967
Elma, WA 3,967
Ladysmith, WI 3,968
Northfield, VT 3,969
Claxton, GA 3,972
Sharpsburg, NC 3,972
Viroqua, WI 3,972
Yellow Springs, OH 3,975
Pell City, AL 3,978
Shelley, ID 3,978
Louisiana, MO 3,979
Farmville, NC 3,979
Helendale, CA* 3,980
Stewartstown, PA 3,980
Argentine, MI 3,984
Broken Bow, OK 3,986
Roosevelt, UT 3,994
Bad Axe, MI 3,995
Mansfield, PA 3,996
California, MO 4,000
Hot Springs, SD 4,000
Eldorado at Santa Fe, NM 4,002
Hayti, MO 4,003
Crewe, VA 4,004
Woodstock, VA 4,005
Bridgeport, TX 4,007
Germantown Hills, IL 4,011
Hazel Green, AL 4,014
Bicknell, IN 4,015
Madison, FL 4,019
Wilmer, TX 4,024
Alma, AR 4,031
Fairbury, IL 4,032
Selmer, TN 4,032
Orange, VA 4,032
Lancaster, WI 4,042
Mount Sterling, IL 4,043
Malakoff, TX 4,043
Waukon, IA 4,047
Groesbeck, TX 4,050
Sparta, GA 4,054
Warsaw, NY 4,054
Madisonville, TN 4,063
Rio Vista, CA 4,064
Carleton, MI 4,066
Dannemora, NY 4,070
Roxborough Park, CO * 4,071
Corydon, IN 4,071
St. Marys, WV--OH 4,072
Quinlan, TX 4,077
Blanchester, OH 4,080
Portland, MI 4,082
Archbold, OH 4,082
Cottonwood, CA 4,089
Sparta, TN 4,089
Hazlehurst, GA 4,091
Calipatria, CA 4,095
Pojoaque, NM 4,096
Kingfisher, OK 4,096
Moapa Valley, NV 4,098
Arizona City, AZ 4,102
Christopher, IL 4,106
Woodland, WA 4,107
Caribou, ME 4,109
Pipestone, MN 4,112
Hampton, SC 4,113
Walsenburg, CO 4,116
Jackson, GA 4,116
Cumberland, KY 4,118
Andrews, SC 4,122
Cozad, NE 4,125
Buhl, ID 4,128
Piedmont, AL 4,132
Nashville, GA 4,132
Lonoke, AR 4,133
Wellington, OH 4,134
Constantine, MI 4,135
Planada, CA 4,138
Union Springs, AL 4,139
Rancho Calaveras, CA* 4,142
Pelham, GA 4,148
American Falls, ID 4,149
Hebron, IN 4,150
Benton, KY 4,152
Holley, NY 4,153
McGehee, AR 4,155
Irvine, KY 4,155
Windom, MN 4,158
Grayling, MI 4,163
Savanna, IL--IA 4,164
Green Pastures, TX * 4,168
Presidio, TX 4,168
Haleyville, AL 4,171
Clover, SC 4,174
Kane, PA 4,175
Pittsfield, IL 4,178
Houlton, ME 4,178
Bellows Falls, VT—NH* 4,178
Fredericktown, MO 4,181
Fordyce, AR 4,182
Aurora, NE 4,182
Ross township (Monroe
County), PA
4,186
Evansville, WI 4,186
San Manuel, AZ 4,198
Imlay City, MI 4,204
Medford, WI 4,204
Louisa, KY--WV 4,205
Ste. Genevieve, MO 4,205
Montpelier, OH 4,206
Swanton, OH 4,210
Wadena, MN 4,211
Mount Union, PA 4,213
Middlefield, OH 4,217
Albion, PA 4,219
Wamego, KS 4,220
Jacksboro, TX 4,226
316
Saxonburg, PA 4,233
Silver Creek, NY 4,234
Florence, CO 4,240
Berryville, AR 4,241
Edgefield, SC 4,242
Ravenswood, WV 4,245
Ephraim, UT 4,246
Broadway, VA 4,246
Polson, MT 4,247
Libby, MT 4,248
Strasburg, VA 4,249
Fritch, TX 4,255
Battlement Mesa, CO 4,256
Seville, OH 4,256
Dimmitt, TX 4,259
Blakely, GA 4,261
Millersburg, PA 4,263
Osceola, IA 4,264
Forest City, IA 4,267
Comanche, TX 4,270
Barnesville, OH 4,273
Pembroke, NC 4,277
Loudon, TN 4,279
Colonial Beach, VA 4,281
Stanford, KY 4,282
Springville, NY 4,282
Oregon, IL 4,284
Eudora, KS 4,288
Clifton, AZ 4,292
Tallassee, AL 4,298
Dillon, MT 4,306
Fairbury, NE 4,307
Lexington, MO 4,308
Benson, AZ 4,312
Marlow, OK 4,313
Hempstead, TX 4,317
Columbus, TX 4,323
Harrah, OK 4,324
Hebbronville, TX 4,324
Perry, MI 4,329
Eagle Mountain, TX 4,329
Burns, OR 4,330
Russell, KS 4,331
Ripley, MS 4,334
North Branch, MN 4,336
De Funiak Springs, FL 4,337
Towanda, PA 4,338
Walhalla, SC 4,338
Pontotoc, MS 4,339
Houtzdale, PA 4,343
Ballinger, TX 4,345
West Jefferson, OH* 4,346
Ely, NV 4,348
Opp, AL 4,351
Bristow, OK 4,353
Benton, LA 4,357
Port St. Joe, FL 4,358
Mifflinburg, PA 4,363
Bremen, GA 4,371
Eatonton, GA 4,371
Diamondhead, MS 4,371
Breckenridge, CO 4,377
Oconto, WI 4,382
Muleshoe, TX 4,383
Edgewood, NM 4,384
DeQuincy, LA 4,385
Lamar, MO 4,385
Emmitsburg, MD--PA 4,386
Magee, MS 4,395
Liberty, NY 4,398
Rocky Mount, VA 4,398
Nassau Village-Ratliff, FL 4,400
Landrum, SC--NC 4,401
Pecan Plantation, TX * 4,402
Jefferson, IA 4,405
New Lebanon, OH 4,406
Ahoskie, NC 4,407
Ketchum, ID 4,419
Falls City, NE 4,419
Perry, NY 4,419
Columbia, KY 4,421
McGregor, TX 4,430
Columbus, WI 4,432
Newcomerstown, OH 4,436
Pocomoke City, MD 4,437
Fair Oaks Ranch, TX 4,437
Lawrenceville, VA 4,437
Chariton, IA 4,440
Berne, IN 4,442
Osawatomie, KS 4,448
Brookfield, MO 4,450
Laughlin, NV 4,450
Carmichaels, PA 4,451
Teague, TX 4,451
Walnut Grove, GA 4,452
Denver City, TX 4,452
Blountstown, FL 4,459
Gulf Shores, AL 4,462
St. Joseph, IL 4,467
Camden, ME 4,468
North Brookfield, MA 4,473
Whiteville, TN 4,473
Ivanhoe, CA 4,474
Belle Fourche, SD 4,476
Sanger, TX 4,477
Citrus Ridge, FL* 4,478
Sparta, IL 4,481
Cotulla, TX 4,484
Mitchell, IN 4,485
Luverne, MN 4,491
Wayland, MI 4,496
Grafton, ND 4,503
Canyon Lake, TX 4,513
Dunnellon, FL 4,515
Bunkie, LA 4,515
Higginsville, MO 4,515
Grantsville, UT 4,516
Browning, MT 4,517
Tazewell, VA 4,519
Rayville, LA 4,524
Clay Center, KS 4,526
Woodruff, SC 4,528
Nephi, UT 4,531
Nanty-Glo, PA 4,537
Chattahoochee, FL 4,540
Carlyle, IL 4,540
Sullivan, IL 4,541
Rocky Ford, CO 4,545
Mamou, LA 4,556
Ogallala, NE 4,556
Gouverneur, NY 4,556
East Tawas, MI 4,558
Mountain Grove, MO 4,558
Pittsburg, TX 4,563
South Hill, VA 4,570
Hearne, TX 4,572
Hilmar-Irwin, CA 4,573
Oneonta, AL 4,578
Platte City, MO 4,578
Morrison, IL 4,579
Little Elm, TX 4,588
Lake Butler, FL 4,589
Bedford, PA 4,592
Tupper Lake, NY 4,593
Frederick, OK 4,593
Altavista, VA 4,593
Sheldon, IA 4,612
317
Reedsport, OR 4,613
Crozet, VA 4,614
Paden City, WV 4,618
Savannah, MO 4,621
New Lexington, OH 4,626
Parker, AZ 4,627
Tuscola, IL 4,636
Big Park, AZ 4,647
Arcade, NY 4,649
Robertsdale, AL 4,650
Watonga, OK 4,651
Baxter Springs, KS 4,652
South Vacherie, LA 4,652
Columbia Falls, MT 4,652
St. James, MN 4,657
White Hall, IL 4,658
Sulphur, OK 4,658
Frankenmuth, MI 4,667
Giddings, TX 4,669
Charleston, MO 4,671
Sussex, NJ 4,676
Mahanoy City, PA 4,676
Gustine, CA 4,681
Brooklyn, MI 4,683
Church Point, LA 4,687
Charlevoix, MI 4,688
Rusk, TX 4,695
Bremen, IN 4,696
Winona, MS 4,698
Millsboro, DE 4,700
Snowflake, AZ 4,701
St. Johnsbury, VT 4,703
Ridgway, PA 4,705
Coleman, TX 4,706
Newport, NC 4,712
Plymouth, NC 4,727
Rathdrum, ID 4,730
West Salem, WI 4,733
Colorado City, AZ--UT 4,734
Nashville, AR 4,737
Poolesville, MD 4,740
Masontown, PA 4,740
Glennville, GA 4,741
Potosi, MO 4,741
Brookville, PA 4,746
Trenton, TN 4,748
Chelsea, MI 4,753
Stagecoach, TX 4,753
Ferriday, LA 4,756
Lima, NY 4,758
Hamlin town, NY* 4,759
Luray, VA 4,760
Clanton, AL 4,765
Quitman, GA 4,767
Creswell, OR 4,771
Sealy, TX 4,773
Manning, SC 4,774
Williamstown, PA 4,775
Mineola, TX 4,775
Gilmer, TX 4,782
Eagle Point, OR 4,786
Middlebury, VT 4,786
Mayodan, NC 4,795
La Grulla, TX 4,795
Coquille, OR 4,796
Sidney, NY 4,798
Beebe, AR 4,801
Millinocket, ME 4,801
Paxton, IL 4,802
Mountain Lake Park, MD 4,810
Plainfield, CT 4,818
Valatie, NY 4,818
Hines, TX * 4,822
Cherokee, IA 4,828
Odessa, MO 4,829
Livingston, TX 4,831
Commerce, GA 4,835
Itta Bena, MS 4,835
Goodland, KS 4,840
Monte Vista, CO 4,841
Malvern, OH 4,844
Newport, VT 4,846
Winterset, IA 4,851
Sullivan, IN 4,855
Manchester, KY 4,856
Grayson, KY 4,859
Morris, MN 4,863
De Witt, IA 4,864
Berlin, WI 4,866
Clintonville, WI 4,868
Birch Bay, WA 4,872
Roanoke, AL 4,873
Jonesboro, LA 4,877
Mount Olive, NC 4,887
Etowah, TN 4,887
Crittenden, KY 4,891
Carrollton, KY 4,894
Wickenburg, AZ 4,897
Temescal Valley, CA* 4,897
Bridgeport, AL--TN 4,904
North Wesley Chapel,
FL *
4,906
Iowa Falls, IA 4,908
Forney, TX 4,908
Lake City, MN 4,914
Caldwell, OH 4,923
Kinross charter township,
MI *
4,924
Vinton, IA 4,926
Minerva, OH 4,929
Larned, KS 4,939
Running Springs, CA 4,941
Barbourville, KY 4,941
Dansville, NY 4,947
Sweetwater, TN 4,951
Flora, IL 4,953
Chester, IL 4,955
Byron, IL 4,956
Chittenango, NY 4,958
Winchester, IN 4,959
Chisholm, MN 4,960
Dawson, GA 4,961
Skowhegan, ME 4,964
Eldorado, IL 4,966
Cheboygan, MI 4,968
Ashburn, GA 4,971
Weston, WV 4,971
Mayville, WI 4,971
Richland Center, WI 4,972
Springfield, VT 4,979
Jasper, GA 4,989
Guerneville, CA 4,990
Cypress, TX * 4,992
Mount Vernon, IA 5,006
Waynesboro, MS 5,006
Raymond, WA 5,009
Salem, MO 5,012
Dayton, NV 5,014
Decatur, TX 5,019
Tama, IA 5,024
Fremont, MI 5,029
Lucerne, CA 5,035
McRae, GA 5,039
Deer Lodge, MT 5,045
Richfield town
(Washington County),
WI *
5,045
Stanwood, WA 5,047
Taft, TX 5,050
Tulia, TX 5,050
Ravena, NY 5,054
318
Louisville, MS 5,063
Sag Harbor, NY 5,074
Westville, IN 5,077
Childress, TX 5,077
Lake Goodwin, WA 5,077
Ligonier, IN 5,078
Littlestown, PA 5,083
Marianna, AR 5,089
Le Roy, NY 5,090
Batesburg-Leesville, SC 5,090
Harlan, IA 5,091
Owego, NY 5,094
Little Falls, NY 5,095
Taneytown, MD 5,102
Cashmere, WA 5,102
Richmond, MI 5,103
Hartwell, GA 5,105
Picture Rocks, AZ 5,112
Crystal River, FL 5,122
New Prague, MN 5,122
Shelbyville, IL 5,124
Great Barrington, MA 5,125
San Diego, TX 5,125
Genoa City, WI--IL 5,126
Skiatook, OK 5,132
Malden, MO 5,133
Genoa, IL 5,137
Monticello, IL 5,137
New Tazewell, TN 5,143
Rogersville, TN 5,144
Wetumpka, AL 5,146
Perry, OK 5,155
East Palestine, OH 5,165
Woodridge, NY 5,169
Bowling Green, MO 5,178
Paola, KS 5,182
Luling, TX 5,183
Calistoga, CA 5,190
Caro, MI 5,196
Oak Grove (Jackson
County), MO
5,199
Scott City, MO 5,199
Macon, MO 5,202
Jackson, WI 5,202
Baxley, GA 5,204
Crooksville, OH 5,204
Humboldt, IA 5,210
Eureka, IL 5,211
Brandon, SD 5,211
Quincy, WA 5,212
Manteo, NC 5,213
Golden Beach, MD 5,225
Mena, AR 5,227
Redwood Falls, MN 5,229
Sullivan City, TX 5,241
Sioux Center, IA 5,244
La Grange, TX 5,247
Monroeville, AL 5,249
Sidney, MT 5,253
Santaquin, UT 5,258
St. Clair, MO 5,261
Ottawa, OH 5,267
Waverly City, OH 5,267
McKenzie, TN 5,268
Cobleskill, NY 5,270
Lake Mills, WI 5,273
Forsyth, GA 5,276
Fairfield, IL 5,277
Warrenton, MO 5,277
Westport, NC 5,278
Cedar Hill Lakes, MO 5,280
Colville, WA 5,281
Montevideo, MN 5,289
Palacios, TX 5,290
Clarksville, AR 5,295
Manchester, IA 5,300
Kearney, MO 5,314
Emerado, ND 5,318
Prosser, WA 5,322
Douglas, WY 5,324
Childersburg, AL 5,325
Indiantown, FL 5,345
Schuyler, NE 5,346
Mount Shasta, CA 5,352
Hazlehurst, MS 5,356
Edenton, NC 5,357
Morganfield, KY 5,362
Goodyear North, AZ 5,373
Dwight, IL 5,379
Greenville, AL 5,388
Eldon, MO 5,388
Willis, TX 5,390
Greencastle, PA 5,397
Stewartville, MN 5,398
Marion Oaks, FL * 5,399
Kaplan, LA 5,401
Leitchfield, KY 5,403
Glencoe, MN 5,413
Ashville, OH 5,413
Prestonsburg, KY 5,418
Brady, TX 5,420
Henderson, TN 5,428
Attica, NY 5,430
Breese, IL 5,432
Slippery Rock, PA 5,438
Bowie, TX 5,440
Hugo, OK 5,442
West Wendover, NV--UT 5,447
Mathis, TX 5,447
Forsyth, MO 5,464
Frostproof, FL 5,468
Greenfield, OH 5,472
Chadron, NE 5,473
Warrior, AL 5,475
Kasson, MN 5,481
Whitefish, MT 5,485
White Rock, NM 5,487
Grove, OK 5,501
Gillespie, IL 5,508
Wayne, NE 5,513
Montevallo, AL 5,528
Winchendon, MA--NH 5,528
Yulee, FL 5,532
Pleasant Hill, MO 5,533
Clarinda, IA 5,536
Forest, MS 5,542
Cameron, TX 5,548
Floresville, TX 5,551
Waynesboro, GA 5,552
Colby, KS 5,554
Brush, CO 5,564
Fort Meade, FL 5,570
Gladewater, TX 5,572
Shenandoah, IA 5,574
Whiteriver, AZ 5,578
Leland, MS 5,582
Watseka, IL 5,590
Worland, WY 5,593
Morrilton, AR 5,594
Franklin, NC 5,594
Black River Falls, WI 5,602
Anamosa, IA 5,609
Hillsboro, IL 5,610
Weiser, ID--OR 5,612
Pikeville, KY 5,624
Vineyard Haven, MA 5,626
Diboll, TX 5,629
319
Starke, FL 5,631
Canajoharie, NY 5,633
Cochran, GA 5,636
Carmi, IL 5,637
Seminole, OK 5,640
Concordia, KS 5,646
Hot Springs Village, AR 5,648
Huntingburg, IN 5,649
Guadalupe, CA 5,651
Union City, IN--OH 5,652
Syracuse, IN 5,660
Ada, OH 5,661
Yoakum, TX 5,663
Wilmore, KY 5,665
Centerville, IA 5,667
Holdrege, NE 5,669
Williamston, NC 5,675
New Bremen--Minster,
OH
5,682
Rumford, ME 5,683
Heber Springs, AR 5,684
Lake Conroe Eastshore,
TX *
5,688
Kingstree, SC 5,691
Fulton, KY--TN 5,694
Durand, MI 5,697
Show Low, AZ 5,698
Molalla, OR 5,699
Calvert Beach-Long
Beach, MD
5,700
Brookville, OH 5,703
Glenwood, IA 5,704
Powell, WY 5,704
Atlanta, TX 5,705
Dumas, AR 5,708
Eastman, GA 5,710
Williamsburg, KY 5,715
Mount Horeb, WI 5,723
Summit Park, UT * 5,727
Lindale, TX 5,730
Ebensburg, PA 5,734
West Columbia, TX 5,737
Orwigsburg, PA 5,745
Cambria, CA 5,746
Lemoore Station, CA 5,749
Quarryville, PA 5,749
Pocahontas, AR 5,756
Portage, PA 5,758
Holdenville, OK 5,760
Rupert, ID 5,764
Red Hook, NY 5,770
Center, TX 5,770
Beaver Dam, KY 5,774
Egg Harbor City, NJ 5,797
Lisbon, OH 5,798
Mammoth Lakes, CA 5,800
Carthage, TX 5,804
Lebanon, KY 5,805
Anadarko, OK 5,818
Kermit, TX 5,821
Eaton Rapids, MI 5,825
Winnsboro, SC 5,825
De Queen, AR 5,827
Amite City, LA 5,834
Tipton, IN 5,853
Aberdeen, MS 5,859
Cherryville, NC 5,861
Alva, OK 5,861
New Carlisle, OH 5,864
Kuna, ID 5,866
Edna, TX 5,868
Hoopeston, IL 5,872
Falfurrias, TX 5,874
Tillamook, OR 5,889
Belzoni, MS 5,895
Pauls Valley, OK 5,895
Bolivar, TN 5,902
De Motte, IN 5,903
Alpine, TX 5,906
Devine, TX 5,906
Plano, IL 5,911
Belding, MI 5,911
Seminole, TX 5,912
Algona, IA 5,918
Tucumcari, NM 5,930
Richmond, MO 5,931
Mattituck, NY 5,932
Stafford, CT—MA* 5,937
Kaufman, TX 5,938
Montezuma, GA 5,943
Bayard, NM 5,951
Carbondale, CO 5,959
Choctaw Lake, OH* 5,959
Crete, NE 5,960
Canton, NY 5,966
Clifton Forge, VA 5,967
Independence, IA 5,976
Lake Providence, LA 5,984
Junction City, OR 5,986
Laurium, MI 5,988
Lexington, TN 6,003
Winnfield, LA 6,019
Booneville, MS 6,019
Pana, IL 6,025
Rockdale, TX 6,028
Farmville, VA 6,029
Lake Monticello, VA 6,031
Marshfield, MO 6,032
Yelm, WA 6,034
Sandy, OR 6,037
Mullins, SC 6,038
Abbeville, SC 6,043
New Albany, MS 6,046
Warren, AR 6,055
Slaton, TX 6,056
Colusa, CA 6,066
Hamilton, MT 6,070
Presque Isle, ME 6,081
Staunton, IL 6,084
Leadville, CO 6,090
Needles, CA--AZ 6,094
Rensselaer, IN 6,096
Madison, SD 6,097
Bisbee, AZ 6,098
Kenedy, TX 6,101
Blairsville, PA 6,102
Elgin, TX 6,116
Eloy, AZ 6,120
Sinton, TX 6,127
Beardstown, IL 6,133
Sidney, NE 6,134
Honesdale, PA 6,134
Trenton, MO 6,135
Bluffton, SC 6,136
Idabel, OK 6,141
Upper Sandusky, OH 6,161
Buena Vista, VA 6,162
Breckenridge, TX 6,164
Middletown, DE 6,165
Princeton, KY 6,166
Williamston, MI 6,166
Lewisburg, WV 6,169
Paintsville, KY 6,171
Andalusia, AL 6,175
Red Oak, IA 6,180
Coolbaugh township,
PA *
6,182
Boerne, TX 6,184
Aspen, CO 6,186
320
Glendive, MT 6,188
Littlefield, TX 6,192
Rockmart, GA 6,210
Lowell, MI 6,221
Anaconda-Deer Lodge
County, MT
6,223
Jackson, CA 6,227
Carlinville, IL 6,229
Monticello, KY 6,236
Maquoketa, IA 6,244
Fruita, CO 6,246
Bonadelle Ranchos-
Madera Ranchos, CA
6,249
Hillsboro, OH 6,253
Ulysses, KS 6,259
Escalon, CA 6,267
North Manchester, IN 6,281
Seward, NE 6,288
Grafton, WV 6,293
Dowagiac, MI 6,302
Purcellville, VA 6,303
Union Grove, WI 6,305
Huron, CA 6,306
Elberton, GA 6,313
Vinita, OK 6,316
Lake of the Pines, CA 6,323
Allegan, MI 6,323
Basalt, CO 6,325
Dos Palos, CA 6,327
Crystal Springs, MS 6,329
Salem, IN 6,340
Carrizo Springs, TX 6,340
Gunnison, CO 6,344
Linton, IN 6,357
Whiteville, NC 6,364
Springhill, LA 6,365
Chestertown, MD 6,371
Oak Island, NC* 6,371
Iola, KS 6,373
Spring Hill, TN 6,389
Wilderness, VA * 6,391
Ephrata, WA 6,392
Lewistown, MT 6,395
Morehead, KY 6,396
Mexia, TX 6,398
Thurmont, MD 6,405
Pratt, KS 6,407
La Fayette, GA 6,412
Winnsboro, LA 6,414
Wellsville, NY 6,417
Oelwein, IA 6,424
Nevada, IA 6,426

Clyde, OH 6,441
Sturgis, SD 6,451
Geneseo, IL 6,459
Live Oak, FL 6,460
Coxsackie, NY 6,464
Iowa Park, TX 6,465
Carthage, NY 6,467
New Richmond, WI 6,467
Shiprock, NM 6,469
Moab, UT 6,470
Live Oak (Sutter County),
CA
6,471
Salamanca, NY 6,471
Jaffrey, NH 6,475
Salida, CO 6,476
Firebaugh, CA 6,483
Estes Park, CO 6,483
Litchfield, MN 6,487
Wellston, OH 6,489
Hazard, KY 6,492
Cynthiana, KY 6,495
Winters, CA 6,496
Edgerton, WI 6,496
Orange City, IA 6,499
Knob Noster, MO 6,504
Walnut Ridge, AR 6,509
Milan, MI 6,513
Queen Creek, AZ 6,518
Page, AZ 6,521
Adel, GA 6,521
Rincon, GA 6,524
Lake Wildwood, CA* 6,527
Penn Yan, NY 6,536
Marble Falls, TX 6,536
Keystone Heights, FL 6,538
Lander, WY 6,551
Atglen, PA 6,553
Estherville, IA 6,554
Salem, NJ 6,555
Perry, FL 6,565
Demopolis, AL 6,576
Sullivan, MO 6,582
Mecca, CA 6,589
Sylvester, GA 6,589
Union, MO 6,593
Caruthersville, MO 6,594
Arab, AL 6,596
Colorado City, TX 6,599
Marseilles, IL 6,602
Marianna, FL 6,607
Philadelphia, MS 6,613
South Haven, MI 6,632
Titusville, PA 6,663
New Martinsville, WV-
-OH
6,666
Metropolis, IL 6,670
Fort Defiance, AZ--NM 6,677
Fayetteville, TN 6,678
Waconia, MN 6,684
Hernando, MS 6,685
Johnstown--Milliken, CO 6,698
Delta, CO 6,699
Abilene, KS 6,699
Holly Springs, MS 6,708
Sallisaw, OK 6,710
Lampasas, TX 6,724
Holtville, CA 6,727
Barnesville, GA 6,729
Du Quoin, IL 6,729
Wadesboro, NC 6,741
Prairie du Sac--Sauk City,
WI
6,743
Crockett, TX 6,749
Raymond, NH 6,751
Brewton, AL 6,752
Kiel--New Holstein, WI 6,752
Bedford, VA 6,754
Greenwood, AR 6,756
Mansfield, LA 6,768
Batesville, MS 6,768
Pooler, GA 6,777
Boonville, IN 6,784
Valley City, ND 6,790
St. Helena, CA 6,793
Swainsboro, GA 6,793
Richfield, UT 6,797
Elkin, NC 6,801
Lindstrom--Chisago City,
MN
6,802
Portland, IN 6,804
Atlantic, IA 6,804
Medina, NY 6,806
Washington, IA 6,807
Charlestown, IN 6,812
Russellville, KY 6,815
Holly, MI 6,817
Anna, IL 6,824
321
Liberty, TX 6,824
Galax, VA 6,827
Wytheville, VA 6,836
Torrington, WY 6,842
Dacono, CO 6,846
Marengo, IL 6,854
Montesano, WA 6,869
Wind Lake, WI 6,870
Chino Valley, AZ 6,871
Raton, NM 6,879
Georgetown, DE 6,886
Dalhart, TX 6,889
Belgrade, MT 6,893
Woodlake, CA 6,895
Indianola, WA 6,896
Nelsonville, OH 6,898
Jackson, OH 6,910
Clinton, IN 6,920
Batesville, IN 6,924
Interlachen, FL 6,925
Henryetta, OK 6,934
Litchfield, IL 6,939
Hartford City, IN 6,946
Nappanee, IN 6,947
Middleport, OH--WV 6,958
York, SC 6,967
Zuni Pueblo, NM 6,969
Kosciusko, MS 7,000
Gonzales, TX 7,014
Waterford, CA 7,016
Ripon, WI 7,017
Wauseon, OH 7,034
Greenville, IL 7,039
Ione, CA 7,058
Newport, AR 7,062
Au Sable, MI 7,082
Nebraska City, NE 7,083
Manteno, IL 7,106
Wilmington (Will
County), IL
7,107
Denison, IA 7,108
Sandersville, GA 7,111
Earlimart, CA 7,119
Highland Mills, NY 7,127
Mendota, IL 7,142
Corry, PA 7,158
Purcell, OK 7,166
Cullowhee, NC 7,177
Wagoner, OK 7,180
Saranac Lake, NY 7,191
Amory, MS 7,194
Colchester, CT 7,198
Marksville, LA 7,205
Commerce, TX 7,218
De Soto, MO 7,229
Tremonton, UT 7,237
Madras, OR 7,252
Monett, MO 7,267
Blair, NE 7,269
Jeanerette, LA 7,276
White House, TN 7,283
Somerton, AZ 7,290
Wapato, WA 7,294
Rushville, IN 7,301
Camilla, GA 7,305
Ellenville, NY 7,306
Fernley, NV 7,312
Long Neck, DE 7,315
Detroit Lakes, MN 7,315
Poteau, OK 7,326
Yreka, CA 7,327
Monahans, TX 7,329
Ocean View, DE 7,330
Prairie du Chien, WI--IA 7,341
Montgomery--Maybrook,
NY
7,347
Sheridan, OR 7,350
Rochester, IN 7,354
Montgomery, PA 7,362
Columbia City, IN 7,371
Crystal City, TX 7,379
Big Pine Key, FL 7,389
Creston, IA 7,391
Rittman, OH 7,402
Delphos, OH 7,403
Newman, CA 7,408
Willows, CA 7,410
Waterloo, IL 7,419
Seaside, OR 7,420
Lisbon Falls, ME 7,436
Pataskala, OH 7,442
Devils Lake, ND 7,454
Hondo, TX 7,463
Punxsutawney, PA 7,470
Charles City, IA 7,471
Bath, NY 7,473
Cloverdale, CA 7,488
Foley, AL 7,489
Atmore, AL 7,496
Cuero, TX 7,498
Gridley, CA 7,512
Fort Payne, AL 7,533
Nantucket, MA 7,551
Princeton, IL 7,555
Monticello, NY 7,556
Sultan, WA 7,573
Milan, TN 7,574
Orland, CA 7,575
Decorah, IA 7,577
Butner, NC 7,579
Gowanda, NY 7,582
Blackwell, OK 7,589
Chowchilla, CA 7,592
Lexington, VA 7,606
Plattsmouth, NE 7,610
Marshall, MI 7,615
New London, WI 7,621
Geneseo, NY 7,644
Waverly, IA 7,657
Russells Point, OH 7,657
Bloomfield, NM 7,658
Corning, CA 7,671
Tyrone, PA 7,683
Laurel, MT 7,684
Gonzales, CA 7,695
International Falls, MN 7,707
St. Johns, MI 7,712
Eaton, OH 7,714
Bay Minette, AL 7,718
Orange Cove, CA 7,720
Perryton, TX 7,727
Whitehall, MI 7,736
Perry, IA 7,740
New Roads, LA 7,759
La Plata, MD 7,761
Aurora, MO 7,761
Milton-Freewater, OR 7,766
Gaylord, MI 7,769
Mount Vernon, IN 7,770
Knoxville, IA 7,778
Siler City, NC 7,778
Logan, OH 7,782
Inwood, WV 7,784
Port Townsend, WA 7,785
Sutherlin, OR 7,788
Ripley, TN 7,790
St. Martinville, LA 7,794
Myrtle Creek, OR 7,798
California City, CA 7,803
York, NE 7,805
322
Vandalia, IL 7,809
Greenville, MI 7,809
Catskill, NY 7,812
Fort Scott, KS 7,813
Perryville, MO 7,826
Sedona, AZ 7,827
Mount Carmel, IL 7,828
Columbia, MS 7,833
Webster City, IA 7,849
Cleveland, TX 7,851
Ashland, WI 7,851
Oregon, WI 7,851
Navasota, TX 7,854
Reedsburg, WI 7,855
Lawrenceville, IL 7,861
Othello, WA 7,862
Senatobia, MS 7,866
Mendota, CA 7,870
Box Elder, SD 7,871
New Boston, TX 7,874
Patton Village, TX 7,874
Savannah, TN 7,883
Delano--Rockford, MN 7,887
Covington, TN 7,896
Raeford, NC 7,899
Pulaski, TN 7,900
Benton, IL 7,902
Pepperell, MA 7,904
Fabens, TX 7,906
Lowell, IN 7,914
Northern Cambria,* PA 7,929
Hillsboro, TX 7,933
North Windham, ME 7,937
Coolidge, AZ 7,942
Big Stone Gap, VA 7,944
Carolina Shores, NC--SC * 7,947
McCook, NE 7,961
Mount Carmel, PA 7,962
Albion, NY 7,966
Marlin, TX 7,967
Jerome, ID 7,968
Macclenny, FL 7,972
Winsted, CT 7,999
Rifle, CO 8,012
Truckee, CA 8,018
Zelienople, PA 8,019
Cameron, MO 8,048
Crookston, MN 8,049
Willits, CA 8,053
Chaparral, NM 8,060
Cortez, CO 8,061
Trumann, AR 8,074
Hastings, MI 8,075
York Harbor, ME 8,086
Waupaca, WI 8,102
Cushing, OK 8,118
Clinton, IL 8,135
Wynne, AR 8,140
Petoskey, MI 8,158
Jasper, TX 8,160
Tomah, WI 8,167
Southold, NY 8,177
Thomson, GA 8,182
La Junta, CO 8,196
Smithfield, VA 8,197
Oakdale, LA 8,199
Elkhorn, WI 8,204
Hailey, ID 8,227
Pearsall, TX 8,227
Guthrie, OK 8,243
Hurricane, UT 8,246
Chillicothe, IL 8,254
Pryor Creek, OK 8,270
Villa Rica, GA 8,275
Cambridge, MN 8,297
Edinboro, PA 8,306
Lee, MA 8,307
Troy, MO 8,307
Emmett, ID 8,311
Sandpoint, ID 8,312
Bellevue, OH 8,313
Ferndale, WA 8,315
Livingston, MT 8,322
Robinson, IL 8,324
Norton--Wise, VA 8,327
Sweet Home, OR 8,350
Princeton, IN 8,354
Princess Anne, MD 8,364
Mahomet, IL 8,395
Ironwood, MI--WI 8,397
Socorro, NM 8,399
Clear Lake, IA 8,401
Mount Pleasant, IA 8,404
Jerseyville, IL 8,414
Clinton, OK 8,418
Lakes of the Four
Seasons, IN
8,450
Wellington, KS 8,453
Marion, SC 8,465
Omak, WA 8,466
Jefferson township
(Morris County), NJ *
8,475
Plymouth, WI 8,476
Houghton Lake, MI 8,477
North East, PA 8,477
Covington, VA 8,478
London, OH 8,485
Harrisonville, MO 8,486
Auburn--Virden, IL 8,487
Waynesburg, PA 8,488
Portland, TN--KY 8,489
Highland, IL 8,499
Florence, OR 8,499
Norwich, NY 8,505
North East, MD 8,506
Lincoln City, OR 8,523
Grand Rapids, MN 8,525
Kerman, CA 8,539
Harrodsburg, KY 8,539
Pahokee, FL 8,545
Perry, GA 8,547
Augusta, KS 8,549
Lambertville, NJ--PA 8,565
Park City, UT 8,574
Harvard, IL 8,575
Kennebunk, ME 8,576
Zapata, TX 8,580
Logan, WV 8,592
Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ 8,614
Emerald Isle, NC 8,629
Nevada, MO 8,630
Manchester, TN 8,630
Bastrop, TX 8,631
Kutztown, PA 8,652
Monticello, AR 8,686
Middleburg, FL 8,694
Cody, WY 8,704
Olney, IL 8,717
Lake City, SC 8,728
Philipsburg, PA 8,737
Mount Pocono, PA 8,742
Bolivar, MO 8,746
Hubert, NC * 8,759
Erwin, TN 8,772
Paw Paw Lake, MI 8,777
Sturgeon Bay, WI 8,795
Mesquite, NV--AZ 8,808
Tuba City, AZ 8,810
Bella Vista, AR 8,810
Dexter, MO 8,812
323
Graham, TX 8,816
Buckeye, AZ 8,818
West Frankfort, IL 8,830
Orrville, OH 8,835
Truth or Consequences,
NM
8,840
Republic, MO 8,846
Midlothian, TX 8,849
Winslow, AZ 8,859
Lamar, CO 8,866
Sparta, WI 8,866
Brattleboro, VT 8,877
South Boston, VA 8,878
Alliance, NE 8,882
Rawlins, WY 8,894
Hillsdale, MI 8,901
Kenton, OH 8,934
Cheney, WA 8,934
Antigo, WI 8,941
Bryan, OH 8,944
Clinton, MO 8,950
Cairo, GA 8,978
Stevensville, MD 8,980
Silsbee, TX 8,994
West Jupiter, FL * 8,998
Clarion, PA 9,001
Adelanto, CA 9,008
Sequim, WA 9,022
Stayton, OR 9,027
Le Mars, IA 9,031
Cheraw, SC 9,040
Franklin, VA 9,041
Alexander City, AL 9,048
Dayton, TN 9,050
Greenville, PA 9,064
Clinton, NC 9,068
Grinnell, IA 9,069
Buckhannon, WV 9,079
Discovery Bay, CA 9,087
Fairfield Southwest, CA 9,096
Chillicothe, MO 9,096
Rio Bravo, TX * 9,101
Potsdam, NY 9,103
Rayne, LA 9,105
Pawleys Island, SC 9,113
Moncks Corner, SC 9,123
Wharton, TX 9,137
Lynden, WA 9,148
Little Falls, MN 9,149
Russellville, AL 9,151
Thief River Falls, MN 9,176
Richlands, VA 9,176
Hamburg, PA 9,181
Claremont, NH 9,188
Franklin, KY 9,193
Salem, IL 9,194
Napoleon, OH 9,210
Malvern, AR 9,221
Lake Pocotopaug, CT 9,228
Chanute, KS 9,228
Oxford, NC 9,234
Alamosa, CO 9,238
Crossett, AR 9,241
Harlan, KY 9,243
Boonville, MO 9,272
Fairfield, IA 9,279
Pella, IA 9,287
St. Marys, OH 9,288
Newport, OR 9,292
Trinidad, CO 9,297
Vidalia, GA 9,318
Fort Bragg, CA 9,325
Ruidoso, NM 9,331
Emporia, VA 9,336
Eufaula, AL--GA 9,344
Glenpool, OK 9,344
Newmarket, NH 9,356
Winnemucca, NV 9,362
Rice Lake, WI 9,374
Paris, IL 9,376
Chardon, OH 9,399
Shawano, WI 9,412
Pulaski, VA 9,428
Susanville, CA 9,430
Muncy, PA 9,443
Brownfield, TX 9,460
Richmond Hill, GA 9,466
Wildwood, FL 9,469
Munford, TN 9,472
Richland, MS 9,476
Ware, MA 9,482
Springs, NY 9,513
Lutcher--Gramercy, LA 9,515
Williamston, SC 9,523
Weatherford, OK 9,526
Culpeper, VA 9,530
Humboldt, TN 9,542
Dayton, TX 9,556
Zebulon--Wendell, NC 9,564
Glenwood Springs, CO 9,586
Leesville, LA 9,586
Mount Airy, MD 9,593
West Point, MS 9,594
Baker City, OR 9,605
Craig, CO 9,613
Rhinelander, WI 9,645
Cottage Grove, OR 9,652
Buras-Triumph, LA 9,661
Bluffton, IN 9,670
Marion, VA 9,688
Grandview, WA 9,701
Kingsland, TX 9,707
Bonham, TX 9,709
Berrien Springs, MI 9,714
Lovington, NM 9,718
Miles City, MT 9,720
Franklin (Venango
County), PA
9,727
Roxboro, NC 9,731
Martin, TN 9,735
Lewisburg, TN 9,743
Albion, MI 9,749
Ludington, MI 9,758
St. Albans, VT 9,762
Stuttgart, AR 9,770
Monticello, IN 9,789
Heber, UT 9,792
Waseca, MN 9,803
Fredericksburg, TX 9,804
Three Rivers, MI 9,808
Ville Platte, LA 9,813
Elk City, OK 9,818
Portage, WI 9,841
Mechanicville, NY 9,844
Osceola, AR 9,850
Elkins, WV 9,871
Marion, NC 9,881
Lawrenceburg, KY 9,899
Tell City, IN--KY 9,901
La Grange, KY 9,901
Greencastle, IN 9,921
Fort Stockton, TX 9,924
Carroll, IA 9,942
Catalina, AZ 9,953
Steamboat Springs, CO 9,970
Manistee, MI 9,970
Marathon, FL 9,994
Gardner, KS 10,001
Platteville, WI 10,012
Willard, OH 10,016
324
Shady Side, MD 10,018
Brookings, OR 10,030
Merrill, WI 10,031
Quincy, FL 10,042
Chatsworth, GA 10,045
Walterboro, SC 10,064
West Plains, MO 10,065
McFarland, CA 10,071
Jackson, WY 10,072
Scottsboro, AL 10,080
Toccoa, GA 10,089
Brazil, IN 10,101
Lexington, NE 10,110
Shelby, OH 10,119
Monmouth, IL 10,123
Gallitzin, PA 10,137
Labelle, FL 10,151
Lawrenceburg, TN 10,157
Hammonton, NJ 10,183
Vermillion, SD 10,184
Maysville, KY--OH 10,186
Mount Sterling, KY 10,195
Brownsville, TN 10,199
Fairmont, MN 10,221
Jennings, LA 10,222
Lincoln, CA 10,230
Paris, TN 10,240
Clinton, SC 10,245
Decatur, IN 10,247
Windsor, CO 10,253
Fort Valley, GA 10,253
Raymondville, TX 10,267
St. Peter, MN 10,278
Prineville, OR 10,290
Hartselle, AL 10,304
Columbiana, OH 10,317
Independence, KS 10,345
Spearfish, SD 10,354
Bishop, CA 10,359
Somerset, PA 10,362
Union City, TN 10,376
Woodland Park, CO 10,379
Grants, NM 10,404
Central City--Greenville,
KY
10,410
Havre, MT 10,413
Greensburg, IN 10,416
Riverton, WY 10,432
Wapakoneta, OH 10,453
Guymon, OK 10,461
Kendallville, IN 10,464
Neosho, MO 10,478
Atchison, KS--MO 10,482
Burkburnett, TX 10,482
Fortuna, CA 10,483
DeForest, WI 10,484
Magnolia, AR 10,486
Elwood, IN 10,504
Corporaton of Ranson--
Charles Town, WV
10,506
Key Biscayne, FL 10,513
Evergreen, CO 10,527
Hope, AR 10,540
Dillon, SC 10,555
Smyrna, DE 10,556
Arkadelphia, AR 10,565
Andrews, TX 10,569
Batesville, AR 10,578
Angola, IN 10,583
Tallulah, LA 10,603
St. Marys, PA 10,613
Rockland, ME 10,619
Storm Lake, IA 10,635
Buffalo, MN 10,654
Port Washington, WI 10,671
Paris, KY 10,691
Payson, AZ 10,703
Maumelle, AR 10,706
Lockhart, TX 10,714
Grove City, PA 10,727
Mono Vista, CA 10,733
Los Alamos, NM 10,743
New Paltz, NY 10,751
Union, SC 10,790
Keyser, WV--MD 10,796
Pecos, TX 10,819
Plainwell--Otsego, MI 10,871
Lakeport, CA 10,883
Van Wert, OH 10,886
Huntingdon, PA 10,901
Winchester, TN 10,915
Frostburg, MD 10,916
Port Clinton, OH 10,925
Spencer, IA 10,927
Franklin, NH 10,953
Snyder, TX 10,957
Monroe, WI 10,990
Livingston, CA 11,014
Brevard, NC 11,031
Waupun, WI 11,047
Mayfield, KY 11,065
Woodward, OK 11,088
Worthington, MN 11,095
Tucson Southeast, AZ* 11,100
Newport, TN 11,106
Cadillac, MI 11,110
Mexico, MO 11,115
Summerville, GA 11,122
Parlier, CA 11,138
Athens, TX 11,161
Lake Los Angeles, CA 11,181
Hornell, NY 11,196
Sweetwater, TX 11,205
Crossville, TN 11,206
Parsons, KS 11,212
Vernon, TX 11,215
Oxford, PA 11,219
Lake Conroe Westshore,
TX*
11,232
Bellefonte, PA 11,241
Fitzgerald, GA 11,242
Chester, SC 11,242
Rochelle, IL 11,306
Scottsburg--Austin, IN 11,310
Leeds, AL 11,322
De Ridder, LA 11,330
Paw Paw, MI 11,341
Silverton, OR 11,362
North Vernon, IN 11,366
Berlin, NH 11,377
Berea, KY 11,390
Terrell, TX 11,392
Artesia, NM 11,397
Milford, DE 11,407
Spirit Lake, IA 11,434
Coffeyville, KS--OK 11,447
Fulton, MO 11,489
Kennett, MO 11,505
Wilmington, OH 11,519
Soledad, CA 11,524
Malone, NY 11,535
Charlotte, MI 11,539
Hampstead--Manchester,
MD
11,551
Evanston, WY 11,558
Vernal, UT 11,569
Cloquet, MN 11,582
Maryville, MO 11,582
Conneaut, OH 11,583
Braidwood--Coal City, IL 11,607
325
Excelsior Springs, MO 11,614
Portales, NM 11,625
Lebanon, MO 11,628
Mukwonago, WI 11,630
Fort Madison, IA--IL 11,638
Urbana, OH 11,675
Massena, NY 11,703
El Campo, TX 11,708
Coalinga, CA 11,724
Campbellsville, KY 11,733
Ottawa, KS 11,735
Corinth, MS 11,777
Baraboo, WI 11,780
Delavan, WI 11,781
Winfield, KS 11,804
Moberly, MO 11,839
Poinciana, FL 11,846
Wabash, IN 11,883
Indianola, MS 11,891
Troy, AL 11,903
Pleasanton, TX 11,904
Huron, SD 11,916
Big Rapids, MI 11,937
Green River, WY 11,939
Plymouth, IN 11,942
Silver City, NM 11,950
Bainbridge, GA 11,956
Harrisburg, IL 11,982
Tuskegee, AL 12,005
Bennettsville, SC 12,010
Cedartown, GA 12,043
King City, CA 12,054
Brodheadsville, PA 12,054
Boulder City, NV 12,059
Pontiac, IL 12,064
Darlington, SC 12,066
London, KY 12,067
Port Lavaca, TX 12,076
Rosamond, CA 12,077
Georgetown, SC 12,091
Brookhaven, MS 12,096
Washington, IN 12,100
Newberry, SC 12,120
Patterson, CA 12,121
Taos, NM 12,121
Oskaloosa, IA 12,122
Tarboro, NC 12,123
Coshocton, OH 12,125
Glasgow, KY 12,130
Sterling, CO 12,131
Arkansas City, KS 12,165
Airway Heights, WA 12,179
Wahpeton, ND--MN 12,184
DuBois, PA 12,205
Hood River, OR--WA 12,236
Martinsville, IN 12,246
Sandwich, IL 12,248
Camden, AR 12,249
Lamesa, TX 12,254
Kilgore, TX 12,301
Laurens, SC 12,318
Bemidji, MN 12,321
Blythe, CA--AZ 12,355
Lawrenceburg--Aurora--
Greendale, IN
12,399
Boone, IA 12,400
St. Michael, MN 12,465
Point Pleasant, WV--
Gallipolis, OH
12,493
Twentynine Palms, CA 12,496
Shelton, WA 12,501
Easton, MD 12,503
Mountain Home, AR 12,522
Port Isabel, TX 12,535
Cambridge, MD 12,550
Monroe, GA 12,585
Athol, MA 12,634
Lindsay, CA 12,644
Douglas, GA 12,648
Marshall, MN 12,650
Hibbing, MN 12,653
Marshall, MO 12,658
Ogdensburg, NY 12,668
Price, UT 12,683
Eunice, LA 12,699
Silverthorne, CO 12,714
Abingdon, VA 12,716
Jesup, GA 12,738
Clewiston, FL 12,780
Burley, ID 12,806
Shippensburg, PA 12,832
Grenada, MS 12,837
Kewanee, IL 12,867
River Falls, WI 12,908
Orosi, CA 12,917
Harrison, AR 12,923
Canyon, TX 12,928
Bellefontaine, OH 12,941
Indianola, IA 12,948
Taylor, TX 12,956
Henderson, TX 12,968
Beatrice, NE 12,982
San Luis, AZ 12,990
Tehachapi, CA 12,990
Fergus Falls, MN 13,013
Washington, MO 13,019
Dallas, OR 13,030
Williston, ND 13,054
Sulphur Springs, TX 13,064
Avon, CO 13,065
Ishpeming, MI 13,091
Jasper, IN 13,108
Jasper, AL 13,132
Fort Morgan, CO 13,133
Hutchinson, MN 13,166
Bradford, PA—NY* 13,169
Cordele, GA 13,170
Yankton, SD 13,184
Minden, LA 13,205
Whitewater, WI 13,218
Greenfield, CA 13,220
Bennington, VT 13,220
Arvin, CA 13,234
North Bend, WA 13,241
Toppenish, WA 13,251
Bogalusa, LA 13,257
Winder, GA 13,269
Okmulgee, OK 13,290
Sylacauga, AL 13,291
Taft, CA 13,302
Durant, OK 13,313
Placid Lakes, FL 13,350
New Freedom--
Shrewsbury, PA--MD
13,370
Blackfoot, ID 13,374
Mountain Home, ID 13,380
New Ulm, MN 13,385
Canton, MS 13,389
Cornelia, GA 13,408
Bucyrus, OH 13,415
Shelbyville, KY 13,448
Mount Pleasant, TX 13,450
Sturgis, MI 13,468
Levelland, TX 13,511
Dickson, TN 13,552
Astoria, OR 13,556
Robstown, TX 13,579
Hudson, NY 13,607
Jacksonville, TX 13,607
Versailles, KY 13,617
326
Fillmore, CA 13,631
Shafter, CA 13,668
Lapeer, MI 13,668
Greenville, OH 13,676
McPherson, KS 13,699
Franklin, LA 13,709
Kings Mountain, NC 13,722
Belen, NM 13,746
El Dorado, KS 13,789
Bardstown, KY 13,794
Murphysboro, IL 13,819
Front Royal, VA 13,828
Clearlake, CA 13,873
Alexandria, MN 13,883
Morris, IL 13,927
Taylorville, IL 13,931
Rockport, TX 13,934
Keokuk, IA--IL 13,939
Brenham, TX 13,949
Donaldsonville, LA 13,957
Dumas, TX 13,960
Monmouth--
Independence, OR
13,974
West Helena, AR 13,980
Pierre, SD 13,982
Effingham, IL 13,995
Ionia, MI 14,005
Madison, IN--KY 14,046
Houghton, MI 14,119
Siloam Springs, AR--OK 14,143
Mineral Wells, TX 14,185
Arcadia, FL 14,199
Carthage, MO 14,206
Virginia, MN 14,235
La Grande, OR 14,278
Forrest City, AR 14,286
Coldwater, MI 14,293
Sonora, CA 14,300
Globe, AZ 14,304
Reidsville, NC 14,346
Branson--Hollister, MO 14,359
Port Jervis, NY--PA 14,392
California, PA 14,398
Washington, NC 14,418
Lebanon, IN 14,429
McMinnville, TN 14,469
Rantoul, IL 14,472
Borger, TX 14,501
Solvang--Buellton, CA 14,521
Mitchell, SD 14,525
Dunn, NC 14,591
El Reno, OK 14,602
Talladega, AL 14,640
Avenal, CA 14,641
Farmington, MO 14,660
Washington, OH 14,671
Deming, NM 14,687
Middlesborough, KY--
TN--VA
14,719
Pahrump, NV 14,719
Wauchula, FL 14,737
Picayune, MS 14,773
Red Wing, MN 14,774
Clearfield, PA 14,783
Yazoo City, MS 14,856
Safford, AZ 14,862
Forest Lake, MN 14,867
Hartsville, SC 14,907
Wasco, CA 14,986
Redmond, OR 15,029
Anacortes, WA 15,061
Canton, IL 15,111
Big Bear Lake, CA 15,123
Warrenton, VA 15,135
Stephenville, TX 15,140
Monticello--Big Lake, MN 15,179
Goshen, NY 15,183
Alpena, MI 15,200
Bartow, FL 15,268
Sanford, ME 15,286
Hereford, TX 15,301
Gatesville, TX 15,314
Fallon, NV 15,337
Ross Prairie, FL* 15,339
Durango, CO 15,349
Thomaston, GA 15,359
Crowley, LA 15,359
Shelbyville, TN 15,362
Kill Devil Hills, NC 15,423
Athens, TN 15,425
Tomball, TX 15,464
Gainesville, TX 15,472
Calhoun, GA 15,486
Jamestown, ND 15,488
Chickasha, OK 15,510
Gettysburg, PA 15,532
Bedford, IN 15,582
Marco Island, FL 15,593
Moultrie, GA 15,642
Marysville, OH 15,645
Peru, IN 15,648
Circleville, OH 15,653
Hartford, WI 15,655
Fostoria, OH 15,671
Montrose, CO 15,676
Ennis, TX 15,731
Great Bend, KS 15,772
Oneonta, NY 15,773
Lewes, DE 15,787
Cullman, AL 15,867
Sunnyside, WA 15,884
Dickinson, ND 15,920
Lake Geneva, WI 15,948
Langford, MS* 15,990
Warwick, NY--NJ 16,035
Bastrop, LA 16,077
Dixon, CA 16,085
Celina, OH 16,108
Marion, IL 16,117
Murray, KY 16,201
Greenfield, IN 16,239
Washington, NJ 16,251
Oak Hill, WV 16,251
Newton, IA 16,252
Albemarle, NC 16,375
Sault Ste. Marie, MI 16,437
Cambridge, OH 16,440
Ada, OK 16,463
Newark, NY 16,495
Warren, PA 16,521
Menomonie, WI 16,550
Alma, MI 16,561
Beaver Dam, WI 16,565
City of The Dalles, OR-
-WA
16,568
Tahlequah, OK 16,614
Oil City, PA 16,651
Crawfordsville, IN 16,659
Kirksville, MO 16,672
Ellensburg, WA 16,675
Fort Polk, LA 16,687
Aransas Pass--Ingleside,
TX
16,726
Sevierville, TN 16,728
Laurinburg, NC 16,754
Salem, OH 16,757
Connersville, IN 16,770
Elk River, MN 16,782
North Wilkesboro--
Wilkesboro, NC
16,795
327
Frankfort, IN 16,810
Miami, OK 16,852
Florence, AZ 16,857
Kittanning--Ford City, PA 16,894
Tamaqua, PA 16,915
Rolla, MO 16,919
Elko, NV 17,015
Sheridan, WY 17,046
Incline Village-Crystal
Bay, NV--CA
17,107
Brainerd, MN 17,126
Camden, SC 17,129
Tullahoma, TN 17,130
Boone, NC 17,151
Batavia, NY 17,163
Douglas, AZ 17,225
Lebanon, OR 17,230
Defiance, OH 17,243
Cleveland, MS 17,265
Pendleton, OR 17,310
Gardnerville Ranchos,
NV
17,341
Abbeville, LA 17,348
Lakeway, TX 17,363
Corbin, KY 17,402
Mount Airy, NC 17,422
Mount Vernon, IL 17,472
Gun Barrel City, TX 17,484
Galion, OH 17,502
Roma, TX 17,542
Dixon, IL 17,585
Red Bluff, CA 17,633
Danville, KY 17,690
Sikeston, MO 17,696
Uvalde, TX 17,780
Clayton, NC 17,803
Eureka--Pacific, MO 17,859
Hastings, MN 17,888
Las Vegas, NM 17,892
Oakdale, CA 17,946
Palestine, TX 17,967
Hannibal, MO 17,980
Warrensburg, MO 18,025
Marshfield, WI 18,109
Beeville, TX 18,159
Albert Lea, MN 18,162
Sayre, PA--Waverly, NY 18,209
Northfield, MN 18,216
Lebanon, OH 18,237
Park Hills, MO * 18,255
Lincoln, IL 18,258
Athens, AL 18,277
Lake City, FL 18,311
Pampa, TX 18,322
Huntington, IN 18,328
Fountain Hills, AZ 18,444
Streator, IL 18,447
Fernandina Beach, FL 18,491
Plaquemine, LA 18,529
Eden, NC 18,536
Brookings, SD 18,563
McComb, MS 18,569
Green Valley, AZ 18,571
Corning, NY 18,573
Val Verde, CA 18,752
Crescent City, CA 18,812
Americus, GA 18,825
Claremore, OK 18,957
Yucca Valley, CA 18,992
Natchitoches, LA 19,020
Elizabeth City, NC 19,072
Rexburg, ID 19,110
Georgetown, KY 19,158
Willmar, MN 19,161
Shelbyville, IN 19,198
Lincolnton, NC 19,205
Iron Mountan--
Kingsford, MI--WI
19,209
Macomb, IL 19,254
Mattoon, IL 19,255
Dublin, GA 19,261
Liberal, KS 19,268
Paragould, AR 19,270
Poplar Bluff, MO 19,282
Herrin, IL 19,292
Lewistown, PA 19,313
Newton, KS 19,318
Oxford, MS 19,410
Chesapeake Beach, MD 19,429
Watertown, SD 19,434
McAlester, OK 19,443
Mount Vernon, OH 19,454
Greeneville, TN 19,635
La Follette, TN 19,641
Rio Grande City, TX 19,676
Fort Atkinson, WI 19,702
Bay City, TX 19,708
Waxahachie, TX 19,763
Danielson, CT 19,890
Nicholasville, KY 19,895
Lemoore, CA 19,956
Duncan, OK 20,075
Homosassa Springs, FL 20,102
Woodstock, IL 20,219
Ottawa, IL 20,235
Centralia, IL 20,285
Seymour, IN 20,300
Laconia, NH 20,302
Gaffney, SC 20,303
Lebanon, TN 20,341
Oneida, NY 20,383
Norwalk, OH 20,413
Seaford, DE 20,430
Okeechobee, FL 20,432
Sidney, OH 20,437
Storrs, CT 20,490
Hays, KS 20,499
Rutland, VT 20,501
Ardmore, OK 20,539
Sanger, CA 20,541
Gillette, WY 20,560
Auburn, IN 20,594
Galliano, LA 20,611
Vandergrift, PA 20,653
Islamorada, Village of
Islands, FL
20,699
Clarksdale, MS 20,721
Brigham City, UT 20,740
Smithfield, NC 20,849
Tiffin, OH 20,921
Waynesville, MO 20,943
Columbus, NE 21,018
Escanaba, MI 21,032
Shamokin, PA 21,035
Marshall, TX 21,044
Dyersburg, TN 21,079
Vincennes, IN 21,126
Alice, TX 21,182
Altus, OK 21,188
Charleston, IL 21,200
St. Helens, OR 21,229
Marinette--Menominee,
WI--MI
21,231
Henderson, NC 21,246
Piqua, OH 21,246
Riverhead, NY 21,315
Thomasville, GA 21,322
328
Immokalee, FL 21,324
Canandaigua, NY 21,403
Ashland, OH 21,405
Faribault, MN 21,426
Port Angeles, WA 21,434
Keene, NH 21,436
Tifton, GA 21,461
New Castle, IN 21,486
Blytheville, AR 21,501
Pittsburg, KS 21,508
Meadville, PA 21,523
Crestline, CA 21,531
Rock Springs, WY 21,555
Watertown, WI 21,579
Granbury, TX 21,623
Hermiston, OR 21,660
Gallup, NM 21,737
Willimantic, CT 21,745
Moscow, ID 21,791
Valley--Lanett, AL--GA 21,826
Tooele, UT 21,834
Crestview, FL 21,853
Logansport, IN 21,896
Oxford, OH 21,954
Cedar City, UT 21,978
Barre--Montpelier, VT 22,022
Brawley, CA 22,035
Half Moon Bay, CA 22,037
Brownwood, TX 22,044
Burlington, WI 22,047
Cameron Park, CA 22,066
Shenandoah--Frackville,
PA
22,079
Amsterdam, NY 22,088
Cottonwood, AZ 22,135
Newberg, OR 22,137
Waynesboro, PA--MD 22,140
El Dorado, AR 22,146
Palatka, FL 22,227
Owatonna, MN 22,245
Winchester, KY 22,265
Searcy, AR 22,415
Elizabethtown, PA 22,481
Madisonville, KY 22,482
Somerset, KY 22,594
Owosso, MI 22,719
Corcoran, CA 22,758
Ramona, CA 22,954
Forest City, NC 22,971
Harriman--Kingston--
Rockwood, TN
23,035
Havelock, NC 23,036
Newnan, GA 23,043
Corsicana, TX 23,182
Espanola, NM 23,272
Greenville, TX 23,422
Olean, NY 23,497
Radford, VA 23,506
Jacksonville, IL 23,512
Muscatine, IA 23,534
Lancaster, SC 23,553
Greenfield, MA 23,574
Austin, MN 23,682
Roanoke Rapids, NC 23,730
Weatherford, TX 23,778
Augusta, ME 23,897
Carbondale, IL 23,976
Hastings, NE 24,094
North Platte, NE 24,124
Lock Haven, PA 24,189
Ontario, OR--ID 24,213
Belle Glade, FL 24,218
Sedalia, MO 24,291
Desert Hot Springs, CA 24,333
Waterville, ME 24,424
Marquette, MI 24,431
Scottsbluff, NE 24,525
Pullman, WA 24,688
Selma, AL 24,775
Aberdeen, SD 24,872
Fortuna Foothills, AZ 24,956
Ilion--Herkimer, NY 25,015
Greenwood, MS 25,028
Fremont, OH 25,079
Moses Lake, WA 25,112
Sanford, NC 25,151
Waynesboro, VA 25,163
Ottumwa, IA 25,218
Castle Rock, CO 25,325
Kalispell, MT 25,336
Warsaw, IN 25,368
Rockingham, NC 25,552
Kingsville, TX 25,618
Seguin, TX 25,640
Plainview, TX 25,673
Waycross, GA 25,692
Fremont, NE 25,734
Fort Dodge, IA 25,756
Dunkirk--Fredonia, NY 25,857
Laurel, MS 25,928
Starkville, MS 25,973
Los Banos, CA 26,036
Marshalltown, IA 26,123
Nogales, AZ 26,141
Paris, TX 26,142
Lexington, NC 26,156
Dodge City, KS 26,164
Shelby, NC 26,207
Kerrville, TX 26,227
Morehead City, NC 26,244
Norfolk, NE 26,257
Delaware, OH 26,270
Big Spring, TX 26,299
Canon City, CO 26,332
Ponca City, OK 26,382
Statesboro, GA 26,605
Russellville, AR 26,635
Aberdeen, WA 26,783
Cortland, NY 26,820
Emporia, KS 26,876
Morro Bay, CA 26,960
Ruston, LA 26,967
Plattsburgh, NY 27,076
Calexico, CA 27,095
Lehigh Acres, FL 27,097
Placerville, CA 27,108
Lebanon, NH--VT 27,138
Freeport, IL 27,151
Ridgecrest, CA 27,274
Athens, OH 27,396
Kearney, NE 27,404
Sunbury, PA 27,422
Carlsbad, NM 27,439
Milton--Lewisburg, PA 27,743
Mooresville, NC 27,769
Ocean City, MD--DE 27,879
Indiana, PA 27,935
Clermont, FL 27,970
Staunton, VA 28,049
Laramie, WY 28,139
Palm Coast, FL 28,141
St. Marys--Kingsland, GA 28,192
Barstow, CA 28,234
Mason City, IA 28,330
McMinnville, OR 28,508
Peru--La Salle, IL 28,697
Lumberton, NC 28,805
North Adams, MA--VT 28,835
Ukiah, CA 28,871
Gloversville, NY 29,000
Santa Paula, CA 29,070
329
Geneva, NY 29,304
Morgan City, LA 29,389
Winona, MN 29,440
Albertville, AL 29,460
Brighton, CO 29,469
Milledgeville, GA 29,562
Kinston, NC 29,615
Casa Grande, AZ 29,815
Westerly, RI--CT 29,937
Bowling Green, OH 30,031
Greater Sun Center, FL* 30,133
Wooster, OH 30,192
LaGrange, GA 30,281
Richmond, KY 30,389
Orangeburg, SC 30,418
Arcata, CA 30,429
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 30,448
Suffolk, VA 30,481
Burlington, IA--IL 30,495
Chillicothe, OH 30,594
Sterling, IL 30,595
Butte-Silver Bow, MT 30,615
Oak Harbor, WA 30,648
Southern Pnes--
Pinehurst, NC
30,653
Centralia, WA 30,733
Hobbs, NM 30,783
Nacogdoches, TX 30,877
Owasso, OK 30,910
Opelousas, LA 30,946
Junction City, KS 30,962
Vicksburg, MS 31,009
Hopkinsville, KY 31,013
Mount Pleasant, MI 31,277
Natchez, MS--LA 31,316
Coos Bay, OR 31,471
Sonoma, CA 31,487
Bozeman, MT 31,591
Asheboro, NC 31,656
Shawnee, OK 31,696
Bath, ME 31,870
Franklin, NJ 32,151
Kingman, AZ 32,333
Auburn, NY 32,644
Georgetown, TX 32,663
Columbus, MS 33,066
Garden City, KS 33,142
West Bend, WI 33,288
Carrollton, GA 33,332
Clinton, IA--IL 33,431
East Liverpool, OH--WV-
-PA
33,560
Huntsville, TX 33,656
Cartersville, GA 33,685
Luling, LA 33,810
Statesville, NC 33,929
Grass Valley, CA 34,019
Rome, NY 34,164
Hilton Head Island, SC 34,400
Torrington, CT 34,412
Columbia, TN 34,417
Oroville, CA 34,474
Selma, CA 34,716
Alliance, OH 34,750
Cookeville, TN 34,784
Medina, OH 34,796
Frankfort, KY 34,961
South Lake Tahoe, CA-
-NV
35,262
Paradise, CA 35,274
Clarksburg, WV 35,469
Twin Falls, ID 35,603
Bridgeton, NJ 35,787
Martinsville, VA 35,807
Key West, FL 35,866
Los Lunas, NM 36,101
Bullhead City, AZ 36,301
Lockport, NY 36,311
Fairmont, WV 36,358
Prattville, AL 36,853
Cleburne, TX 36,863
Inverness, FL 36,964
Laplace, LA 37,049
Oswego, NY 37,200
Spanish Fork, UT 37,276
Tupelo, MS 37,365
Galesburg, IL 37,577
Minot, ND 37,679
Carlisle, PA 37,695
Alamogordo, NM 37,817
Chambersburg, PA 37,872
Greenwood, SC 37,924
Daphne--Fairhope, AL 38,110
Roseburg, OR 38,212
Enterprise, AL 38,276
Stillwater, OK 38,288
Clovis, NM 38,388
Orange, TX 38,421
Helena, MT 38,451
Bartlesville, OK 38,541
Muskogee, OK 38,637
Reedley--Dinuba, CA 38,662
Lufkin, TX 38,726
Bluefield, WV--VA 38,737
New Bern, NC 38,788
Lancaster, OH 38,987
Portsmouth, OH--KY 39,343
Delano, CA 39,512
Oak Ridge, TN 39,599
New Braunfels, TX 39,709
Traverse City, MI 39,726
Hollister, CA 39,923
Del Rio, TX 40,335
Meridian, MS 40,373
Butler, PA 40,622
Stillwater, MN--WI 40,642
East Stroudsburg, PA 40,664
Ashtabula, OH 40,785
Browns Mills, NJ 40,882
Stevens Point, WI 40,983
Woodburn, OR 41,150
Klamath Falls, OR 41,153
Cumberland, MD--WV-
-PA
41,199
Amherst, MA 41,387
Conroe, TX 41,402
New Iberia, LA 41,588
Eagle Pass, TX 41,829
Zanesville, OH 41,841
Adrian, MI 41,983
Clemson, SC 42,064
Albany, OR 42,193
Lake Havasu City, AZ 42,787
Pottsville, PA 43,033
Chesapeake Ranch
Estates-Drum Point, MD
43,196
New Castle, PA 43,222
Walla Walla, WA 43,366
Greenville, MS 43,387
Eureka, CA 43,452
Hammond, LA 43,458
Grants Pass, OR 43,811
Conway, AR 43,891
Wilson, NC 44,003
Hutchinson, KS 44,052
Leavenworth, KS 44,113
New Philadelphia--Dover,
OH
45,072
Sebring--Avon Park, FL 45,123
Richmond, IN--OH 45,245
330
Findlay, OH 45,284
Quincy, IL 45,326
Grand Island, NE 45,499
Marion, OH 45,645
Salina, KS 45,654
Enid, OK 45,654
Marion, IN 45,867
Jamestown, NY 46,070
Beaufort, SC 46,227
Watertown, NY 46,434
Concord, NH 46,449
Manhattan, KS 46,671
Beckley, WV 46,860
Sierra Vista, AZ 46,941
Cape Girardeau, MO--IL 46,968
Mankato, MN 47,115
Roswell, NM 47,176
Manitowoc, WI 47,218
Tulare, CA 47,294
San Marcos, TX 47,333
Arroyo Grande--Grover
Beach, CA
47,550
Paducah, KY--IL 48,035
Bloomsburg--Berwick, PA 48,245
Salisbury, NC 48,404
Hanover, PA 48,696
Woodland, CA 49,168
Midland, MI 49,387
Hanford, CA 49,583
331
Fond du Lac, WI 50,058
Middletown, NY 50,071
Columbus, IN 50,227
Lewiston, ID--WA 50,317
Hinesville, GA 50,360
Lewiston, ME 50,567
Sandusky, OH 50,693
Lady Lake, FL 50,721
Ames, IA 50,726
Danville, VA 50,902
Portsmouth, NH-
-ME
50,912
Saratoga Springs, NY 51,172
Mount Vernon, WA 51,174
Manteca, CA 51,176
Brunswick, GA 51,653
Hazleton, PA 51,746
Hot Springs, AR 51,763
Jonesboro, AR 51,804
Decatur, AL 52,315
Wildwood--North
Wildwood--Cape
May, NJ
52,550
Harrisonburg, VA 52,647
Pittsfield, MA 52,772
Titusville, FL 52,922
El Centro, CA 52,954
Monroe, MI 53,153
Danville, IL 53,223
Farmington, NM 53,294
Kingston, NY 53,458
San Luis Obispo, CA 53,498
St. Augustine, FL 53,519
Ithaca, NY 53,528
Winchester, VA 53,559
Jefferson City, MO 53,714
Zephyrhills, FL 53,979
Pascagoula, MS 54,190
Morristown, TN 54,368
McKinney, TX 54,525
Atascadero--El Paso
de Robles (Paso
Robles), CA
54,762
Galveston, TX 54,770
Lee’s Summit, MO 55,285
Wenatchee, WA 55,425
Lompoc, CA 55,667
DeKalb, IL 55,805
Morgantown, WV 55,997
Sherman, TX 56,168
Beloit, WI--IL 56,462
Monessen, PA 56,508
Grand Forks, ND-
-MN
56,573
Flagstaff, AZ 57,050
Blacksburg, VA 57,236
Bend, OR 57,525
Glens Falls, NY 57,627
Valdosta, GA 57,647
Dalton, GA 57,666
Casper, WY 57,719
Goldsboro, NC 57,915
Madera, CA 58,027
Cleveland, TN 58,192
Corvallis, OR 58,229
Carson City, NV 58,263
Rome, GA 58,287
Bowling Green, KY 58,314
Uniontown--
Connellsville, PA
58,442
Bristol, TN--Bristol,
VA
58,472
Pine Bluff, AR 58,584
Williamsport, PA 58,693
Bangor, ME 58,983
Tracy, CA 59,020
Salisbury, MD--DE 59,426
Petaluma, CA 59,958
Auburn, AL 60,137
Porterville, CA 60,261
Lafayette--Louisville,
CO
60,387
Longview, WA--OR 60,443
Dothan, AL 60,792
Hattiesburg, MS 61,465
Victoria, TX 61,529
Rocky Mount, NC 61,657
Gadsden, AL 61,709
Benton Harbor--St.
Joseph, MI
61,745
Appendix G
Urbanized areas by population, 2000 (U.S. Census)
Prescott, AZ 61,909
Pocatello, ID 62,498
St. George, UT 62,630
Camarillo, CA 62,798
Mandeville--
Covington, LA
62,866
Lebanon, PA 63,681
Kokomo, IN 63,739
Sumter, SC 64,320
Great Falls, MT 64,387
Radcliff--
Elizabethtown, KY
64,504
Westminster, MD 65,034
Dover, DE 65,044
Kankakee, IL 65,073
Jackson, TN 65,086
Dubuque, IA--IL 65,251
Davis, CA 66,022
Janesville, WI 66,034
Michigan City, IN-
-MI
66,199
Watsonville, CA 66,500
Rapid City, SD 66,780
Idaho Falls, ID 66,973
Elmira, NY 67,159
Florence, SC 67,314
Owensboro, KY 67,665
Avondale, AZ 67,875
Cheyenne, WY 68,202
Wausau, WI 68,221
Sheboygan, WI 68,600
Missoula, MT 69,491
Turlock, CA 69,507
Hightstown, NJ 69,977
Newark, OH 70,001
Rock Hill, SC 70,007
Anderson, SC 70,436
Oshkosh, WI 71,070
Florence, AL 71,299
State College, PA 71,301
Temple, TX 71,937
Joplin, MO 72,089
Texarkana, TX--
Texarkana, AR
72,288
332
Longmont, CO 72,929
Lake Jackson--
Angleton, TX
73,416
Pottstown, PA 73,597
Weirton, WV--
Steubenville, OH--PA
73,710
Bay City, MI 74,048
Lima, OH 74,071
St. Charles, MD 74,765
Coeur d’Alene, ID 74,800
Bismarck, ND 74,991
Livermore, CA 75,202
Anniston, AL 75,840
Johnstown, PA 76,113
Logan, UT 76,187
St. Joseph, MO--KS 77,231
Mauldn--
Simpsonville, SC
77,831
Longview, TX 78,070
Alexandria, LA 78,504
Battle Creek, MI 79,135
Terre Haute, IN 79,376
Lawrence, KS 79,647
Mansfield, OH 79,698
Napa, CA 79,867
Slidell, LA 79,926
Santa Fe, NM 80,337
Dover--Rochester,
NH--ME
80,456
Charlottesville, VA 81,449
Altoona, PA 82,520
Lodi, CA 83,735
Greenville, NC 84,059
Bellingham, WA 84,324
Gilroy--Morgan Hill,
CA
84,620
Alton, IL 84,655
Iowa City, IA 85,247
Parkersburg, WV-
-OH
85,605
Norman, OK 86,478
Port Huron, MI 86,486
Wheeling, WV--OH 87,613
San Angelo, TX 87,969
Jackson, MI 88,050
Gainesville, GA 88,680
Vineland, NJ 88,724
Chico, CA 89,221
The Woodlands, TX 89,445
Lawton, OK 89,556
Springfield, OH 89,684
La Crosse, WI--MN 89,966
Vacaville, CA 90,264
Muncie, IN 90,673
Warner Robins, GA 90,838
Rochester, MN 91,271
St. Cloud, MN 91,305
Eau Claire, WI 91,393
Holland, MI 91,795
Grand Junction, CO 92,362
Bloomington, IN 92,456
Greeley, CO 93,879
Burlington, NC 94,248
Middletown, OH 94,355
Yuma, AZ--CA 94,950
Albany, GA 95,450
Jacksonville, NC 95,514
Kingsport, TN--VA 95,766
Nampa, ID 95,909
Texas City, TX 96,417
Decatur, IL 96,454
Anderson, IN 97,038
Fredericksburg, VA 97,102
Leesburg--Eustis, FL 97,497
Yuba City, CA 97,645
Lynchburg, VA 98,714
Columbia, MO 98,779
Midland, TX 99,221
Wichita Falls, TX 99,396
Billings, MT 100,317
Tyler, TX 101,494
Brooksville, FL 102,193
Johnson City, TN 102,456
Las Cruces, NM 104,186
Redding, CA 105,267
Burlington, VT 105,365
Sioux City, IA--NE-
-SD
106,119
South Lyon--Howell-
-Brighton, MI
106,139
Fort Smith, AR--OK 106,470
Athens-Clarke
County, GA
106,482
Ocala, FL 106,542
Abilene, TX 107,041
Waterloo, IA 108,298
Merced, CA 110,483
Harlingen, TX 110,770
Kenosha, WI 110,942
Odessa, TX 111,395
Boulder, CO 112,299
Simi Valley, CA 112,345
Bloomington--
Normal, IL
112,415
Fairfield, CA 112,446
Yakima, WA 112,816
Leominster--
Fitchburg, MA
112,943
Utica, NY 113,409
Monroe, LA 113,818
Marysville, WA 114,372
Port Arthur, TX 114,656
Concord, NC 115,057
Tuscaloosa, AL 116,888
Hemet, CA 117,200
Duluth, MN--WI 118,265
Frederick, MD 119,144
Visalia, CA 120,044
Santa Maria, CA 120,297
Hagerstown, MD--
WV--PA
120,326
Vero Beach--
Sebastian, FL
120,962
Clarksville, TN--KY 121,775
North Port--Punta
Gorda, FL
122,421
Myrtle Beach, SC 122,984
Pueblo, CO 123,351
Champaign, IL 123,938
Sioux Falls, SD 124,269
Seasde--Monterey--
Marina, CA
125,503
Lafayette, IN 125,738
Houma, LA 125,929
Medford, OR 128,780
Racine, WI 129,545
Elkhart, IN--MI 131,226
Panama City, FL 132,419
College Station--
Bryan, TX
132,500
High Point, NC 132,844
Lake Charles, LA 132,977
Macon, GA 135,170
Murfreesboro, TN 135,855
Beaumont, TX 139,304
Saginaw, MI 140,985
Gastonia, NC 141,407
Topeka, KS 142,411
Fargo, ND--MN 142,477
Manchester, NH 143,549
Olympia--Lacey, WA 143,826
Spartanburg, SC 145,058
New Bedford, MA 146,730
333
Deltona, FL 147,713
Fort Walton Beach,
FL
152,741
Waco, TX 153,198
Springfield, IL 153,516
Kennewick--
Richland, WA
153,851
Winter Haven, FL 153,924
Danbury, CT--NY 154,455
Muskegon, MI 154,729
Cedar Rapids, IA 155,334
Santa Cruz, CA 157,348
Binghamton, NY--PA 158,884
Vallejo, CA 158,967
Gainesville, FL 159,508
Wilmington, NC 161,149
Brownsville, TX 165,776
Killeen, TX 167,976
Santa Clarita, CA 170,481
Fayetteville--
Springdale, AR
172,585
Norwich--New
London, CT
173,160
Aberdeen--Havre de
Grace--Bel Air, MD
174,598
Laredo, TX 175,586
Huntington, WV--
KY--OH
177,550
Lafayette, LA 178,079
Bremerton, WA 178,369
Salinas, CA 179,173
Amarillo, TX 179,312
Charleston, WV 182,991
Kissimmee, FL 186,667
Green Bay, WI 187,316
Appleton, WI 187,683
Hickory, NC 187,808
Kalamazoo, MI 187,961
Portland, ME 188,080
Waterbury, CT 189,026
York, PA 192,903
Lorain--Elyria, OH 193,586
Erie, PA 194,804
Santa Barbara, CA 196,263
Montgomery, AL 196,892
Nashua, NH--MA 197,155
Roanoke, VA 197,442
Lakeland, FL 199,487
Victorville--
Hespera--Apple
Valley, CA
200,436
Lubbock, TX 202,225
Tallahassee, FL 204,260
Gulfport--Biloxi, MS 205,754
Fort Collins, CO 206,633
Salem, OR 207,229
Savannah, GA 208,886
Thousand Oaks, CA 210,990
Evansville, IN--KY 211,989
Huntsville, AL 213,253
Springfield, MO 215,004
Antioch, CA 217,591
Bonita Springs--
Naples, FL
221,251
Asheville, NC 221,570
Eugene, OR 224,049
Lincoln, NE 226,582
Round Lake
Beach--McHenry--
Grayslake, IL--WI
226,848
Atlantic City, NJ 227,180
Temecula--Murrieta,
CA
229,810
San Rafael--Novato,
CA
232,836
Reading, PA 240,264
Columbus, GA--AL 242,324
Barnstable Town,
MA
243,667
Peoria, IL 247,172
Lexington-Fayette,
KY
250,994
Indo--Cathedral
City--Palm Springs,
CA
254,856
Daytona Beach--Port
Orange, FL
255,353
Lancaster--Palmdale,
CA
263,532
Canton, OH 266,595
Greensboro, NC 267,884
Trenton, NJ 268,472
Rockford, IL 270,414
Davenport, IA--IL 270,626
Port St. Lucie, FL 270,774
Boise City, ID 272,625
Shreveport, LA 275,213
Fayetteville, NC 276,368
South Bend, IN--MI 276,498
Ann Arbor, MI 283,904
Santa Rosa, CA 285,408
Fort Wayne, IN 287,759
Durham, NC 287,796
Jackson, MS 292,637
Corpus Christi, TX 293,925
Winston-Salem, NC 299,290
Denton--Lewisville,
TX
299,823
Lansing, MI 300,032
Greenville, SC 302,194
Provo--Orem, UT 303,680
Reno, NV 303,689
Modesto, CA 310,945
Stockton, CA 313,392
Mobile, AL 317,605
Lancaster, PA 323,554
Pensacola, FL--AL 323,783
Madison, WI 329,533
Cape Coral, FL 329,757
Spokane, WA--ID 334,858
Augusta-Richmond
County, GA--SC
335,630
Oxnard, CA 337,591
Chattanooga, TN-
-GA
343,509
Poughkeepsie--
Newburgh, NY
351,982
Little Rock, AR 360,331
Harrisburg, PA 362,782
Flint, MI 365,096
Des Moines, IA 370,505
Scranton, PA 385,237
Palm Bay--
Melbourne, FL
393,289
Bakersfield, CA 396,125
Syracuse, NY 402,267
Youngstown, OH-
-PA
417,437
Ogden--Layton, UT 417,933
Knoxville, TN 419,830
Columbia, SC 420,537
Wichita, KS 422,301
Charleston--North
Charleston, SC
423,410
Worcester, MA--CT 429,882
Colorado Springs,
CO
466,122
Baton Rouge, LA 479,019
Toledo, OH--MI 503,008
McAllen, TX 523,144
New Haven, CT 531,314
Mission Viejo, CA 533,015
Grand Rapids, MI 539,080
Raleigh, NC 541,527
Concord, CA 552,624
334
Fresno, CA 554,923
Tulsa, OK 558,329
Albany, NY 558,947
Sarasota--Bradenton,
FL
559,229
Akron, OH 570,215
Springfield, MA--CT 573,610
Allentown--
Bethlehem, PA--NJ
576,408
Albuquerque, NM 598,191
Omaha, NE--IA 626,623
Birmingham, AL 663,615
El Paso, TX--NM 674,801
Rochester, NY 694,396
Dayton, OH 703,444
Tucson, AZ 720,425
Oklahoma City, OK 747,003
Nashville-Davidson,
TN
749,935
Charlotte, NC--SC 758,927
Richmond, VA 818,836
Hartford, CT 851,535
Louisville, KY--IN 863,582
Jacksonville, FL 882,295
Salt Lake City, UT 887,650
Bridgeport--
Stamford, CT--NY
888,890
Austin, TX 901,920
Memphis, TN--MS-
-AR
972,091
Buffalo, NY 976,703
New Orleans, LA 1,009,283
Columbus, OH 1,133,193
Orlando, FL 1,157,431
Providence, RI--MA 1,174,548
Indianapolis, IN 1,218,919
Oregon (part) 1,298,697
Milwaukee, WI 1,308,913
Las Vegas, NV 1,314,357
San Antonio, TX 1,327,554
Kansas City, MO--KS 1,361,744
Sacramento, CA 1,393,498
Virginia Beach, VA 1,394,439
Cincinnati, OH--KY-
-IN
1,503,262
Riverside--San
Bernardino, CA
1,506,816
San Jose, CA 1,538,312
Portland, OR--WA 1,583,138
Pittsburgh, PA 1,753,136
Cleveland, OH 1,786,647
Denver--Aurora, CO 1,984,887
Tampa--St.
Petersburg, FL
2,062,339
Baltimore, MD 2,076,354
St. Louis, MO--IL 2,077,662
Mnneapols--St.
Paul, MN
2,388,593
San Diego, CA 2,674,436
Seattle, WA 2,712,205
Phoenix--Mesa, AZ 2,907,049
San Francisco--
Oakland, CA
2,995,769
Atlanta, GA 3,499,840
Houston, TX 3,822,509
Detroit, MI 3,903,377
Washington, DC--
VA--MD
3,933,920
Boston, MA--NH--RI 4,032,484
Dallas--Fort Worth--
Arlington, TX
4,145,659
Miami, FL 4,919,036
Philadelphia, PA--
NJ--DE--MD
5,149,079
Chicago, IL--IN 8,307,904
Los Angeles--Long
Beach--Santa Ana,
CA
11789487
New York--Newark,
NY--NJ--CT
17799861
335
Status (urbanized area or urban cluster)
State
Name
Lattude
Longitude
Size in square miles
Total populaton
Populaton densty
Percent under 18
Percent between 18 and 64
Percent over 65
Percent White
Percent Black
Percent American Indian
Percent Asian
Percent Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Percent Hispanic
Percent English not spoken at home
Percent foreign born
Percent lived in the same state, 1995
Percent work in same county as residence
Percent with Bachelor’s degree or higher
Percent unemployed
Percent in manufacturing
Percent in retail
Percent in education
Percent in health
Percent in other industry
Percent in management
Percent in service
Percent in sales
Percent in farming/fishing/forestry
Percent in construction
Percent in transportation
Percent of household income (10 categories)
Median household income
Percent receiving public assistance
Appendix H
Summary File 3 data collected for Urban Clusters and Urbanized Areas, 2000
Per capita income
Percent at poverty rate or below
Percent owner occupied
Percent renter occupied
Medan rent
Percent moved into house in last five years
Median year moved into house
Average age of housing unit
Percent of home value (8 categories)
Median home value
336
Change, 1990-2000
Populaton
Percent under 18
Percent over 65
Percent white
Percent black
Percent Hispanic
Percent owner-occupied homes
Median home value
Median household income
Percent with Bachelor’s degree or higher
Percent living in different state 5 yrs ago
Percent foreign-born
Percent unemployed
Percent in manufacturing
Percent in service
Percent in farming/fishing/forestry
Percent in education
Totals, 2000
Percent under 18
Percent over 65
Percent white
Percent black
Percent Hispanic
Percent owner-occupied homes
Median home value
Median household income
Percent with Bachelor’s degree or higher
Percent living in different state 5 yrs ago
Percent unemployed
Percent in manufacturing
Percent in service
Percent in farming/fishing/forestry
Percent in education
Appendix I
Variables used for cluster analysis 1990/2000
337
Appendix J
Cluster means

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Research in urban geography tends to focus on large cities. This dissertation recognizes that cities come in many sizes

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Asset Metadata

Creator Mapes, Jennifer E. (author)

Core Title Urban revolution: rethinking the American small town

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Geography

Publication Date 05/12/2009

Defense Date 03/15/2009

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag cultural,Geography,nostalgia,OAI-PMH Harvest,small cities,Small towns,sustainable,Urban

Place Name USA (countries)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Dear, Michael J. (committee chair), Deverell, William F. (committee member), Wolch, Jennifer (committee member)

Creator Email jen_mapes@yahoo.com,jmapes@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m2251

Unique identifier UC1215059

Identifier etd-Mapes-2577 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-247617 (legacy record id),usctheses-m2251 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Mapes-2577.pdf

Dmrecord 247617

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Mapes, Jennifer E.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu