Could small towns disappear from the American way of life?

[chris08876]

I can't help but notice while traveling that a lot of rural towns, those with small populations, and far away from the nearest city, seem to be crumbling. The infrastructure seems to be lacking, the houses or buildings, many which were built within the early 20th century seem to be falling apart, and jobs are scarce. Many of these jobs are based on agriculture, but even then, it doesn't support a healthy growth and rural towns across America keep losing population or if they are gaining it, it is such a small change.

With the trend of city living, the increased densification of America within the major metropolitan areas, will small towns survive such as those in lets say rural Mississippi, Iowa, Kansas or Missouri?

[the urban politician]

^ Small towns will survive.

[TexasPlaya]

Disappear? No, but small town life has been declining for sometime.

[MolsonExport]

there will always be the gas stations and fast food joints accreting around interstate exits.

[the urban politician]

A lot of Americans prefer small town life. And that's why it will never die.

[Innsertnamehere]

in Ontario small towns have primarily become retirement communities.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by chris08876

I can't help but notice while traveling that a lot of rural towns, those with small populations, and far away from the nearest city, seem to be crumbling. The infrastructure seems to be lacking, the houses or buildings, many which were built within the early 20th century seem to be falling apart, and jobs are scarce. Many of these jobs are based on agriculture, but even then, it doesn't support a healthy growth and rural towns across America keep losing population or if they are gaining it, it is such a small change.

With the trend of city living, the increased densification of America within the major metropolitan areas, will small towns survive such as those in lets say rural Mississippi, Iowa, Kansas or Missouri?

Speaking from experience, a local economy based on agriculture doesn't necessarily mean a non healthy growth, however, now you see more "industrialized farms" planting thousands of acres a year rather than various individuals planting 300 or so acres. As far as rural Mississippi, or the Mississippi Delta region, it never was very populated to begin with, but many of those smaller towns are dying because they were solely based on agriculture.

West Tennessee is littered with small towns, all between 4,000-8,000 or so like my hometown who continue to grow slightly due to the low cost of living and baby boomers retiring here from up north. A lot of these towns have factories which don't necessarily drive the local economy, but certainly provide 300 or so jobs.

Keep in mind a lot of people will live in a small rural town and then drive 45 minutes to an hour to work each day. At any given time in Jackson, TN, you can find license plates from all over West TN other than Fayette, Tipton, and Lauderdal counties because it's easier for them to go to Memphis, which for some is an hour or more drive.

Originally Posted by the urban politician

A lot of Americans prefer small town life. And that's why it will never die.

This.

[hudkina]

It really depends on the local conditions. Many small towns have small economies that support the town. Whether that's agriculture, tourism, local industry, etc. doesn't really matter. Granted, I will say that many touristy areas tend to have more attractive small towns for the fact that they receive a ton of non-local money. In Michigan for example, the small towns along the Lake Michigan shore tend to be much nicer than those in the interior or even along the Lake Huron shore, as Lake Michigan draws far more tourists. Alpena and Traverse City are relatively close in population, but Traverse City just has a far more attractive city core due to it's nature as a major tourist destination.

[mhays]

Many small towns grew as business and government centers for heavily-populated farming zones. If those zones have lost 20% or 50% of their population, the town has that much less reason to exist, or at least to flourish. Manufacturing is a tough bet, because you might be relying on a couple factories, and if one closes you're screwed.

Of course nearly all small towns have been eviscerated in terms of quality of life. When main street has fallen apart and business is out on a bypass, the town is functionally and aesthetically a disaster. And sometimes even the bypass doesn't take in much money, because the slighly bigger town five miles away has the walmart.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Having lived in a small town (population around 65,000 as of the 2010 census) since 2009, the thought is always in the back of my mind. I'm not sure this town could survive another economic downturn as big as the Great Recession, seeing as how we're heavily reliant on tourism to support the local economy (Grand Canyon, several smaller national parks and monuments nearby). Then again, the tourism economy is somewhat balanced by the fact that we have a state university serving 19,000 students, but considering how much Arizona's state legislature despises public education, who knows for how long that'll last?

I've moved around quite a bit, but Flagstaff has by far offered the best quality of life for me (despite its higher cost of living relative to the rest of Arizona). I hope that can continue, but who the hell knows anymore.

[kcexpress69]

I don't think I disagree with any of these points. I just got back from a trip to New Mexico, and I drove through northern Oklahoma on the way out, and through southern Kansas on the way back. Rural life in the three states were different to say the least.

In Kansas, most of what's left of the small towns depend on agriculture, and processing livestock. You can always tell when you're coming to a town when you see a grain elevator. In Oklahoma, it's agriculture, but also some of the smaller towns have been benefiting from the Oil Boom. And in New Mexico, you have tourism, retirees, and younger adults, many of them artists coming to stay.

Will small towns become a thing of the past? Some will, depending on how you classify a small town. If it's a town less than 100 people, it will probably eventually die out or become a living ghost town. Towns less than 2,500 people will probably still be around, but will only exist as a shell of it's former self unless there's an industry that's a driving force behind it. It will be small urban centers that will probably thrive in the years to come. In Kansas, places like Garden City, Dodge City, Hutchinson, and Great Bend will be an oasis. In Oklahoma, it will be places like Enid, Bartlesville, Miami, etc.

[McBane]

Interesting thought. But let's step back and define what a small town is. How urban is it? For many poeple a "small town" is really what you and I might call a suburb: a sprawled out collection of homes and possibly a commercial thoroughfare with strip malls and big box stores that may (or may not) be located within a metro area.

Does it have a main street? Is it walkable at all? Is the town laid out in a grid? Is it dense? What's the closest big city? Is the "small town" run down and surrounded by sprawly McMansions and big box stores or is it a thriving regional center surrounded by miles of rural agricultural land? Are we talking a full on town with a hospital, school, and shops or a dozen homes, a gas station, and dollar store?

I guess as I wrote this post it's becoming clear that the idea of a "small town" is too general to say that they're dying or thriving.

[Evergrey]

Visited my hometown last week... a small town based on manufacturing, not agriculture/tourism as discussed in this thread. The town seems bleaker every time I return... I don't see a future for the place.

[eschaton]

The existential crisis of small towns is basically one of employment. Plenty of people would prefer small town living (although the part of the country they would prefer it in can vary), but if there are few jobs available moving to such a place is impossible until retirement.

Going through potential job sources, all are in decline or have pitfalls...

1. Many small towns have traditionally supported themselves by agriculture, or related industries like resource extraction (mining, oil/gas, logging, etc). While there may be a small number of residual jobs in these industries, the level of automation continues to increase. Except in weird cases like what happened with the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota, there are few areas with substantial upsides here (and even those will likely be pretty quick flashes in the pan, since non-agricultural resources don't last forever).

2. While historically there were plenty of smaller "mill towns" which depended upon local manufacturing plants, these are for the most part closed today. Some large ones can be found in remote small towns, particularly in the south, where many located to have a captive workforce which would accept very low wages (and non-union working conditions). But again automation is rapidly cutting into these jobs everywhere. Plants can now employ 10% of what they did 20 years ago and have double the output, so even when they still stay open, their contribution to the local economy continues to decline.

3. Every area needs "local services." These include a wide range of occupations - everything from retail, to construction, up to doctors and lawyers. They basically serve the needs of the local economy, but interface relatively little with the outside world. And that's the rub - that these sorts of jobs can keep locals employed, but offer no way for a small town to grow.

4. There are also "global services" which interface with the outside world. Classic examples are things like advertising, publishing, finance, engineering, architecture, etc. While historically these were done on a more local level, they have increasingly become more integrated as part of a national economy with many firms having clients not only across the country, but across national boundaries. The main issue here is these sort of firms increasingly locate their workforce in either major cities or in their suburbs, because they know these areas are most desirable for talented young professionals and they'll get the best applicants possible by locating there.

5. A town can become a tourist attraction, but this is a double-edged sword. It can provide jobs, but they are quite often irregular, along with low pay, meaning in some cases you have people outside the community recruited on a seasonal basis - meaning little tangible benefit to local residents. Worse yet, if an area becomes very popular as a destination, it can become fashionable for people to retire there or buy second homes, which will drive up real estate prices despite the overall job market remaining poor, forcing many long-time residents to look outside of town for housing options.

6. Finally, there's getting lucky and having a major service employer within or near the town. Most frequently a college, but on occasion something like a nearby prison, small state capitol, or regional hospital. A town can stay alive essentially indefinitely in this case, but not every municipality can be so lucky.

[mhays]

Good analysis. I'd add that "local service" depends on the other sectors to survive. If the factory closes, local-service stuff tends to drop in response.

[Barbarossa]

I think towns like West Chester PA, Annapolis MD, Princeton NJ, Morristown NJ, Ithaca NY, and all the other countless picturesque, middle class towns in New England and elsewhere will always thrive. Many of these places are nicer aesthetically and lifestyle wise than some of the bigger cities.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by Barbarossa

I think towns like West Chester PA, Annapolis MD, Princeton NJ, Morristown NJ, Ithaca NY, and all the other countless picturesque, middle class towns in New England and elsewhere will always thrive. Many of these places are nicer aesthetically and lifestyle wise than some of the bigger cities.

Most of your examples do not function as "small towns" today.

The first four towns all exist within heavily populated hyper-wealthy counties (all between 370k-540k population) in the Northeast Corridor megalopolis. All are part of some of the largest metropolitan areas in the US (NYC, Philly, Balt-Wash). Annapolis is the capital of one of the country's wealthiest states while Princeton is home to its world-famous namesake Ivy League university.

Ithaca is the only example that could fit a modern definition of a "small town"... but even Ithaca serves as a regional hub, has an Ivy League university, and a metro area population of over 100k. I'm from a real small town... and Ithaca doesn't look anything like my experience. This may be too granular for people who are used to New York Cities and Bostons... but I think it's important to distinguish between "small cities" like Ithaca and "small towns" like Corning or Oneonta.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Barbarossa

I think towns like West Chester PA, Annapolis MD, Princeton NJ, Morristown NJ, Ithaca NY, and all the other countless picturesque, middle class towns in New England and elsewhere will always thrive. Many of these places are nicer aesthetically and lifestyle wise than some of the bigger cities.

The West Chester, Princeton, and Ithaca are anchored by a college. Annapolis has the U.S. Naval Academy, and is the state capitol of Maryland. Morristown functions as a railroad suburb of NYC, and shouldn't be considered a small town in the classic sense.

The bottom line is none of them are what the OP is discussing. They all have special favored conditions which allow them to continue to thrive. Every small town can't have a college or be well positioned to be a commuter suburb to a major MSA. Most really do have nothing to look forward to but slow decline without a radical reordering of what we understand employment to be.

[pdxtex]

i dont think the allure of small time life will ever diminish, but like it was already said, maintaining small town jobs is the problem. without the draw of a major employer or regional industry, i wonder what the minimum population threshold is to maintain small town service economy. michigan as an example is full of 5000 person little towns and many seem to be doing just fine. of course the ones doing the best are closer to big employment draws. roll thru washtenaw county and you'll find tons of cool little towns doing great.

[Minato Ku]

This is not just an American phenomenon.
In France, many small towns are dying.
The industrial decline lead to thje closure of factories.
Unlike the bigger cities which have a diverse economy, in many small towns the whole economy is dependant of one sector.

Public services allow the town to survive but with the increase of the public debt, governments and adminstrations will have to reduce spending.

Towns close to big cities are becoming commuter town.
Low property prices attract people and people already living in these towns have no choice to look in the big cities to find jobs.

The decline is even more visible in the center of those towns, shops have closed and pedestrial main streets are empty of pedestrian.
The lack of new modern space and the difficulty of access by car in the town center have lead the leading stores to move in suburban shopping centers where live the majority of the population.