Urbanism in Rural America

[ysabetwordsmith]

The issues look a bit different outside the big cities. Some things I will mention:


* Small towns don't have the sprawl problem of bigger towns and cities. They have mostly reasonable grids and maybe a few squiggle suburbs tacked on the edges. If they have a Ponzi problem, it is typically one or two roads, not all of them. This will become extremely attractive at whatever point the nearby cities run out of ways to extend the problem and are forced to levy fees, raise taxes, cut services, or all of the above. When all the cities start billing homeowners thousands of dollars for basic infrastructure repairs -- that people can't afford to pay -- they will necessarily have to move somewhere less expensive.

* Because they are mostly old, and by definition small, these towns score pretty well on walkability and bikeability. They do lose points for things like brick roads, cracked sidewalks, or no sidewalks; but the grid structure helps a lot. You can find whatever is there to find. Regrettably, they have little or no public transportation, which is a problem for some folks.

* While they don't have a lot of businesses, they have real estate out the wazoo. Houses are cheap. You can often afford not only the bedrooms you need but an extra to serve as a home office. You can find a small retail space too. Hell, you can still find a retail space with an apartment upstairs. This is another thing that will become more and more attractive as cities continue to price themselves out of the market on rent.

* For anyone working at home, this is a fantastic setup. It's cheap, it's quiet, you can have a yard and a garden. More people will work at home as jobs become more portable thanks to the internet. Check for connectivity, and if it's there, you're good to go.

* Most small towns have more neighborly connections and community spirit compared to big cities where nobody knows each other. This is useful to consider when loneliness is a growing problem and just as lethal as smoking or obesity.

* If you need more services than small towns can supply, look for 'satellite' towns around a bigger town or small city. Make sure they're far enough away to avoid getting swallowed by sprawl. Most county seats are worthwhile local hubs, and some of them have the same advantages as smaller towns scattered around them.

Comments

[heron61]

Most small towns have more neighborly connections and community spirit compared to big cities where nobody knows each other.

Everytime I read about that I'm overjoyed I live in a medium-large city - that sounds horrific to me. I have zero interest in knowing my neighbors and most especially want them to ignore me and mine - I'm exceptionally selective about people I'm interested in spending time with (far left nerdy freaks one and all), and I wish everyone else well, but do not wish to interact with them beyond very casual interactions in shops.

I'm also not convinced that the world isn't going to end up with most growth occurring in large cities - if vertical farming takes off (and it seems to be doing so) they'll be increasingly self sufficient (especially if they are in an area where wind or solar or both are plentiful).

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Everytime I read about that I'm overjoyed I live in a medium-large city - that sounds horrific to me. <<

Then I am happy that you know what you want and have found it!

>> I'm also not convinced that the world isn't going to end up with most growth occurring in large cities <<

That's what is happening now. It would be possible for that to continue, but people would have to make some different choices than they are now, in order to make it affordable.

>> if vertical farming takes off (and it seems to be doing so) they'll be increasingly self sufficient (especially if they are in an area where wind or solar or both are plentiful). <<

There's a lovely rendition of cities like that in The Orville. Green draped all over everything. It can be done, but again, people would have to make some different choices than they are now.

There are skyscrapers that are basically villages: apartments, offices, restaurants, salons, gyms, etc. all stacked together so people have less need to leave. Fully walkable and accessible.

Re: Thoughts

[heron61]

There's a lovely rendition of cities like that in The Orville. Green draped all over everything. It can be done, but again, people would have to make some different choices than they are now.

Yep, big or small, if we want to keep having cities and even indoor plumbing we'll need to make different choices with denser cities that are not focused around cars, but around walking and biking - most of Western Europe very much has a leg up on us there.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

America went nuts trying a whole new way of urban design, and it's a dismal failure. Some can be salvaged, but a lot of that suburban sprawl will have to be let go just because it's impossible to maintain forever.

Denser cities would be good, if they're built right. Developers are doing a lousy job of building what people need, because the focus is on building what turns the most profit. 0_o

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Small towns currently need people that can shovel correctly per the conditions of any particular patch.
Big towns need people to trike with as many plants as they can pedal about. The street side trees are gone.

America needs too much to enumerate but indoor plumbing is a very unevenly distributed thing even now. Shame and humiliation is inversely apportioned.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Ironically, planting trees is the biggest bang-for-buck project a city can do:

* It shades streets and sidewalks, encouraging people to walk or bike.

* It discourages speeding, which reduces collisions and improves safety.

* It reduces heat, thus fights global warming.

* Nature is good for physical and mental health.

* The roots soak up water, reducing floods.

* The tops attract wildlife, which helps counteract losses and brings more nature into the city, which is good for people.

Re: Thoughts

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Gotta pick the correct tree for the spot and you have to get buy in. There was a project where they gave trees email addresses, they thought it would just be a way for community members to report damage or other City Works Please Do Task without having to go through dispatch not knowing which tree in a park.

People started writing poems or other kinds of confessional/memoir/Santa letters to trees. And yes, it did mean the teams doing trees got a better feel for how the trees and their people were getting on. Things like "I like playing under you shade" or "I remember when we were closer in size."

Stop hardpicking the soil, pushing the mulch up against the bark and planting central trunk tall trees under power lines. And don't forget how big the tree trunk and the root system on average will get.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

The email address is fascinating. I am reminded of Buddhists ordaining trees to keep them from getting cut down.

[mama_kestrel]

The downside is what often isn't there. Example: the small town we moved away from (to a somewhat larger but still small town) no longer has either a grocery or a medical practice. We moved away, even though we loved it, because the school system was too limited - our boychik had run out of academic electives after his sophomore year. We loved living there (if not the house itself), but still ended up moving to the county seat.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I agree that the limitations pose problems. Some can be gotten around by driving to a nearby city -- ours is about an hour away. But schools, there's not much to be done about that, unless you homeschool (an increasingly good idea given the educational decay). Most small towns have none left.

Regarding Part 1 of Ponzi Growth

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

While some suburbanization was probably predicated on Living Large, a great number of the returning G.I.s in addition to having come through the Great Depression, may have had experience of cities unhealthful during particular parts of the year. Naturally, those with more money might escape that misery, either by residing further away and bearing the expenses of travel, or by having multiple residences.

I can think of malaria, yellow fever, and the strange fetid funk that just happens when uncollected garbage festers in summer city heat.

Re: Regarding Part 1 of Ponzi Growth

[ysabetwordsmith]

They're not wrong; cities can be unhealthy in many ways, and still are. The problem is when people want the fresh air of rural life and all the advantages of a big city. You can't have your cake and eat it too. The closest you can reasonably come is a small town or minor city, which may have outlying neighborhoods that are less crowded without turning into miles of sprawl. America has done a piss-poor job of making nice places to live.

Re: Regarding Part 1 of Ponzi Growth

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Thomas Jefferson had a fundamental misunderstanding, forgetting that roads run both city to country and country to city. He also made compromises that should have kept him from bedding his dead wife's half sister.