# What Makes a Good Small Town



## Ocean Railroader (Jun 18, 2011)

Well with all this talking about mega regions and super cities it's almost like we have forgotten the small town as in towns smaller then 30,000 people. 

So what do you think makes a good small town one with a good jobs base that won't die off if one major industry dies off like mining or logging. Such as one based off of some type of basic manufacturing base that is not based off some type of resource that can easily run out. Or maybe one with a good tourism base like a good local beach or a sky resort. 

Or would you want a good sense of community such as decent schools or social events. Such as the town having a future for you and your kids to where they would not have a need to move away to the big city to go after a so called better life jammed into tiny apartment like a lemming.

I think a small town could be a great place to live it if it had a good layout and some half way decent jobs that you could live off of with out being in fear of living in a town sinking into poorness.


----------



## weava (Sep 8, 2007)

Having a university, regional hospital, or other government industry in your town is always good for stability and creates a steady flow of money into the area


----------



## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

having enough attractions and jobs to keep the young there. It helps if the town is commutable distance to others and is surrounded by countryside that's accesible and beautiful. Variety is the spice of life, increasingly so these days.


----------



## Ocean Railroader (Jun 18, 2011)

I'm going to be building a fictional small model town from scratch soon called Lugia Town it will be loosely based off of the May berry from the Andy Griffith show expect with a few twists.

I'm planning on having 30% the town's economy be based off of a colossal hydro electric Dam that would dam the giant river that would flow on the right side of the time. The giant dam would proved hundreds of jobs to electric Linemen and to power control room operators and repairmen who work at the dam. The great dam would export tons of cheap power to the nearby major city that is hundreds of miles away. While in turn the town being so close to it would have very dirt cheap power. Along with that the rest of the town would depend upon industries that support the workers.

The town would also have a few small factories for a few side industries. It would also have a giant rail yard where several different mainline railroads with different railroad gauges mix traffic with one another.


----------



## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

^try and throw tourism in somewhere. Worlds biggest industry.


----------



## zaphod (Dec 8, 2005)

I guess having as others have said, institutions that bring in jobs and keep the demographics fresh with young people like colleges and hospitals. I think it's hard for small towns to maintain being regional centers of white collar employment today. Over time it seems banks have consolidated and regionally important industry's corporate headquarters have all merged too.

Sometimes I wonder if in the future something changes about higher education and universities end their current growth phase and there's a contraction. I bet a lot of lesser schools that don't adapt will wither and the little towns they are located in will wither too.


----------



## Ocean Railroader (Jun 18, 2011)

I would make my small town a good place for tourisim in that people would want to go there to go fishing in the large lakes and rivers along with the good creeks that flow around it. Also my town is on the boarder with a fictional county called Marrsoupa Land which attractions people from it to come over and buy things like cars and heavy earth moving machinery. Along with people traveling over to it for hundreds of miles for advanced medical care in that it would be the only small town in the area with a good sized hospital and doctor offices.


----------



## Treka (Jan 26, 2013)

It would probably have to have good schools and hospitals to bring in young families, a thriving arts scene(arts galleries and such) a population that supports local businesses,so that mom & pop stores are viable there and a location within commuting distance of a major city. Otherwise I think the town would just wither and die.


----------



## mayikalaja (Mar 27, 2013)

*Digital Urban Planning Starts with Common Tools* 


> “What we don’t have right now is a formal discipline in government that says, ‘We have everything accurately portrayed in our built environment, in common digital tools,'" Smith said, referencing such search tools as Google Maps, Apple Maps and MapQuest. Digital urban planning will begin with ensuring that government’s local assets – buildings, tourist attractions, public art, private businesses – appear in the tools most commonly used by the public. So if people are using Google Maps and Apple Maps, Smith said, then government should learn to use those tools too.


For both small and big towns.


----------



## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

Within 20-30 mins from a large city centre, historical character, shops that are open late, several decent bars/night clubs etc


----------



## alexandru.mircea (May 18, 2011)

Old architecture in the town centre, one major historical landmark, one or two graduate studies institutions (the youngsters will enliven the town), the ability to buy everything you need from town shops, natural attractions just outside the town, decent distance from a regional centre.

Fontainebleau (France) (17k pop) where I lived for a year had all these almost at 100%. Wonderful place.


----------



## Ocean Railroader (Jun 18, 2011)

I think the comments on this thread are very good in what makes a good small town.


There is a very nice small town in Pennsylvania I go to sometimes called Carlisle Pennsylvania it has a great sidewalk system and some very nice old buildings in great shape. It also has a giant 1950's sidewalk system that makes it very easy to walk several miles in a day on. Along with that it was very clean and the people where friendly.


----------



## fieldsofdreams (Sep 21, 2012)

For me, being a city planner in the making, it all starts with *location*. You can practically choose where you want to start laying out your foundations for your small town: make sure that it is accessible (with roads and rail), safe (police, fire, and other forces), provides adequate educational and health services (schools, colleges, hospitals, and other institutions), utilities (reliable power, water, and waste providers), land for building development (residential, commercial, and industrial), and of course, stable governance (civic structures, from the town hall to a library). 

It definitely takes a lot of time and patience to grow a town from scratch, but with proper governance that include progressive tax policies, investments in infrastructure and utilities development, investments in schools and hospitals, and incentives to lure in businesses and factories, then a town will grow. Sometimes, even, people go through extra lengths to make a town more recognizable: feast days, special events, commemorations, you name it.


----------



## sc4 (Apr 6, 2006)

^^ Sounds like SimCity...that's wat I would do to building a city from scratch


----------



## Dahlis (Aug 29, 2008)

First of all it needs a proper town structure that creates life. Streets townhouses etc. Not just a collection of houses spread out on a field.


----------



## wecantski (Feb 16, 2009)

no small town people


----------



## NordikNerd (Feb 5, 2011)

I grew up in this small town by a lake. It has a castle, a cathedral, old city hall and in the summer
many tourists visit. There are restaurants and a shopping street.

It's the ideal small town, but the public transport could be better. The town is situated in an area with low pop. density so it's best to have a car.


----------

