Evolving Main Street

Abstract

Strolling a small town Main Street, the mind starts to drift—recalling a better time, where happy people read the newspaper and tip their top hats at the general store. Indeed, such towns often cling to this nostalgic past, rather than looking to today. While they are cutified with boutiques and bars adorned and fancy cornices, they continue to fade in the day to day life of the community. The truth is that Main Streets have been continually evolving for their entire existence and need to continue to evolve to stay relevant and viable. Expanding contextual design to include social conditions (rather than just formal or aesthetic), will better foresee and foster community activity. This Thesis examines the small town of Cedar Springs and envisions potential ways the town could evolve to meet current social needs.