How many small towns are truly successful without change? Some prosper, while many others suffer disinvestment, loss of identity and even abandonment. Towns like Perth keep their historic character and quality of life in the face of a rapidly changing world. Other towns have lost the very features that once gave them distinction and appeal. Perth, Merrickville, Almonte and many others accepted change without losing their heart and soul.
Those particular small towns have done it without accepting the cookie-cutter development that has turned many communities into faceless places. They refused to be the small towns that young people flee, tourists avoid and which no longer instill a sense of pride in residents. Sound familiar?
Successful
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But they need to understand that change is inevitable. The dynamics of the population and consumer attitudes are always changing and they will affect a community whether people like it or not. Success only happens when we “embrace” new and old ideas that can help our small businesses and entice new ones.
A new industrial park is not going to attract tourists that spend money at our local businesses. We have an abundance of historic buildings, and an attractive and accessible waterfront that is underused. It also feels like the powers to be just want the town to stay the same. The more a community comes to look just like every other small town the less reason there is for anyone to visit. All we need is to implement a small number of new ideas in Carleton Place. They could make a big difference in this community.
Of course every town has its naysayers. The need to understand the word “no”, is a very powerful word in a small community. Leaders of successful communities know that “yes” is a much better word for progress. Communities that embrace the future will prosper, and those that do not will decline. Sameness is not a plus-it is a huge
...or present day cities Canada. Repeatedly there have been works of research that supports the idea that people are beginning to have the want and the need to live an area where there is walkability and convenience. From the perspective of a Millennial as society likes to call my generation, having the option to walk instead of drive is something to heavily consider when choosing a place to call home. The evidence as why people are moving is in a way demographically self-explanatory, a poor person would want to move from a city where crime is high, there is little to no property to invest in, and the schools seems are bad , to a place that boasts the opposite attributes.
There are many examples of cities reforming itself over time, one significant example is Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. More than a hundred years after the discovery of gold that drew thousands of migrants to Vancouver, the city has changed a lot, and so does one of its oldest community: Downtown Eastside. Began as a small town for workers that migrants frequently, after these workers moved away with all the money they have made, Downtown Eastside faced many hardships and changes. As a city, Vancouver gave much support to improve the area’s living quality and economics, known as a process called gentrification. But is this process really benefiting everyone living in Downtown Eastside? The answer is no. Gentrification towards DTES(Downtown Eastside) did not benefit the all the inhabitants of the area. Reasons are the new rent price of the area is much higher than before the gentrification, new businesses are not community-minded, and the old culture and lifestyle of the DTES is getting erased by the new residents.
All the drastic changes that the world has been through, and Carr and Kefalas show that in their writing. These changes at some time made the current town, were they live, a thriving and prosperous place. People would move from their towns to these prospering communities to seek out the benefits that were offered. Many of those small towns are slowly fading into the background because of the modern world changes that big and upcoming cities that offering. These changes are creating new jobs and environments for the youth that are looking for change in the small towns that once were big and thriving, are now filled with the older generation that don’t want to make the change. They are looking to keep things consistent with the life they have been living; some changes in their eyes are not good, they are just creating problems. In Carr and Kefalas’s article they write about living in a small town called Ellis in Iowa. Carr and Kefalas talked to an employee working at a new factory in Ellis, “A machine operator living in Ellis complains about the strugglers facing old-fashion workers who find themselves trapped in a newfangled economy” (33). People living in small towns are unlikely to adapt to new changes, but are having to because of companies starting new factories in their community. This new technology is bound to change the life of older generation parents, whether they choose to stay in their small town lifestyle or move to
We all have some experience telling something that is untruthful or just an outright lie. You go looking for a way out of a tense situation when you need it most? Are you afraid of what happens when you are under stress, do you tend to be "creative" with the truth? In the story “The Secret Society of Starving” by author Mim Udovitch, girls that are suffering from eating disorders talk about the secret world of the online pro-anorexia (“pro-ana”) community. It is only there that they can truly express themselves and even motivate other anorexic people. Similarly, in the essay “Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town?”, Individuals struggle to put their true words down on paper, knowing that if they do the secrets they share could result in them being ostracized from the only community they know, . In both “The Secret Society of Starving” and “Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town?” The writers explore the different lifestyles of two communities and how they both seem to encourage individuals to hide the truth from the rest of the world, their lies compounding and culminating in their further removal from the community and their loved ones
Everyone loves to save money. In the tough economic times of today, every dollar counts. For some families, saving twenty dollars a week can mean the difference between having food on the table or not. Whether out of necessity or just the thrill of getting a good deal, American families have been relying on “big box” retailers for inexpensive products for decades. There really is nothing quite like going into one store and being able to buy clothes, groceries, auto supplies, pet supplies and items for the home. An entire day’s worth of shopping can be done in one place at a fraction of the time, at very competitive prices. These same stores also hire hundreds of employees from the community and are thought to benefit the city and county greatly with their tax dollars.
Now, a normal sized town contains fast-food joints, supermarkets, malls, and superstores, but a small town lacks that appeal. The small-town could be the most beautiful landscape known to man, but lack the necessary luxuries in life that a typical American would benefit from. Carr and Kefalas make this statement that emphasizes the town’s lack of appeal, “Indeed the most conspicuous aspects of the towns landscape may be the very things that are missing; malls, subdivisions, traffic and young people” (26). The authors clearly state that they realize that towns, such as the Heartland, are hurting because of the towns’ lack of modernization. For all intents and purposes, the town’s lack of being visually pleasing is driving away probable citizens, not only the native youth, and possible future employee’s away from a possible internship with the town. The citizens with a practice or business hurt from the towns inability to grow up and change along with the rest of the world, yet the town doesn’t realize what bringing in other businesses could potentially do for their small town. Creating more businesses such as malls, superstores and supermarkets would not only drive business up the roof, but it’ll also bring in revenue and draw the
With less than 5,000 residents living in Smallville, Ohio, it is an ideal small town where everyone knows each other, multiple generations of families live and grow and barely any crimes are committed. The main road leading into Smallville is like a never-ending run of corn fields, silos and dairy farms. It's an old town with old traditions. As brief as my residency was in Smallville, I witnessed the social injustices and educational issues that plague small town living.
Lately I have noticed numerous abandoned buildings around the Battle Creek area; the sight makes our city look run down and cheap. I believe something must be done about this issue such as turning the buildings into new city attractions. Two vacant buildings that come to mind are the run down State Police Station and the dilapidated Family Fare store.
“Could suburbs prosper independently of central cities? Probably. But would they prosper even more if they were a part of a better-integrated metropolis? The answer is almost certainly yes.” (p. 66)
It is important that if you are ever running a business, you change before the change comes to you. Change can have either a positive or negative effect on a business and it is extremely important to strive to make it a positive
This state is full of more cities besides just Los Angeles and San Francisco, for example, my city Richmond, California. I wasn’t born there, but I have lived there most of my life, and there is a certain appeal is there, but its not the stereotypical beauty you see in any infomercial. This city isn’t celebrated nor is it world recognized for its accomplishments, but it is a small city with hidden treasure. The hidden treasure are the success stories that the community does not expect, and that can create a sense of empowerment for everyone around us. That empowerment is something that should be seen nationally, especially since Richmond is not the only impoverished city in
Gentrification is also eroding small business in many neighbourhoods. In low-income areas, there tends to be more independent economic activity as local residents start small businesses close to where they live. At the moment, these businesses face multiple threats. Rapid demographic changes are narrowing the customer bases of neighbourhood businesses, and increased property values are making these businesses less sustainable. Stephen Fowler, the owner of the ‘Monkey’s Paw’ bookstore that recently moved from Little Portugal to Bloordale, says that his store’s rent tripled after the building was sold to a new owner. He notes that “little diner[s], or little junk store[s], those things are all getting priced out, because all of a sudden there
Living and growing up in a small town is better than doing so in a big city.
I’ve finally made it. When you first land here the immediate difference is all around you whizzing around you creating a sense of life. It 's a sense that you rarely have in a small town it 's bigger I can’t quite obtain a hold of it. It moves fast all through the night and during the day. It peaks in all of my senses to create a brand new sense of the life of the city.
Imagine having to choose to reside in one place for the rest of your life. Which would you opt for? Some people would argue that the hyperactive lifestyle that a big city has to offer has more benefits than living in the country. However, others would contend that the calm and peaceful environment of the countryside is much more rewarding. Several people move from the city to a farm to get away from the hustle and bustle. Likewise, some farmers have traded in their tractors and animals to live a fast paced city life. Of course, not all large cities are the same nor are all of the places in the country identical. Realizing this, ten years ago, I decided to hang up the city life in Indiana to pursue a more laid back approach to life in rural Tennessee. Certainly, city life and life in the country have their benefits, but they also have distinguishable differences.