The New American Small Town

Lessons for Sustainable Urban Futures

Jennifer Mapes

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English

West Virginia University Press
31 July 2025

Environmentally-friendly architecture & design; City & town planning - architectural aspects; Human geography; Sustainability

What makes a sustainable city? When planners and politicians talk about making cities more sustainable, they often describe changes to large urban centers like New York City or Los Angeles. Yet when they suggest solutions for sustainable living, they talk about walkable neighborhoods, traditional architecture, and diverse land uses; they talk about small towns. Planners and developers are now working to introduce a ""small-town feel"" into our large cities and suburbs in hopes that it will provide a sense of community and reduce the use of automobiles.

So, what of small towns themselves? We don't talk about these places as much. They are often assumed to be utopias of the past or crumbling ghost towns of the present day rather than places with potential for sustainable living. This book critically examines narratives of American small towns, contrasting them with lived experiences in these places, and considers both the myth and reality in the context of current urban challenges. Interweaving stories from and about U.S. small towns, it offers lessons in sustainable urbanism that can be applied both in the towns themselves and to the larger cities and suburbs where most Americans now live.

By: Jennifer Mapes
Imprint: West Virginia University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781959000471
ISBN 10: 1959000470
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 31 July 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jennifer Mapes is assistant professor of geography at Kent State University. A community geographer, she researches with local stakeholders to help build more sustainable, just futures. Jen and her family live, work, and play in downtown Kent, Ohio.

Reviews for The New American Small Town: Lessons for Sustainable Urban Futures

""The book offers hope-filled portraits of small towns as livable, sustainable, and diverse places and serves as an important corrective to the media narrative of alienated, left-behind rural voters."" --Mark Bjelland, author of Good Places for All