While some towns struggle to attract new industry and keep a town square alive, others try to slam the brakes on growth, as roads, sewers and schools strain under the load of new homes and families.
"Pastures get paved. A ranch becomes someone's back yard. Sewer lines go in. Somewhere along the way comes a strip mall, a fast-food joint, maybe a lawyer's office. From the Rockies to suburban Atlanta, urban refugees are filling in the empty places, turning quaint villages into icons of sprawl and sleepy close-knit places into boomtowns. At the same time, in vast stretches of middle America, many small towns are watching young families and jobs drift away. Driven by stagnant wages and a dull farm economy, lured by opportunity and easy access to doctors and malls, millions of people fled rural communities in the past decade." The result: the disappearance of the classic American small town.
Thanks to Christian Peralta
FULL STORY: Small-town blues: Suburbs, brain drain take toll on slice of Americana

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions