The Small Town Impact of Post Office Closures

"For many communities, the closings may reduce activity in town or village centers. Even with diminishing mail volume, there are still many people who cross paths at the post office. The drawing power of post offices was recognized early by new urbanist developers such as Robert Davis in Seaside, Florida, and Buff Chace and Douglas Storrs in Mashpee, Massachusetts.

When Mashpee Commons was being built in the 1980s, Chace and Storrs included a small post office in it to bring a steady flow of people into their mixed-use center. At Seaside, Davis built a tiny Classical building near the beach, to provide postal service."

But with $8 billion in losses over the last year, the U.S. Postal Service is expected to make major cuts.