Re-defining rural community spatially separated neighborhoods.

Abstract

Frost is small agricultural community in rural southern Minnesota that developed at the turn of the 20th century. In its prime it had a flourishing Main Street with all of the necessities that were required to sustain a small community. There were grocers, hardware stores, barbers, cafes, churches and schools. Today most of those things are gone. Buildings sit empty and lots sit vacant. There are communities like Frost all across the country who have been watching a slow and continuous migration take place over the last few decades. Young people have been leaving the country for opportunities in urban areas. Frost is important because it is emblematic of thousands of other small cities and towns suffering from the effects of this rural migration. The topic of “rural community” is generating a great deal of discussion today amongst policy makers, sociologists, planners and economists. The debate is focused around how rural communities are defined in terms of today’s changing social and economic pressures. Small towns that were once individual self sustaining communities today are reliant on larger cities within their surrounding area for the goods and services that are a part of daily life. Some people suggest that there is no role for a small town like Frost in this evolution. I believe there is and I believe there is a role that designers can play in the planning and design of a rural community. I am interested in this topic because this is a part of me; it is where I am from.