The Transformation of Place: Historic Theme Development in Small Town Commercial Districts

256 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997.Small towns have found it difficult to maintain their business districts as important community centers, given that economic restructuring has undermined the traditional economic and social roles of main street. In the face of past decline, communities across the United States are in the process of re-orienting their downtowns to new roles and functions. The process of downtown revitalization often involves the conservation of historic resources in an effort to attract tourists as well as local residents. While much scholarly attention has been paid to the redevelopment of metropolitan downtowns, few researchers have focused on the efforts of smaller communities to revive their main streets. This study investigates the process of small town redevelopment through a study of three Midwestern communities dependent to varying degrees on tourism for their economic welfare. Examined is the role of place attachment, or sense of place, in the shaping of local interest groups which push various agendas for the transformation of downtown. A model, based on Allen Pred's theory of place, is introduced and utilized for an analysis of the transformation process.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD