For the first 300 years of its existence, the towns of America's colonies and then states were more or less self-sufficient. Yes, they brought in goods that were manufactured in other cities or states, but the fabric of the daily economy was all local. Even as late as the 1950s, you bought all of the goods you needed in local stores owned by locals. Yes, there were supermarket chains already then, like A&P, but even they were embedded in the town and felt local.
There were no malls and suburbs were just starting to grow. The focus of everyone's life was the local downtown, whether it was a small town or a larger city. Downtown was where the action was, whether it was making a needed purchase, socializing with friends, or seeking entertainment. It was vibrant.
Even the major shift from the United States being an agricultural economy to an industrial economy, with its migration of people from rural areas into urban ones, did not change this basic aspect of local life. Even though things weren't quite what they once were, rural America was still functional Towns were real towns with stores and services. If you needed something not available locally, you ordered it from the Sears and Roebuck catalog.
But with the advent of mass-produced suburbs and expressways courtesy of Eisenhower's interstate highway program, and the suburban malls that they spawned, the focus of the America's local economy and life changed. In rural America, the nearest Walmart became the new village. I don't know if because the malls were spanking new or because they consisted mostly of chain stores which were known through advertising, but Americans deserted their local stores in favor of these flavorless, characterless, shopping and eating venues.
For example, within the course of two decades, by the 1980s, downtown Reading, where I grew up, the 3rd largest city in Pennsylvania, was a dead zone. Soon to be recreated as an office center by tearing down many of the old buildings and replacing them with brick office buildings. Many store fronts were empty. Many filled with low-priced merchandise catering to the now-poor in-town population. The movie theaters were all shuttered. Even the fabled Crystal Restaurant was no more. Pomeroy's Deparmtent store held on for a few more years, but it was hopeless. The changed dynamic of the life of the city was clear.
This is the pattern that has repeated itself across all of America. Virtually no place was spared. And in time, this pattern of modern development even took root in Europe, even in France. I read an article in The New York Times a while ago that told how the old regional centers in France were now empty of local commercial life, which had been replaced by the suburban shopping mall. I read an article about how local bakeries, once the epicenter of local German life, no longer existed. Bread was now baked in large bakeries and sent around the country. No more freshly baked rolls from the corner bakery for breakfast!
This change from local self-sufficiency to big box stores is the reason why our cities, not just our rural areas, are mostly dead zones, except for offices. And this is why rural small-town America has turned into a lifeless space, where drug-addiction is a major problem. Further, people may still be living in the country, but they have lost all connection to the land. They are not inspired by the land or nurtured by it. Not only don't they farm, but they typically don't even have a vegetable garden. It's more convenient to go to the local Walmart or supermarket and buy groceries.
If there is to be any hope in saving America, it does not lie in some "new idea." It requires going back to the future. It means rebuilding a local economy based on local business in a local downtown. I have no idea how one goes about doing that. Perhaps a smaller city that still retains the infrastructure of their downtown could through government grants encourage the rebirth of local storefronts and restaurants, and a rebirth of local life downtown. This should be a focus of HUD in the Biden administration.
If we don't change the dynamics of local economies and life, if we don't rebuilt local communities, then we will continue down a path with less meaning, more ennui, more drugs, less social interaction, and eventually a total breakdown of all social norms in a technologically-addicted society.
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