The middle of nowhere : town design and sense of community in rural youth

Abstract

This thesis tests the theory behind the new urbanist call for "modem version[s] of the traditional town" with respect to one physical design feature: the clearly defined town center. It asks the question: how does the existence of a town center, which, as prescribed by new urbanism, integrates commercial, recreational, and civic facilities in close proximity, affect sense of community in rural youth? The findings of this study, at least in part, support the new urbanist theory. Students in an area with a strong center do appear to display stronger feelings of basic need fulfillment, membership, and more positive feelings in general regarding their community. However, in other respects, students in the area without the center exhibited a much stronger sense of community, feeling much higher degrees of attachment, identity, and influence. The strong sense of community exhibited by the students in an area without a center may well be a product of that area's edges, and may begin to elucidate the role of other physical (and potentially social) boundaries in fostering sense of community.