this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2024
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A Boring Dystopia
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My slightly educated guess would be that's a consequence of America's race westward in the 1800's, only stopping long enough to annihilate the indigenous population and set up a rest stop for the next batch.
Railroads played big role. Trains needed more water or coal to run the engine. So every 15 to 20 miles or so, depending on terrain, a water depot was erected, and there a new town popped up. Some survived. Some didnt. Few are thriving. Just pull up a map and follow a rail line in the great plains region of the usa. Then just measure it out. Its impossible to miss once you notice it.
The same thing happened again when they built the interstates. Pixar made a documentary about it with talking cars.
Bingo, the town I went to school in had barely 500 people when the school which had taken over for two other closed schools kids. It’s even less now. My grade was the largest at 32 kids too. There were former “towns” dotted all over from the rush west where train tracks used to be. All gone now and just somewhere used for cow shelter in the winter. These towns were simply stops for railroad cars to result water on the route west. Once that wasn’t needed the slow march to 0 began. My nearest non family member was over 7 miles away. There is a lot of interior USA that is really sparsely populated and is really just returning to pre colonial eras of mainly giant farmland or grazing pastures.
Precolonial big ag? What on earth are you talking about?
Population sizes in pre colonial times.
It’s more modern than that. I don’t have time to look for stats, but I believe there’s been general migration to cities for like half a century or more
Of course, but I'm talking about why all these little towns existed in the first place. It's not like they were all bustling metropolises before everyone left. ;)
The stereotype is always a coal mining town. There used to be a mine employing many people, but now it’s automated or the mine played out
The town I grew up in was a bustling town with one dominant employer. When that employer moved out it left a big gap and an entire generation of younger people moved away
The town my father grew up in was never bustling. However it was a significant center of a rural area with many family farms. By the time I was growing up, those farms were no longer economical, so people moved away and there’s no need for a population center
A small town I used to visit all the time was once a bustling tourist town, but no one goes there anymore. It’s really just regional now, instead of the busy season drawing people from anywhere between Montreal and NYC. It’s probably cheap flying as much as anything else: who wants to vacation on a cold beach when you can hop a flight down south for the same cost
A lot were busy manufacturing, mining, or farming towns.
The mines run out or become unprofitable.
The manufacturing has largely moved to out of the states, or been automated.
And big farms and grocery stores have squeezed independent farmers out of everywhere but the farmers markets near rich cities.