The Death and Life of Main Street

Small Towns in American Memory, Space, and Community by Miles Orvell

From Amazon…

“For more than a century, the term “MainStreet” has conjured up nostalgic images of American small-town life. Representations exist all around us, from fiction and film to the architecture of shopping malls and Disneyland. All the while, the nation has become increasingly diverse, exposing tensions within this ideal. In The Death and Life of Main Street, Miles Orvell wrestles with the mythic allure of the small town in all its forms, illustrating how Americans continue to re-inscribe these images on real places in order to forge consensus about inclusion and civic identity, especially in times of crisis.