What Your Downtown Says About Your Town

Downtown Hico Oprahouse Turned Store

My husband loves road trips. And by loves, I mean he’d rather just get there than enjoy the journey.

But recently he indulged me on one of our trips through the Texas Hill Country.

I wanted to prove a point.

See, a few months ago, I was reading some of the posts on a couple of Facebook pages for my hometown. It seemed to be a trend that most of the posts were complaints.

Around that same time, I had also been reading a lot about how the environment shapes behavior.

It’s a common topic among urban planners. And studies have found that pro-social vs. anti-social behavior can often be tied directly to the state of a community’s environment.

In other words, if a downtown looks like nobody cares about it, people will act like they don’t care.

As we drove through each town, we saw some stunning contrasts between ignored downtowns and those that were well kept.

The Problem With Neglected Downtowns

Hubs and I drove through towns ranging anywhere from 1,000 people to about 4,000. And what we found on their social media pages was nearly identical to what studies on revitalization have shown for years.

The state of a town’s environment directly affects how its citizens act.

Downtowns that had allowed their built environment to decline had Facebook pages full of:

• complaining

• negativity

• bickering

• “nothing to do here” posts

• complaints about leadership

On the flip side, towns that took care of their downtown had pages full of:

• civic pride

• positive posts about upcoming events

• support of local businesses

• neighbors encouraging one another to go to events

Same population range.

Totally different environments.

Totally different culture.

When a Downtown Is Allowed to Decline

Here’s the thing.

A community decides what message it wants to send about itself with every decision it makes.

When it lets old, historic buildings deteriorate to parking lots and fast-food restaurants, it’s telling residents:

“This place doesn’t matter.”

When there are no sidewalks downtown or walking paths, it’s telling visitors:

“No one comes here.”

Decisions like these:

• crumbling buildings → embarrassment and resentment

• lack of sidewalks → isolation and resentment

• tearing down historic buildings to create parking lots →loss of identity

• poor code enforcement →apathy

Send a message.

And that message comes across in the attitudes of residents.

That Environment Effects Behavior.

When we drove through one of these towns, I decided to take a peek at their Facebook.

Yikes.

The Facebook comments read almost exactly like what we had seen in other small towns.

“How could anyone live here?”

“This town has no pride!”

What we were seeing on the social media pages reflected what we were seeing in the downtown area.

Apathy and neglect.

Want to see how powerful your downtown can be?

Hico, Texas

Population: 1,372

The one town that completely changed everything.

When we joined the Facebook page for Hico, Texas, something was different.

The tone of the town’s online presence was overwhelmingly positive.

There were posts about:

• civic pride

• supporting local business

• upcoming events

And here’s what we found when we drove into town:

Let’s start with the stunning town.

Situated along the Bosque River, Hico is filled with beautifully preserved, historic buildings.

After two separate fires in the 1890s destroyed much of downtown Hico, businesses were rebuilt with native stone.

Almost none of the brick buildings are painted. (my personal pet peeve)

Walk down any street in Hico and you’ll see why we stopped.

Native stone and original brick buildings

Photo opportunities.

Ghost signs.

Murals that match the town's uniqueness.

And here’s the kicker.

This town didn’t have “nothing to do” complaints on its Facebook as so many other small towns did.

Why?

Because Hico celebrates what makes it unique.

It’s downtown invites people to explore.

Instead of cookie cutter stores, they’ve embraced their history with activities and businesses that make them special.

They’ve also built things like this park for families to enjoy.

Not just any park, but one built from old grain silos. With space for kids and adults to climb.

It’s not just a metal or plastic playground dumped in the middle of town.

It works WITH the culture of the town, instead of against it. Embracing the Things That Make it Special.

Hico even celebrates its infamous resident.

It was rumored that local resident “Brushy Bill” was actually Billy the Kid.

Yep. They claim Billy the Kid once lived and died in Hico. And whether it's the truth or just an old legend, Hico takes advantage of it.

You can even buy souvenirs from the local gift shop that say he lived there his whole life under his alias.

Whether he actually lived there isn’t the point.

So what is the point?

 Hico businesses and citizens support each other.

Promote each other.

Celebrate what makes them unique.

They put on events like:

• the “Billy the Kid Rides Again” car show

• a steak cookoff (Steak, as in cowboys like steak. Not chili cookoff.)

• festivals

But my favorite event they mentioned was Slow Ride Sunday.

It’s a free weekly concert for Hico residents, held in an old 1899 cottonseed oil mill that also doubles as an event space.

Investments like that take patience and dedication.

It tells residents:

We care about you.

And it shows.

Communities Like Hico Are Thriving Online, and in Real Life.

Hico cares about its downtown.

And you know what they have a ton of?

Pride.

If a town cares about its downtown, the residents will show it.

Even online.

While other downtowns we passed were full of negativity, Hico was celebrating theirs.

If your downtown is struggling to create momentum, try this:

1. Clean up your act, literally and figuratively. Trash talks.

 And so does downtown, blowing through code enforcement complaints.

2. Prioritize historic buildings. They can’t bring themselves back once they’re gone.

3. Fill vacant spaces. Whether it’s with guerrilla business permits or pop-up shops, get creative.

4. Be transparent about policies and decisions. No one cares about your meetings. But they will support what you do if they understand it.

5. Build beautiful public spaces. Don’t settle for functional. Aim to inspire.

6. Celebrate what makes your town unique. Where else can you find what we have?

7. Ask for help. Our towns were built by volunteers. Let’s keep it that way.

Businesses can thrive when they work together instead of competing against each other.

Ask any resident who used to care about their town what changed.

You’ll rarely hear:

“I don’t know.”

They’ll tell you about the Historic building that was replaced with a parking lot.

The store down the street that closed and became another vacant building.

A new building going up while the surrounding buildings are neglected.

Something happens when a town starts letting its downtown go.

People give up.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Hico showed us that pride can be restored.

Engagement can be inspired.

Community can be revitalized.

And it starts with the environment your town creates.

If you spend any time scrolling through your hometown’s Facebook comments and seeing negativity, take a step back and look at your downtown.

Chances are the online complaining is being fueled by what your town looks like.

Stop asking:

“What’s wrong with our people?”

And start asking:

“What message are we sending?”

Because your downtown tells the story about your town.

Whether you realize it or not.

— Texas Bricklady