Endangered:

Rural Downtowns Statewide

Due to depopulation, the bustling late 19th and early 20th century downtowns across Kansas are becoming increasingly vacant. The 2010 census revealed 75 of Kansas’ 105 counties experienced population loss, with 23 of them losing 10 percent or more of their residents. With farm consolidation and migration to urban areas, the economic base required to support rural main streets is rapidly decreasing. Without sufficient population density, the various preservation programs and economic development tools available can only do so much. There is a need to develop a new preservation model for our historic rural downtowns in areas where depopulation has created vacant and deteriorating main streets