The landscape I am assessing is a college town in a rural setting where, without the 45,000 students, the town’s population numbers 20,000 people. The college was founded by farmers and the rural setting has greatly developed since then, but purposefully many trees were kept interspersed in neighborhoods and on the college campus to keep a natural setting to the landscape. However, the town is small and the influx of 45,000 students every fall and spring definitely has an impact on the landscape. When the students are in school, there is traffic congestion in the busy but small downtown area which basically consists of two boulevards loaded with shops, hotels, apartments, convenience stores, pubs, and restaurants. The landscape also reflects the interests of the community. Everywhere one can see statues of the famous school mascot carved out of marble. The town mascot symbol is a sculpted bronze pig in the middle of the town, which was chosen because of the agricultural origins of the region. A heavy agricultural industry focus still exists in the area, and this greatly impacts the landscape. Surrounding the small community which actually houses 45,000 students and 20,000 residents are numerous corn fields, rolling fields, and wide open spaces populated with sheep, pigs, cattle, horses and other varieties of livestock.
The landscape also reflects the fact that the town would not be as well off economically if it were not for the major university in its midst. For instance, the football stadium is a major landmark that holds 110,000 people, the Niece Hordan Center is named after a former president of the university and is the largest entertainment venue outside of three others in the state, and the multitude of new hotels, motels, restaurants, and designer stores (Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch) being built would not exist were it not for the college student population and the huge football crowds that come
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