'It's a cool place to live': Residence and expert based analysis of the Cotton District, Starkville, Mississippi

The Cotton District is a community located in Starkville, Mississippi which has been publicized in many journals as an example of community design, and New Urbanism. In this study residents/users of the Cotton District along with local experts drawn from the faculty and staff of the School of Architecture and the Department of Landscape Architecture were interviewed to discover their preferences and dislikes about the Cotton District. The vernacular evaluation and expert evaluation were then compared to understand what characteristics contributed to or detracted from the livability of the Cotton District in light of community design and New Urbanist theory.