Dozen Distinctive Destinations
Pittman Center, TN
Year Listed: 2000
Pittman Center, Tennessee, is proof that a community can enjoy the benefits of tourism without sacrificing its character to commercial forces. Bordering Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee, Pittman Center has found that uniting residents behind a vision for the future enables them to reap the benefits of tourism without losing what they love about their town. Upon arriving at Pittman Center, visitors are greeted with an attractive wooden sign, "Pittman Center - A Community Dedicated to Preserving Our Mountain Heritage." The town’s planning, commitment, and loyalty to its sense of place back up that slogan.
In 1989, Pittman Center residents convened a series of public meetings designed to produce a shared vision for their future. They decided to reduce commercial visual pollution, limit commercial development in the town’s core, and protect the flow and quality of the Little Pigeon River, which runs through town To realize this vision, Pittman Center enacted several widely supported ordinances. One limits development of hillsides and steep slopes, acknowledging that real estate which is hard to develop probably shouldn’t be developed at all. Another ordinance limits sign size and prohibits billboards so that the community’s streets and highways remain uncluttered. Leading by example, the town’s street signs are made of wood rather than metal. Visitors find quaint bed-and-breakfast inns and beautifully restored landscapes.
Pittman Center’s FutureScapes is planning an economically and environmentally sustainable community, focusing on its quality of life and stressing the importance of partnerships and planning Pittman Center is one of the ultimate alternative American travel destinations, offering a vivid contrast to nearby Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. High-powered, high-volume tourism has transformed those two communities into amusement parks. Both towns feature factory outlet stores, wax museums, souvenir shops, go-cart racing, and theme parks. As portals to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are perhaps the country’s best examples of gateway communities completely transformed by tourism. But the economies of both towns consist almost entirely of seasonal, low-paying service jobs. Pittman Center’s success is due not only to the public’s involvement in the planning process, but also to the local residents who have made sure the community adheres to its own ideals. The town has preserved its individuality, including a strong preservation ethic and a peaceful environment, and maintained a healthy economy.
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