All the growth we've experienced in the past few years got me thinking - are we losing that small-town feeling?

Then I thought, what is a small-town feeling? Is it knowing your neighbor, their parents, and children/grandchildren? Is it patronizing the family run stores in the downtown? Is it having only one or two main business streets? Is it everyone showing up for high school sports events?

How would you describe the small-town feeling and how would you know when it's there, or when its gone? Should we, or can we preserve a feeling?