[ssiguy]

Chatham actually has a very nice downtown and a fairly vibrant one to boot.

Besides all of the above mentioned points, I also think the actual streets thenmselves make a big difference. Curving streets add a sense of intimacy as do thinner ones as opposed to these long wide routes. They help to define the downtown area and better showcase the architecture. A lack of one-way streets also helps as often all they accomplish is having cars fly by the downtown increasing the noise and unfriendly pedestrian realm.