It's the story of American towns.

Each is built around a center.

A mall pops up on the fringe, enticing people away from the center.

The center dwindles.

This was Casper's story when the Eastridge Mall was built in 1982, but in this Central Wyoming town, there is another chapter.

The downtown recovers. The "big boxes" come.

It's this continuing phenomenon, of growth moving to cheaper land on the outskirts of towns, that defines the American landscape and pushed city of Casper officials to intercede on the center's behalf.

The Casper City Council and city staff began focusing on the Old Yellowstone District, a 130-acre area nestled between downtown and the Three Crowns Golf Course, more than one year ago.

The plan, approved by the council in September, is stuck in its zoning phase.

As questions and concerns about prohibited uses and street changes mounted toward the end of 2007, city officials called for a public meeting to establish the community's desire to renew Old Yellowstone.

But when market forces push growth to the outskirts, as is happening in Casper with new developments on both the east and west sides, why is it important to encourage a downtown?

The responses vary.

The most common defense cites an increased call for "walkable" areas that allow people to live, work and play in the same proximity.

Chris Leinberger, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of "The Option of Urbanism," said core development is also critical for economic stability.

He said 30 to 40 percent of Americans want a walkable alternative to our suburban lifestyle.

Generation Xers, he said, demand a walkable urban area. Unlike their predecessors, Gen Xers tend to move to cities for the city and not for a job.

A unique downtown could also be the answer to increasing tourism.

Edward Hill, a distinguished scholar and professor of economic development at Cleveland State University, said an interesting downtown is what visitors remember and keeps them coming back.

Austin, Texas, for example, focused on creating a unique downtown including the theme, "Keep Austin Weird."

"It looks different and you remember you have been to Austin," Hill said.

In Wyoming, a number of cities, including Rock Springs, Green River, Laramie and Dubois participate in the "Wyoming Main Street" program designed to upgrade a city center's appearance and economic viability. Part of the group's mission aims to build "consensus and cooperation between many groups playing roles in downtown," the program's mission states.

If downtowns are important, then why not focus on just the traditional downtown in Casper, and as it expands, let the growth spill over into the neighboring area?

Sylvia Hiler, owner of Alpenglow Natural Foods, remembers what downtown was like before the Eastridge Mall, and stuck around for the tougher economic years after the mall. She wonders if the city could work to fill the empty store fronts in the immediate downtown and worry about the peripheral later.

"We are extremely busy now, and the other stores are too," she said. "But bringing more business in west, I'm not sure that will be beneficial. We aren't that large of a city."

Casper City Manager Tom Forslund said he considers all of the land from Poplar to east of Veteran's Park part of Casper's downtown.

The lines drawn to separate downtown from the Old Yellowstone District are artificial, he said, and neither area is more or less important than the other.

Forslund also said he doesn't think growth will happen in the core without help from the city.

On its own, the private sector will determine the city's future, and it may or may not be in the center of Casper.

But one Casper commercial Realtor said developers look at demographic areas when they build, and downtown already has unique things to offer.

"The strength of any community is its downtown core," said Stephen Bennett, co-owner of Casper's Commercial Services Inc. "I would like to see them concentrate more on what we have."

Rob Godby, chairman of the department of economics for the University of Wyoming, said if downtown develops strongly, property values will increase. Once developers know there is something happening in the area, more business will follow.

Yet beyond arguing about how much of downtown should be renewed and how, the economic experts, business owners and city staff agree it needs to happen.

Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com