Dan Camp, developer of the Cotton District

Dan Camp, developer of the Cotton District in Starkville, Mississippi, was elected mayor of Starkville June 7, winning 61 percent of the vote. Camp argued during the campaign that a new police headquarters and municipal court facility should be built downtown, not in a southwest corner of the 22,000-population city. More than 30 years ago Camp, a former shop teacher with an interest in architecture and urban design, started using local labor, local materials, and handcrafted millwork to revive a blighted neighborhood next to a closed cotton mill. Having looked closely at traditional buildings in Vicksburg, Savannah, New Orleans, Alexandria, Natchez, and small Southern towns, he created a collection of brick, wood, and stucco houses of varying types and sizes that looks as if it could be a historic district and that accommodates residents of varying income levels.