Ponyville's "suburbs" · 4:05pm Oct 23rd, 2014
There has been a lot of talk about the upcoming Friends Forever comic issue featuring Rainbow Dash and Spitfire. Specifically, the pseudo-suburban scene at the beginning with sidewalks and tall wooden fences.
Where in Ponyville might a suburban-style place with dirt roads and raised sidewalks exist, with fenced yards on houses? Time to roll out the ol' imagination.
I'd guess it's the industrial / commercial side of that rural town, where carts from other towns and cities constantly come and go. The sidewalks show ponies where it's safe to walk without being run over by two-horse or two-oxen teams pulling commercial carts, and it keeps commerce flowing at the pace it needs. The fences give residents some privacy from all the out-of-towners. There's probably a "truck stop" along that route, and it's probably near Rich's Barnyard Bargains and other low-cost stores.
Ironic that where our American urban/suburban eyes see suburbs, rural eyes would see the artifacts of commerce.
As towns grow into cities, it's not unusual to get that sort of patchwork of neighborhoods. After all, we have seen the richer side of town in "Twilight Time," and the center of town isn't either commercial or shabby. I can't see Rarity's boutique being the only clothing store in town, and I can't see an "eighteen-hoofer" pulling through town square to deliver rolls of fabric. I can imagine they get unpacked at the land equivalent of a port or dock, or perhaps even at a dock by the river, then sent to their addressees.
I bet Scootaloo lives near there. In "Less," she certainly does.
When considering Ponyville's history and urban layout, you must keep in mind that ultimately, the town is there because Celestia wanted a safe base of operations where the future Element-bearers could reach the Castle of the Two Sisters, and the Elements of Harmony she had left there. We even see her granting land there for Granny Smith's family in a flashback.
So the first wave of settlement is the old homesteads: Sweet Apple Acres, and whatever other farms that were established around the same time. Probably Stinking Rich had a farm, too, before he began retailing the Zap Apple jam.
Next part is the town center, with those Earth pony style thatched houses, originally built by craftsponies and others who arrived to take advantage of the new opportunities here. I bet the town coalesced around the library tree; that's clearly very old, and predates modern Ponyville.
As Ponyville grows, unicorns and pegasi start moving in. The place gets a dedicated weather service outpost, both to handle the needs of the farms and to observe the wild weather blowing in from the Everfree. The odder-looking buildings are probably from this period, like Sugarcube Corner and the neighborhood where Rarity's boutique is.
The town keeps on growing, and there's more traffic and trade, meaning the kind of a commercial "suburban" quarter gets established on one side of the town, with the roads running to nearby towns meeting there.
And when the railroad comes to Ponyville -- it seems like a pretty recent development -- I bet the station ends up being located between this "industrial district" and the old city center, serving both freight and passenger trade. The direct rail connection to Canterlot is definitely going to spur Ponyville's growth! This is also the point where the newer, tall brick buildings, like the ones we see in Mare Do Well, start getting built.
Edit: Woah, that ended up being longer than I intended! What do you think, does this sound plausible?