I commented on this in the episode discussion thread:
And the whole “they picked the format of an old-timey midwestern American town” thing just screamed, “we drove to NoCal to shoot in a small town to save on budget.” Or, possibly, Paramount’s backlot. I miss the creative sets they had for Federation colonies in TNG and DS9, even if they were mostly one small courtyard with a fountain and lively market surrounded by a huge, gorgeous matte painting. Fake or not, they were always much more imaginative than trying to pass of some rural 21st-century town as a 23rd-century colony on an alien planet. like, why are there huge roads and parking lots everywhere?