Area needs to grow up

Density done right helps alleviate urban sprawl

I was invited to speak to a class at the Walton College of Business on the University of Arkansas campus recently. After my talk, a student asked me: “What is the city of Fayetteville doing to help Fayetteville to grow up instead of growing out?”

The best questions are usually the simplest.

I responded by describing some of the city’s zoning plans and how Fayetteville tries to encourage developments closer to the center of town so fewer people have to commute in from far-flung subdivisions and office parks. But the sense I got from the business students was they noticed more being built out than anything being built up.

This got me thinking. What the students see is suburban sprawl. What they want is a more urban environment. They want a community that has grown up both literally and figuratively. But growing up means getting past the idea that we all need a big lawn and our own car that we can drive anywhere and park for free. Growing up means density.

My regular bike commute serves as a daily illustration of the decades we’ve spent building ever-outward and using land inefficiently.

On the first two miles of bike commute, I ride past about 200 houses before I reach the first commercial establishment at the edge of downtown Fayetteville. As I go, those homes tend to get nicer and closer together as I transition from suburban areas to the historic district and finally into urban spaces.

It’s a beautiful bike ride, don’t get me wrong. But if those 200 homes consisted of a tight mix of town homes, midrise apartments, pocket parks and corner stores, they could sit on a few blocks rather than being spread across two miles of roadway. And my 15-minute bike ride would be a pleasant five minute walk instead.

The best analogy I’ve come up with to compare an urban neighborhood and suburban sprawl is the cereal aisle versus a library shelf. Now hear me out.

The cereal aisle in the grocery store has boxes oriented toward the customer to take up maximum shelf space in an attempt to sell a product. I liken this to the curb appeal or a suburban house that tries to look as fancy and spacious as possible to attract buyers.

The urban housing model orients the homes perpendicular to the street for maximum efficiency and access. Like the books in a library.

So ask yourself: Do you want to design your town like a cereal aisle or a library? I say libraries probably offer us a smarter model than the place that sells Frankenberry and Trix.

And I say all of this as someone who lives in a cereal box house. Eventually, when I grow up, I’m hoping to move into a book home someday.

When you look at the challenges facing Northwest Arkansans — traffic, affordability, public health, climate change —urban density plays a role in addressing many of them. People living closer to one another makes infrastructure cheaper, public services more effective and public transit viable.

Density has to be done right. And if we can pull it off, we’ll have a region we can all grow in together.

Dane Eifling is mobility coordinator for the city of Fayetteville.

The best questions are usually the simplest.