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ABSTRACT
Northwest Arkansas planning policies, like a number of communities across the country, have identified goals working toward more sustainable, livable, and subsequently denser development patterns. However, the understanding of residents’ perceptions of such living arrangements is limited. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of Northwest Arkansas residents’ spatial preferences through a survey of residents’ preferences for private amenities and their trade-off with various spatial densities and patterns in support of sustainability. Results of the survey indicate a preference for, and experience with, single-family residential living arrangements and amenities, with the preponderance (80%) of survey respondents currently living in single-family housing. There is a preference for low-density neighborhoods even if it means sacrificing other amenities. This study is in alignment with previous research suggesting that people may learn to prefer where they live. Additionally, while the majority of survey respondents indicated a preference for communal greenspaces, renters are more likely to prefer communal greenspaces when compared to homeowners. This study indicates that attached, multi-family development and renter development in Northwest Arkansas should consider the provision of communal green spaces, walkable access to transit, and walkable access to services as desired amenities for those residents.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
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Notes on contributors
Noah S. Billig
Dr. Noah S. Billig, AICP, ASLA is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas. He teaches design studios and courses in public participation, urban design, environmental design & planning, and the American landscape. His research focuses on participatory design and planning, adaptive urbanism, and informal settlements. Billig has taught, researched, and practiced in Minneapolis, Istanbul, and Vienna, Austria, including working as an urban design instructor at Istanbul Technical University and as a landscape designer for Arzu Nuhoglu Peyzaj Tasarim in Istanbul.
Carl A. Smith
Dr. Carl A. Smith,CMLI, Int. ASLA is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas. He is also a Chartered Landscape Architect in the UK. He has wide, international experience in the practice, teaching and research of landscape architecture and urban design. Smith is primary author of the book Sustainable Residential Landscapes: A Checklist Tool, which was published internationally by Wiley-Blackwell in September 2007, and he has been widely published in scholarly journal and professional publications. He has delivered lectures on sustainable housing issues in Europe, South America and the USA to bodies such as The British Landscape Institute, The American Society of Landscape Architects, The American Planning Association, The International Federation of Landscape Architects and The European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools.
Rachael Moyer
Rachael Moyer is a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy and a M.S. in Statistics and Analytics at the University of Arkansas. Her research explores issues in environmental and energy policy and seeks to understand individual level attitudes and preferences toward policies under conditions of controversy and uncertainty. She has presented research at numerous professional conferences on policy, political science and public administration and has published in multiple policy journals. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Arkansas and is a Distinguished Doctoral Fellow.