Striving for Attainable Infill Housing in Arkansas

Willow Bend is a new, nonprofit development planned for an ecologically rich, 7.6-acre infill site in the Walker Park neighborhood of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The project is envisioned as a replicable model of sustainable and attainable housing.

2 minute read

August 9, 2013, 8:00 AM PDT

By sbuntin


Willow Bend

Christopher Illustration / Terrain.org

Once completed, Willow Bend will serve as a pilot project for future attainable housing in the region. The design was completed in 2011 and focuses on a sense of place and the human experience, creating a neighborhood of approximately 78 residential units of mixed types (up from an original 63 single-family homes) that can be loved by its inhabitants for generations to come. This will be accomplished by integrating landscapes, a mix of residences, and neighbors into an urban environment that “reflects a deeper civic meaning and a distinct community character,” according to the project’s design consultant, Community by Design.

The plan for Willow Bend was initially driven by a series of design charrettes conducted by Dover Kohl & Partners in 2006 as part of Fayetteville’s long-range master planning process. In those charrettes, neighbors identified characteristics and goals that form the guidelines for how Willow Bend is designed. Throughout the project, stakeholders, led by the nonprofit Fayetteville Partners for Better Housing, have likewise stressed an equitable focus on economics, culture, and environment in order to meet their goal of crafting a neighborhood that provides citizens making less than 50 to 80 percent of the median income the opportunity to live in town and become homeowners.

Fayetteville Partners for Better Housing—Willow Bend’s developer—collaborated with the City of Fayetteville and the National Center for Appropriate Technologies to obtain funding. Together, they were selected as the recipient of a $500,000 Sustainable Cities Institute Pilot City Program grant, backed by the Home Depot Foundation. Though 37 cities applied for the grant, only two were awarded: Fayetteville and Charleston, South Carolina.

Monday, July 29, 2013 in Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight