By Mia R. Bonifazi
According to the government census, the Northwest Arkansas area is the 9th-fastest-growing metro area by percentage growth in the United States. Residents can see this everywhere: constant construction on roads, overfilled streets with bumper-to-bumper traffic, new residential developments, and, of course, the whispers between people who’ve lived there longest about what the area is becoming. The rumors and fears of residents’ seep into conversation, as they worry about the loss of small-town identity that had been the base of NWA for years prior, when it was mostly farmland.
The New York Times article, “How a Walmart Heir Is Transforming Rural Arkansas Into a Design Powerhouse,” discusses how investment from the Walton family has transformed acres of land into sublime architecture, including the recent expansions on Crystal Bridges and the construction of the Alice Walton School of Medicine. These projects that have grown the image of Bentonville into something beyond small-town flair: an image of a more eloquent, modern-day-inspired small town, balanced between what is often described as big city resources and small-town community.
The article goes on to describe Alice Walton’s distaste for the disrespect Arkansas receives, consistently looked over. Looking at the arrival of medical colleges and private schools, an outsider would rarely guess they’re in a state routinely ranked lowest in the U.S. in health, education and highest in poverty. The change in the area is visual; older, more decayed buildings stand beside rising hotels in Bentonville Square, and the streets of Fayetteville have new, colossal apartment buildings everywhere you look. Even with the Walton family’s generous donations, the poverty of the state bleeds through, especially when noting that single-family homes on average are just over $490,000 and rent on average about $2,000. Prices are not easily afforded to residents. In Fayetteville, where students are only realistically able to live in a dorm their freshman year. Despite the construction of new apartment complexes, many complexes have high prices for students to manage each month on top of what some consider a national cost-of-living crisis.
Finn Wiseman is a freshman studio art major and has lived in Bentonville for the entirety of his life. After recently graduating from Bentonville High School, he has seen how the area has changed over time, from expansions to population growth to construction of the new Walmart campus. He describes the expansion to the high schools as incremental, almost hesitant in nature. Bentonville West had a recent expansion of two new wings in 2024 and was recently approved for another $10 million expansion to keep up with the area’s increased population.
“It’s just constant,” Wiseman said. “They never stop expanding. . Bentonville [High School] got a whole new building at one point, and [they’re] gonna need more because there’s just more and more people showing up. I’d honestly say possibly a new high.”
He noted, as well, that he has noticed that the University of Arkansas campus is seemingly more accepting of queerness than BHS was, citing the more diverse political identities on campus compared to BHS. This could be connected to the increased number of people moving to the area from other states, counties and countries that lean more democratic or liberal. The social landscape as well as the visual landscape of NWA is changing in a relatively short time.
“It always had that cozy smaller area vibe but [it’s like] they just built a new town in the middle of [the old] town… and I don’t recognize it, and I’ve lived here my entire life,” Wiseman said.
Like many other residents of the area, Wiseman wonders what the town he grew up in will look like by the time he graduates from the U of A. In a place constantly expanding and changing, he says that the way he keeps a connection with his hometown is by visiting the same places with the same people, such as Fruitilicious in downtown Bentonville, which has remained relatively unchanged since it opened.
When such a large organization dominates a space, it can highly influence how that region looks and feels, whether it is a large university or corporation. In addition, the people who lived in the town prior to the organization’s arrival–or in this case, prior to the Walton family’s increased philanthropy in the area–are likely to feel differently about activities, impacts, and changes associated with those large organizations than the people who moved there afterwards.
Even if the changes bring more jobs, wealth and higher quality of life, people will miss the town they used to know. It is human nature. Right now, NWA sits partly in visual contradiction. Some things have not changed at all, while others have changed beyond recognition. Carl Smith, associate dean of the School of Architecture and Design and professor of landscape
Architecture thinks we are drawn to that visual complexity. And, within limits, that most of our great cities and places tended to be a mixture of old and new.
“That’s what gives them their character and identity.” Smith said. “Ideally, I think in most cases, not all, but in most cases, you’d want to have both to old and new to provide variety and character”
Smith said that this gives future architects in the area a base or bones to go off of, rather than having to start on a blank slate. Since each building contributes to the cultural landscape of the area, it’s important that architects understand what makes the area historically distinct from other places so their building does not become at odds with the landscape (or people) around it. Especially for architects outside of NWA, older buildings provide important insights for their projects.
“I think it’s very possible that if you are looking at a place from the outside and you’re making decisions about how that place will change, without tapping into the collective wisdom and history of people that have more time in that particular place than you do, it’s not unlikely that you will miss something important,” Smith said. “Or, on the other hand, you might exaggerate something that you think is important but actually isn’t.”
NWA will change. As with every town, there is no way for it to stay completely stagnant and survive. NWA already suffers greatly from a lack of affordable housing for its rapidly growing and diverse population, leaving residents with few alternatives to rents they struggle to afford. As a result, people live outside of main city limits, relying on cars during a steep rise in gas prices. Combined with the national cost-of-living price rise, average residents, even those with well-paying jobs, struggle financially. NWA, if it desires to grow rather than crumble, will have to take these factors into account for all future planning decisions.
But this is an issue present across the U.S and reflected in several cities, towns and communities within the country. And while the financial issues of the country are much harder to solve, there are ways to allow NWA to continue to grow and maintain the ambience it prides itself on. As Smith mentioned, it is important for emerging architects and land developers to take note of the structures already present in the area and work with local opinions on major design choices. NWA has a particular penchant for greenery embedded into structures and surrounding areas, for example, which future builders will likely have to account for. In terms of residents, supporting unique small businesses — such as local coffee shops like Kennedy Coffee, Thrift stores like The Library Vintage and restaurants like Hugo’s — will ensure that these local cornerstones can continue to thrive and be enjoyed.
The ability to see and visit these places is vital to making NWA not feel like a stranger, as described by Wiseman. NWA needs to understand which parts of itself can be sacrificed for the demands of expansion and which cannot, both culturally and physically.