Solving the Workforce Housing Problem with Victor Dover's Design-Centric Approach to Place

I am Northwest Arkansas

About the Show:

Victor Dover returns to Northwest Arkansas to find a new great American small town emerging but must question whether the old values of placemaking can be maintained in order to sustain its prosperity. He is part of the Northwest Arkansas Council’s Future is Now Speaker Series.

"If you're trying to figure out, and you're scratching your heads trying to figure out where there's room to build to solve the housing problem, the answer is some of this land that's thought of as good for nothing but Taco Bell and the like could in fact be housing land. And that is a tall order because it requires all those corridors, everyone, to work together. You can't do it without the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works reconceiving the very idea.”

• Victor Dover

Victor Dover is an award-winning urban designer and co-author with 25 years of experience designing walkable, sustainable development. His work spans five continents and has been featured in major city planning textbooks.

Victor Dover was surprised to find the transformation of Bentonville Square from a threadbare, lonely place to a vibrant community. He was inspired by the reinvestment in the town and the conversations being had about placemaking and how to best use the land. He shared his experience of how successful development in other towns was achieved through design and creating places that people wanted to live in. Victor encouraged Northwest Arkansas to use the same approach to balance out the increasing demand for housing, especially affordable housing, and to build places that people were proud to live in.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. How the "second coming of the great American small town" is being achieved in Northwest Arkansas.

2. How to build great, walkable, beautiful neighborhoods that are satisfying basic utilitarian needs and creating value for developers.

3. How to learn from the successes of places like the Low Country, South Carolina, and Buffalo, New York to channel prosperity into long-lasting gifts for the future.

All this and more on this episode of I am Northwest Arkansas.

Important Links and Mentions on the Show*

Website for Dover Kohl & Partners

LinkedIn for Dover Kohl & Partners

Email for Victor Dover

Victor Dover on LinkedIn

Walton Family Foundation

Downtown Springdale Alliance

Connect with the Northwest Arkansas Council

NWA Council Website

NWA Council on Instagram

NWA Council on Facebook

NWA Council on LinkedIn

NWA Council on Twitter

This episode is sponsored by*

Signature Bank of Arkansas "Community Banking at its Best!"

Try Canva For Free Today!

Northwest Arkansas Council - "Life Works Here!"

*Note: some of the resources mentioned may be affiliate links. This means we get paid a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.

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Mentioned in this episode:

IANWA - Signature Bank Ad RW VO

Signature Bank of Arkansas "Community Banking at its Best!"

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