Mission

The mission of the University of Arkansas Community Design Center is to advance creative development through education, research and design solutions that enhance the physical environment.

Vision

The University of Arkansas Community Design Center (UACDC) is an award-winning outreach center of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. UACDC has developed a repertoire of new community design methodologies with currency at the national level. UACDC design solutions introduce a multiple bottom line, integrating social and environmental measures into economic development. Our recombinant design solutions add long-term value and offer collateral benefits related to sustained economic capacity, enhanced ecologies, and improved public health -- the foundations of creative development.

Approach

Expanding the Consideration of Civic Space

The contemporary public domain has shifted to an expanded urban field that includes suburban and other non-urban environments -- a geography of sprawl. Compounded by the decline of traditional downtowns, this shift poses new planning challenges for which no adequate civic development models exist. Our planning approaches are tailored for historic downtowns, rural sites, watersheds, highway/rail infrastructure, the college campus, retail environments, and the office/residential/retail subdivision.

Developing New Models of Design

Through meta-disciplinary research and design principles, UACDC recombines ecological, architectural, landscape architectural and urban design solutions to address emerging planning challenges. Our research maps the unique economic, political, and cultural processes that have shaped the Arkansas landscape. Our work addresses new challenges in affordable housing, urban sprawl, environmental planning, and management of regional growth or decline.

Constructing Discourse

Design professionals, educators, and students seeking civic design experience staff the UACDC. We collaborate with other agencies such as the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, the Center for Business and Economic Research, Audubon Arkansas, and the Arkansas Forestry Commission. Through work with our clients and collaborators, we initiate learning networks that facilitate creative development.

Impact

UACDC was founded in 1995 and has provided design and planning services to over 30 communities and organizations across Arkansas. Our planning has helped Arkansas sponsors to secure nearly $62 million in grant funding to enact suggested improvements.