FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – More than 50% of the world’s population now lives in cities and Northwest Arkansas is no different. Cities in the area are growing at a rapid clip, with the region’s population expected to double to nearly 1 million by 2045.

“We have an opportunity to reimagine how we inhabit our cities,” said Noah Billig, associate professor of landscape architecture in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. “It’s not a matter of reproducing what we’ve done before — we need to look at things in a more critical, more comprehensive way.”

Billig will outline critical components of tomorrow’s cities in a public lecture, “Sustainable Cities,” which will be offered online via Zoom at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Please fill out this online interest form to gain access to the lecture.

Billig’s lecture will preview the Fall 2021 Honors College Signature Seminar, Sustainable Cities.

Looking Beyond CARS

The U.S. interstate highway system, launched in the 20th century and now extending more than 48,000 miles, came at a price far higher than construction and maintenance: think commutes from home to work, carbon emissions, suburban sprawl encroaching on natural habitats, and a more sedentary populace.

“Our freeways and highway systems are one of the most subsidized systems in the history of the world,” Billig said. “We have to rethink what we’re paying for.”

The need to check traffic jams drives more highway construction, but it turns out that it’s a “build it and they will come” scenario: “Studies have shown that the more lanes you build, the faster they fill up,” Billig said.

Billig envisions denser cities, where parking lots flip to residential developments and aging building stock finds new life as workspaces, restaurants and retail. This sort of development provides amenities like “walkability — access to jobs, the grocery store, the coffee shop, transportation.” More walking also fosters better public health.

Cities That Serve All People

To be truly sustainable, cities must meet the needs of all people, and there is work to do on that front, Billig said.

“Due to systemic racism and rising property values, some people have been left behind,” he said. “Environmental injustice is still with us, from pollution and heat island effects to wealth built over generations.”

Solving these issues requires a multidisciplinary approach and can involve small-scale development and unorthodox, “bottom up” solutions where people manage their own neighborhoods and communities.

Perhaps most important: “It’s important to get involved at the local level,” Billig stressed. “Compromise is often necessary, and it’s never easy, but that’s where the action is.”

Noah Billig teaches design studios and courses in public participation, adaptive urban design, environmental design and planning, the American landscape, and study abroad in Turkey and Italy. He serves as the honors director for the Fay Jones School and as director of the urban and regional planning minor.

Billig has lived, taught, researched and practiced in Minneapolis, Istanbul, Vienna and Fayetteville. This includes working as an urban design instructor at Istanbul Technical University, a landscape designer for Arzu Nuhoglu Peyzaj Tasarim, and as a teacher in Minneapolis Public Schools.

His research focuses on adaptive design and planning, including participatory design and planning engagement; environmental justice; generative design; and perceptions of environments. This work learns from ecological and generative processes, both social and physical, to address wicked problems with nimble, resilient approaches for cities and landscapes.

Signature Seminars Explore Diverse Topics

Sustainable Cities is one of three Honors College Signature Seminars scheduled for Fall 2021. Other topics will include:

• Black Utopias, taught by Caree Banton, an associate professor of African diaspora history and director of the African and African American Studies Program.
• Conspiracy Theory, taught by Ryan Neville-Shepard, assistant professor of communication.

Deans of each college may nominate professors to participate in this program, and those who are selected to teach will become Dean’s Fellows in the Honors College.

Honors students must apply to participate, and those selected will be designated Dean’s Signature Scholars. The course application is posted online on the Signature Seminars web page. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, March 31.

About the Honors College: The University of Arkansas Honors College was established in 2002 and brings together high-achieving undergraduate students and the university’s top professors to share transformative learning experiences. Each year the Honors College awards up to 90 freshman fellowships that provide $72,000 over four years, and more than $1 million in undergraduate research and study abroad grants. The Honors College is nationally recognized for the high caliber of students it admits and graduates. Honors students enjoy small, in-depth classes, and programs are offered in all disciplines, tailored to students’ academic interests, with interdisciplinary collaborations encouraged. Fifty percent of Honors College graduates have studied abroad and 100 percent of them have engaged in mentored research.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.