A Place For Every Person

A new housing development in Arkansas is designed for neurodiversity and community.

By Maci Nelson, Associate ASLA

The master plan for South Cato Springs weaves nature and active transportation throughout the community.OFFICE OF STRATEGY + DESIGN — The master plan for South Cato Springs weaves nature and active transportation throughout the community. *Image courtesy Office of Strategy + Design.*

The ability to decide how to get from one place to another is a choice that many people take for granted. But for many neurodivergent individuals, these small yet meaningful travels from school or to work are a resource for a sense of self-actualization, dignity, and independence, experts say. At South Cato Springs, a 230-acre Ozarkian mixed-use, mixed-income development designed to serve neurodivergent individuals in Fayetteville, Arkansas, an emphasis on nature-immersed mobility that promotes nonvehicular travel as the norm could help the development become a model of inclusivity for the region.

The development, which broke ground in June 2023, is being led by SLS Community, a Fayetteville nonprofit connecting neurodivergent adults to resources, and the New York-based Office of Strategy + Design (OSD). Betts McCombs and Ashton McCombs III created SLS in 2016 in response to the limited options for housing, meaningful work, and socialization for their daughter Anna, a young adult on the autism spectrum. The master plan envisions connections between the neurodiverse and broader communities, achieved in part through pedestrian-friendliness and nodes for social gathering throughout the site. The staff at SLS says they believe this project is the start of a cultural shift that embraces living with differences of neurodiverse people rather than separating them.

“This is not a neurodivergent-only place. It is not exclusionary,” says Ashton McCombs IV, the executive director of SLS Community and Anna’s older brother. Simon David, ASLA, the principal of OSD, says he also is designing toward inclusion. “When we divide up and segregate from each other, it is such a huge loss for all of us,” he says.

Part of the development’s plan are microneighborhoods that include spaces for urban farming and recreation. OFFICE OF STRATEGY + DESIGN — Part of the development’s plan are microneighborhoods that include spaces
for urban farming and recreation. *Image courtesy Office of Strategy + Design.*

OSD pulled inspiration from the surrounding forest environment, aiming to honor the way natural systems bring us together. The walkable spaces respond to the existing site’s sloping topography and will incorporate woodland planting. Canopied walkways and trails that link to the adjacent Kessler Mountain Regional Park and the Razorback Regional Greenway will create a comfortable, shaded space for all. To support success and independent living for neurodiverse adults, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences plans to house a research and care facility on the site. The facility will provide a variety of services to this region that have been previously inaccessible for many neurodiverse families.

The development also plans to increase the employment of neurodivergent adults with vocational training in urban agriculture and hospitality. The master plan calls for specialized housing near centrally located shops and an integrated urban farm. This farm is referred to as the agrihood and is designed as a part of a gathering space rather than a separate working space.

“We believe that everybody has something that they can do that would provide them with the huge benefit of having a productive day,” Betts McCombs says. “Every human has something to give, a skill to develop, to help them feel like a useful participant in society.”