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. 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...