Little Rock’s Downtown Is Mostly Parking Lots

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by mhays

Are you serious? We vote for school bonds even if we don't have kids.

Thinking beyond yourself is basic citizenship and patriotism. And maybe some pragmatism, as the health of cities will often support the rural areas.

A gas tax would presumably spread benefits to whatever geography is paying in any case.

Am I serious that raising the gas tax to make marginal improvements in ONE city in a state that is overwhelmingly rural is a bad idea? Yes.

[MolsonExport]

Particularly to outsiders, states are defined to some extent by their biggest cities. And big cities are defined primarily by their downtowns. And if their downtown offers little to visitors other than parking lots, it is not leaving a very good image.

[jtown,man]

Yes. But LR having an awesome bus service will do zero for its image for outsiders, besides us nerds.

Also businesses and tourists will stay away when gas is 3x the national average.

[Fresh]

What's the end game of this though. Is the world really missing out on a slightly more vibrant downtown Little Rock? Are the citizens of Little Rock? Would LR have anything to attract tourists even if it had a few less parking lots?

This just doesn't strike me as a problem that needs solving, it's just the way things are.

[KB0679]

Little Rock actually has quite a robust fintech sector: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/334247

[KB0679]

Originally Posted by Fresh

What's the end game of this though. Is the world really missing out on a slightly more vibrant downtown Little Rock? Are the citizens of Little Rock? Would LR have anything to attract tourists even if it had a few less parking lots?

This just doesn't strike me as a problem that needs solving, it's just the way things are.

Little Rock is representative of several other Southern cities its size, particularly those that are relatively healthy and stable but lacking attributes such as a unique culture, a well-preserved historic urban core, a pronounced geographic setting, etc that would at least attract large numbers of visitors, or an important economic engine--or the ability to curry the political favor to get significant economic investment steered its way--to stimulate strong job growth, both of which would accelerate downtown development and produce increased property tax revenue for the city. Such cities usually also have in-state/regional peers to compete with that are getting that level of development. All of this makes for challenging circumstances to some degree with the emerging post-pandemic urban environment being a wild card.

[jtown,man]

LR has a minor draw of Arkansans who want to drink and shit but don't want to drive all the way to Fayetteville(or don't like the college crowd) or want to go to Memphis. Plenty of people in northeast Arkansas make the trip, although it isn't as common as going to Memphis( probably 85% go to Memphis, 15% to LR).

[BG918]

Originally Posted by KB0679

Little Rock is representative of several other Southern cities its size, particularly those that are relatively healthy and stable but lacking attributes such as a unique culture, a well-preserved historic urban core, a pronounced geographic setting, etc that would at least attract large numbers of visitors, or an important economic engine--or the ability to curry the political favor to get significant economic investment steered its way--to stimulate strong job growth, both of which would accelerate downtown development and produce increased property tax revenue for the city. Such cities usually also have in-state/regional peers to compete with that are getting that level of development. All of this makes for challenging circumstances to some degree with the emerging post-pandemic urban environment being a wild card.

Compared to most other Mid-South cities Little Rock sits in a scenic area next to the Ouachita Mountains. The neighborhoods west of downtown by Allsopp Park and on the bluffs above the river are in a beautiful setting. More similar to Birmingham, Nashville or Greenville, SC. So it has that going for it along with the Arkansas River flowing next to downtown which is a navigable river. After visiting a few times I’ve wondered why this city isn’t growing faster and more well-known. Seems like it could be a good alternate for people priced out of places like Austin, Nashville or Atlanta.

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by BG918

Seems like it could be a good alternate for people priced out of places like Austin, Nashville or Atlanta.

Jobs and it's in Arkansas. I'm thinking most people would have to take a paycut moving from those cities to Little Rock.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

Jobs and it's in Arkansas. I'm thinking most people would have to take a paycut moving from those cities to Little Rock.

Likely true, for now. I see the Mid-South gaining a lot of traction going forward though and cities like Little Rock will be part of that. The whole belt between Tulsa and Raleigh-Durham along and near the 35th parallel. Nashville and Atlanta are already stars within this region, will Little Rock and Birmingham step up?

[KB0679]

Originally Posted by BG918

Likely true, for now. I see the Mid-South gaining a lot of traction going forward though and cities like Little Rock will be part of that. The whole belt between Tulsa and Raleigh-Durham along and near the 35th parallel. Nashville and Atlanta are already stars within this region, will Little Rock and Birmingham step up?

Birmingham has already started to. There are some impressive things happening there and when it hosts the World Games next year, it will start to get noticed.

[BnaBreaker]

Originally Posted by KB0679

Birmingham has already started to. There are some impressive things happening there and when it hosts the World Games next year, it will start to get noticed.

What are the "World Games?" Like a knock off Olympics?

[The North One]

Originally Posted by Fresh

What's the end game of this though. Is the world really missing out on a slightly more vibrant downtown Little Rock? Are the citizens of Little Rock? Would LR have anything to attract tourists even if it had a few less parking lots?

This just doesn't strike me as a problem that needs solving, it's just the way things are.

You don't see how horrible land use and bad urban planning in the US is something that needs solving? And on a forum like this? Is this a joke?

[TimCity2000]

Originally Posted by BnaBreaker

What are the "World Games?" Like a knock off Olympics?

in short, an international competition featuring sports that are NOT part of the Olympics. a lot of sports start here and eventually make their way into the Olympic Games (beach volleyball and badminton, for instance). conversely, i think there are some that used to by Olympic events but are no longer.

list of sports included in the 2022 World Games: Sports Program

[BnaBreaker]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

in short, an international competition featuring sports that are NOT part of the Olympics. a lot of sports start here and eventually make their way into the Olympic Games (beach volleyball and badminton, for instance). conversely, i think there are some that used to by Olympic events but are no longer.

list of sports included in the 2022 World Games: Sports Program

Huh, that's pretty interesting! Seems like a pretty big deal. I've never even heard of some of those sports... Korfball? Fistball? Orienteering?... so I'd be interested to watch! Thanks for the education!

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

Jobs and it's in Arkansas. I'm thinking most people would have to take a paycut moving from those cities to Little Rock.

Originally Posted by BG918

Likely true, for now. I see the Mid-South gaining a lot of traction going forward though and cities like Little Rock will be part of that. The whole belt between Tulsa and Raleigh-Durham along and near the 35th parallel. Nashville and Atlanta are already stars within this region, will Little Rock and Birmingham step up?

People are moving to Arkansas: to Fayetteville and northwest Arkansas. That area is in the mountains, not just near the mountains. And Fayetteville is a college town, so it's hip and has some cultural amenities and all.

On the surface, the only thing Little Rock has going for it over northwest Arkansas is an airport with better connections to other cities across the US. Maybe I'm wrong, but as an outsider, it sure seems that simple.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

People are moving to Arkansas: to Fayetteville and northwest Arkansas. That area is in the mountains, not just near the mountains. And Fayetteville is a college town, so it's hip and has some cultural amenities and all.

On the surface, the only thing Little Rock has going for it over northwest Arkansas is an airport with better connections to other cities across the US. Maybe I'm wrong, but as an outsider, it sure seems that simple.

It's that simple.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

On the surface, the only thing Little Rock has going for it over northwest Arkansas is an airport with better connections to other cities across the US. Maybe I'm wrong, but as an outsider, it sure seems that simple.

Does Little Rock even have that? I've never actually been to Arkansas, but I had to look into flights (for work) to both Little Rock and Bentonville/Fayetteville a few times in the past. I was surprised that there are no direct flights between NYC and Little Rock, while there are direct flights between NYC and Bentonville/Fayetteville.

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Does Little Rock even have that? I've never actually been to Arkansas, but I had to look into flights (for work) to both Little Rock and Bentonville/Fayetteville a few times in the past. I was surprised that there are no direct flights between NYC and Little Rock, while there are direct flights between NYC and Bentonville/Fayetteville.

Looking it up on Wikipedia, it would appear that Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport actually does offer more destinations than does Little Rock National Airport. You can fly direct from XNA to San Francisco, LaGuardia and Newark, DC, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Austin, and you can't from LIT. About the only destination LIT offers that XNA does not is St. Louis.

[Crawford]

I mean, one big difference is that Little Rock is a city/metro area, while NWA is basically an amorphous geography of sprawl around Walmart HQ and University of Arkansas. If you want to live in a more defined city/metro, with all that entails, Little Rock would be the logical choice.

And re. flights, it makes sense that NWA would have much better connections, given the importance of Walmart/suppliers/affiliates. For years Walmart had some "design center" in SoHo/Tribeca area, which probably accounts for all their hipster, coastal elitist cred (sarcasm). They probably have other regional offices requiring regular connections.