by Sam Hathaway
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — According to a list made by Livability.com, Fayetteville was named one of the 10 best places to raise a family. The website put the list together after analyzing all U.S. cities with a population between 20,000 and 300,000 that also had great school ratings and low childcare costs.
The cities were chosen based on many factors, beginning with the percentage of the population that is under age 6. This included others factors such as quality of public schools, measures of children’s health, affordability of housing and transportation options, cost of childcare, daycare options, parks and libraries, walkability and the physical environment. In fact, even the number of candy stores was taken into account.
According to the website, “Families who live in Fayetteville can take advantage of 37 city parks, 84 miles of trails, 15 natural areas and tons of other places to play outside. The city also has a thriving arts scene, plus lots of fun traditions that all generations can appreciate at University of Arkansas sporting events. On top of that, the Fayetteville metropolitan area has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country at 2.5 percent.”
With the release of City Plan 2040, Fayetteville is expected to grow significantly in the next twenty years. Senior Planner of the City of Fayetteville Jonathon Curth, says tackling the problems associated with the growth of Fayetteville will be a challenge but the changes to the city will improve the overall resident experience.
“We are trying to work with residents and students to see what are the parts that have caused pain with in-fill development and if those can be helped by building sidewalks, providing more parks, things like that.”
Fayetteville ranked eighth on the list behind: Moscow, Idaho; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Beaverton, Oregon; Fort Collins, Colorado; Bloomington, Indiana; State College, Pennsylvania; and Oak Park, Illinois. Morgantown, West Virginia and Bozeman, Montana rounded out the top 10.