I'm confused... I read all this "hype" about Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas striving to be the green valley of the universe. Yet, the community transportation infrastructure has no viable car-pooling incentives, no meaningful public transit, the government doesn't mandate bi-annual smog checks on motor vehicles, there are no car-pool or bike lanes, traffic gets clogged on the highways around the employment centers (e.g., Wal-Mart HQ, NWA Mall, and around the UofA), building codes don't demand (or even encourage) sustainability, and my sustainability options pale in comparison to other cities where I've lived and travelled.
Instead, we want to pour more concrete and asphalt (assuming the government/taxpayers can even afford to out-bid the Chinese for it), and hope we can dupe some wanna-be Wal-Mart vendor into opening a field office here because they read a press release that said we're a leader in all things green.
Let's stop kidding ourselves that we're the green valley of the universe, and admit we're way behind the curve on sustainability. First, let's start working towards catching up with the rest of the country on all things green. And, stop following the broken path of believing if we pump out press releases, and pour more asphalt, "they" will come.
The incredibly good news is the Northwest Arkansas community is realistically only about 175,000 citizens. We're not burdened by the challenge of dealing with millions of people needing to rebuild its infrastructure (and mindset) to meet the new world order (sustainability). Set the stage now for where the world (and Northwest Arkansas) is going to need to be. That begins with a new vision and model - and funding - for a viable future in transportation for the region. Then, I'll believe the hype about "green valley".