Through the USDA Rural grant program administered by Winrock International, our team worked alongside community leaders in four southeastern Arkansas towns to lay the foundation for placemaking in each city.

U.S. Highway 65, known as the “Delta Rhythm & Bayous Highway,” is located in an area of the country that is rich with musical history. Each of the cities served in this project are along this highway: Gould, Dumas, McGehee, and Dermott. The planning team met with city leaders and hosted public input sessions to gather input into the needs of the community. Each city presented a park location and the we provided customized design concepts, phasing, cost and potential funding sources for each individual city based on those insights. The team also provided a logo design for each city to adapt for their own needs, but maintaining the symbolism of the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Highway.

Placemaking designs ranged from road redesigns for better pedestrian safety and improved streetscaping to new city parks, murals and decorative crosswalks along with improved wayfinding and signage. Aside from everyday recreation and occasional festivals, another common goal for each park was to provide vendor space for a shared yard sale in each community on the same day along Highway 65.