Congress For The New Urbanism to host key event in Northwest Arkansas

More than 1,500 architects, urban planners and real estate professionals from across the United States are expected to attend the annual gathering of Congress For The New Urbanism (CNU) in Northwest Arkansas.

The CNU is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit advocating for the “better design of cities and towns to improve lives and strengthen communities for all,” according to a news release.

The nonprofit will host its 34th Congress in Northwest Arkansas in spring 2026. The organization noted in the press release that it chose Northwest Arkansas for the event because of the region’s rapid growth. This will be CNU’s first Congress in Arkansas.

“Northwest Arkansas is unlike any recent location for our annual Congress,” President Mallory Baches said. “We are incredibly excited to bring our flagship event to a region offering CNU an opportunity to support a connected network of individual cities and towns. We are committed to leaving a lasting impact on the evolution of this fast-growing region, one that will ensure better outcomes for the existing population as well as the thousands of people projected to call Northwest Arkansas home in the coming decades.”

The Congress is expected to include dozens of sessions, multiple workshops and technical assistance programs and various tours across the region. The release shows the annual Congress brings an average of $3 million in economic impact to its host region. The 2024 Congress was hosted in Cincinnati, and the 33rd annual event will take place from June 11-14 in Providence, R.I.

“When we select a Congress location, we identify major trends and key issues within the local context that we believe our attendees and our broader membership can explore and take important lessons from,” Executive Director Margaret Gattis said. “In Northwest Arkansas, we see a rapidly changing region that can benefit from smart applications of coordinated density and increased connectivity, as well as partners that are eager to work with us and our attendees. It is a part of the country that is already innovating and growing in ways that we can learn from.”

Gattis said each Congress is one of the few multidisciplinary events “where you’ll find transportation planners talking to landscape architects about the issues they’re facing in their practices or in their communities. It’s really a special event.”

She said each Congress has a unique focus related to region-specific issues. More detailed information, such as keynote speakers, will be released in early 2026.

Baches said the nonprofit’s charter, which was signed in 1996 at its fourth Congress, includes 27 principals exemplifying its vision of what “this anti-sprawl, more walkable, more sustainable urban environment looks like.” She said the vision can be seen in the investments throughout Northwest Arkansas, such as in downtowns, and discussion topics at the upcoming Congress here are expected to include these ongoing developments and its rapid growth, with the projection of 1 million people by 2050.

“That’s a lot of growth in a short amount of time,” Baches said. “There’s a lot of things to consider. There’s the need to consider the natural systems and protecting and preserving the environmental quality of the region that we know is important to the culture of Northwest Arkansas. And there’s the need to think about how to house that many newcomers to a region and how to do so in a way that doesn’t rely on an already — we know from a few visits — slightly fragile highway system. When there’s any accidents on the road there’s no other way to get around the region, and that’s a real vulnerability.”

Registration for the 34th Congress is planned to open in February 2026 and close on-site at the event. The dates and venues have yet to be set. Tickets, based on membership and early purchase discounts, range from $500 to $900.

“Each year, the Congress is the chance to learn from the best urban change agents in the country, so we are thrilled that CNU has chosen to bring that knowledge to our community,” said Ward Davis, an area developer and co-host for the Congress host committee in Northwest Arkansas. “This event will be a call to action for our local planning, policy, finance, and implementation industries to think strategically about the quality of life that we will leave for future generations here in Northwest Arkansas.”