Fayetteville, AR
United States
The Upper Ramble forms the northern portion of The Ramble — a transformative public realm and landscape project linking cultural, natural, and urban assets in downtown Fayetteville. It extends north from Center Street to Dickson Street along West Avenue and was developed to convert underutilized urban surface parking into a vibrant, sustainable civic space that complements the woodland trails and stream restoration of the Lower Ramble.
Completed and opened to the public in late 2024, the Upper Ramble builds on the design principles of The Ramble master plan: connecting people, culture, and ecology in an accessible environment.
While the Lower Ramble portion of the project was formally documented and certified under the SITES Silver rating in March 2023, the Upper Ramble’s development was expected to contribute to or be included in SITES certification documentation during its completion cycle. Certification was anticipated for the Upper Ramble in April 2025, suggesting that sustainable landscape strategies were integrated into its planning and construction from the beginning of the design process.
In the broader context of The Ramble’s SITES achievement:
- The overall certification project team emphasized repurposing urban hardscape, restoring ecological function, and strengthening connections between natural systems and civic life.
- Sustainable principles applied to both Lower and Upper sections included waste diversion, native plantings, biodiversity support, energy efficient lighting, and green infrastructure integration through collaborative design and construction practices.
The Upper Ramble’s transformation from a surface parking lot into a neo-urban park and plaza helped reduce impervious surface and reclaimed urban space for people and ecosystem services. Place-making features like elevated hardscape edges, shade structures, and biodiverse plantings were conceived to mitigate heat island effects and encourage pedestrian comfort.
The granite water feature and site furnishings emphasize efforts to create durable, low-impact landscape materials consistent with sustainable design principles typical of SITES-aligned projects.
The Upper Ramble functions as daily public park space and an event venue, hosting community programming alongside arts-and-culture activations. Its location along the 40-mile Razorback Regional Greenway serves as a departure and destination point to the region. It also serves as a link between Dickson Street’s entertainment district and Fayetteville’s public library and arts institutions — physically and socially connecting key downtown destinations.
Photo credit: City of Fayetteville Communications Department