Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 3, Issue 3

67 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 several hours from the larger metropolis of Phoenix, Winslow is what Una Wirkebau, Economic Development Director, describes as “a very romanticized, unique, rural setting that you think of akin to cowboy movies. Winslow is a very rural community that has absolutely unblemished night viewing of our incredible solar system, the stars just sparkle like you can reach out and touch them.” Depicting a landscape of colorful mesas, with alternating red, gold and orange hues, contrasted by historical buildings, many left untouched for a century, she adds, “We have stark beauty, absolutely. But we have buildings that have been around since the 1920s, because at a high desert with limited weather events, we don’t have tornadoes, we don’t have heavy flooding, we don’t have heavy rains, we don’t have heavy snows, we don’t have a lot of damaging weather. So, we have buildings that are from the early 20th century that are still standing and haven’t really had much done to them in the past 100 years.” WINSLOW, AR I ZONA With a population of over 9,000 people, Winslow is challenged with a lack of available housing, which Wirkebau explains is multi-tiered. One factor is that, although there are homes on the market, prospective buyers would face difficulty securing a mortgage on a century-old home in need of upgrades. “There’s a housing crisis everywhere in North America right now, but specifically so in rural communities, because the cost of getting goods to that community are greater, and no one has been writing policy or pushing people to build out housing in rural communities,” she shares. As a city poised for growth, Winslow is actively working to resolve this housing issue. Barkley reports, “During the past year the city has expedited plan review and permitting for 17 new single-family residences and three new duplex projects.” Interest from a modular company to build houses in a climate-controlled environment is also on the table, offering a solution to expediate the building process while