# A Walmart Heir's Design Ambitions Are Reshaping Rural Arkansas — But Not Without Cost When Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 2011, the sleepy Ozark town was mostly empty land. The population was roughly 37,000, and most traffic came through two-lane rural roads. Today, the region is one of the fastest-expanding metro areas in the United States, bursting with award-winning restaurants, boutique hotels, and arguably the most sophisticated bike trail network in the country. But that growth has come at a steep price: average home prices have nearly tripled, and food insecurity in Benton County grew from 13.7 percent in 2011 to 17 percent in 2024. Alice Walton, whose net worth exceeds $100 billion, has been a central figure in the area's transformation. The museum she funded — designed by architect Moshe Safdie and drawing about 800,000 visitors annually — served as a magnet for tourism, investment, and residents. Her family foundation awarded nearly half a billion dollars in grants to the "home region" between 2017 and 2024. But lasting improvement, local leaders say, will require better coordination among governments, businesses, institutions, and residents across the entire region.