Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
People are just going to places where they can comfortable have the necesities in life. Job, house, car, food etc. And still have enjoyment.
All of these places have attracted people this last decade.
Now, the other factor is the physical environment. Like Denver with its mountains or California which has it all. Dallas would rank dead last in that category. Phoenix would rank 1st.
Yes.Thats why so many people live in suburbs. It also why so many people like cities like Phoenic, and yes even Atlanta as Atlanta is not the most urban city either.
Urbanity isnt just about density.Its about a lot of things like transit,access to parks,infrastructure,diversity, and other aspects that are more intangible.
My whole point has been that if livng in the most urban experience is what you want,its usually on a scale of affordabily,jobs etc. PHX has a lot of things that are absolutely better but urbanity is just nOT one of them.
There not a hige difference but there is a noticeable difference.Out of all these cities Atlanta is without a doubt the one with the most urban core
I dont see why thats so contentious.Its just a fact,
Last edited by CleverOne; 04-23-2020 at 11:10 AM..
I will agree that in the evenings is where you will feel the difference.
Its humid even at night in Atlanta but in the heat of the day,there simply isnt that big a differencen UNLESS you are in direct sunlight .
In PHX that is a lot more likely to happen with there being no real tree canopy in Atlanta. Especially in the suburbs where its more forested and less dense.
Yes of course PHX has trees!
Not like Atlanta on any level.Especially as it pertains to natural growth versus Phoenix more landscaped.PHX trees also dont provide nearly as much as the trees in Atlanta.
Live Oak .One of the different type of trees that grow in the South
Notice the streets how they are linew with trees in Atlanta?Atlanta has more trees than any other city in North America. Its something its known for .There are very strict laws against cutting trees down
Phoenix
Nobody is saying it has trees like Atlanta but if you're hanging out around town it's not hard to find shade, for as much rainy weather as you all put up with I sure hope the area has a lot of trees. You picked an odd picture of Phoenix that's very zoomed out but here are other examples, Phoenix is actually better than most people expect in the tree canopy department. But can improve, less palm trees and more shade trees would is what I'd like to see personally.
Yes.Thats why so many people live in suburbs. It also why so many people like cities like Phoenic, and yes even Atlanta as Atlanta is not the most urban city either.
Urbanity isnt just about density.Its about a lot of things like transit,access to parks,infrastructure,diversity, and other aspects that are more intangible.
My whole point has been that if livng in the most urban experience is what you want,its usually on a scale of affordabily,jobs etc. PHX has a lot of things that are absolutely better but urbanity is just nOT one of them.
There not a hige difference but there is a noticeable difference.Out of all these cities Atlanta is without a doubt the one with the most urban core
I dont see why thats so contentious.Its just a fact,
Phoenix is doing really well in the growth of it's multiple urban areas, there are over 4,000 residential units under construction downtown with another 2-3K in planning stages. I agree it doesn't have better urbanity than Atlanta or Dallas, it's also much smaller than both. However it now does have urbanity options which are decent for living a less car oriented lifestyle, 20 years ago that wasn't the case before light rail and billions of investment in downtown Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale occurred. You can do pretty well on a urban lifestyle basis in any of those 3 today.
Its a ridiculous point.Its both hot.No way you can convince me 110 is somehow cooler than 95 degrees with humidity in the 70s.Its just stupid to even argue there is such a big difference.
Why I made my point about trees provide a lot of releif from direct sun. In either city its just hot but no one is just standing or sitting in direct sun. Both can be umpleasant at high temnperatures but the aount of trees gives a lot of cover and cools things down considerably where the humidity is still high but the natural cover from the sun makes up for it inless of course there is no tree cover whereas in PHZ is not as likely.At least not naturally grown. I can tell you that unless you are from an area thats as lush as Atlanta,you dont realize how lush it is and how much you will notice the absence of it in other cities. Even in South Florida where you have the heaches,its even more humid and the trees arent as tall or thick ,so unless you live near the beach its just hot and humid
When Im at my house in Atlanta during the summer ,I often sit under the trees in my backyard.
I can relate to other cities and differences, it's probably relative to how we grew up. To me having mountains means way more than lush trees in my city. Why? Because I love being in the mountains, if they're not right in my city I really struggle with enjoying the day to day activities I love. Flatter areas with trees just don't do much for me. It's usually damp, buggy, swampy, and all that usually makes it rather smelly too. Just not my cup of tea at all, put me anywhere in the country East of Dallas or so and it all looks the same to me.
When I'm at home during the summer in Phoenix I also often sit under a tree or the patio, see the similarities? Natural trees in the Phoenix area include Palo Verde, Mesquite and others. We don't have a natural deciduous forest but you can grow the native trees with minimal water in your yard and have a lot of great shade and save on power too. It's really not that difficult to work around what you're describing. When I go hiking in the morning or evening I'm fairly often completely in the shade because the mountain I'm on blocks most of the sun... this isn't as big of a deal as it's being made out to be.
BUT in the end, when we talk about urbanity, wouldn't most prefer Atlanta, because it at least as pockets of high density, TOD that Phoenix doesn't, even though Phoenix may have denser suburbs? Isn't it the pockets of urbanity that matter in your average American city over the average suburban density?
Presently, I'd say Atlanta has the advantage but over the long term, Phoenix's set up could prove to be even more advantageous since the core of the city will undoubtedly continue to urbanize (although it won't ever be as historic) and its suburban areas have greater potential for urbanization/densification with their grid-like road system.
Nobody is saying it has trees like Atlanta but if you're hanging out around town it's not hard to find shade, for as much rainy weather as you all put up with I sure hope the area has a lot of trees. You picked an odd picture of Phoenix that's very zoomed out but here are other examples, Phoenix is actually better than most people expect in the tree canopy department. But can improve, less palm trees and more shade trees would is what I'd like to see personally.
Like I said mainly planted trees.Not mostly natural growth of whuch ATlanta has both. You mentioned rain but rain doenst last all day normally.
Atlanyta is subtropical,which means we get heavy rains and then usually sun comes out. Just like to day.It was poring down hard all morning now its partly sunny,
All week in Atlanta we had highs in the low 70s and although the humidity is higher it hasnt been humid at all. At least not where its been uncomfortable
In Phoenix its been in the mid 80's all week
BUT in the end, when we talk about urbanity, wouldn't most prefer Atlanta, because it at least as pockets of high density, TOD that Phoenix doesn't, even though Phoenix may have denser suburbs? Isn't it the pockets of urbanity that matter in your average American city over the average suburban density?
Presently, I'd say Atlanta has the advantage but over the long term, Phoenix's set up could prove to be even more advantageous since the core of the city will undoubtedly continue to urbanize (although it won't ever be as historic) and its suburban areas have greater potential for urbanization/densification with their grid-like road system.
Nobody is saying it has trees like Atlanta but if you're hanging out around town it's not hard to find shade, for as much rainy weather as you all put up with I sure hope the area has a lot of trees. You picked an odd picture of Phoenix that's very zoomed out but here are other examples, Phoenix is actually better than most people expect in the tree canopy department. But can improve, less palm trees and more shade trees would is what I'd like to see personally.
I know the city of Phoenix has looked into maximizing its downtown's tree canopy by planting more Chinese pistache, Indian rosewood, even live oak, and live elm. Although the trees are non-native, they are drought-tolerant and provide plenty of shade for the long-term vs. dying palo brea, palo verde, acacia, and palm.
Like I said mainly planted trees.Not mostly natural growth of whuch ATlanta has both. You mentioned rain but rain doenst last all day normally.
Atlanyta is subtropical,which means we get heavy rains and then usually sun comes out. Just like to day.It was poring down hard all morning now its partly sunny,
All week in Atlanta we had highs in the low 70s and although the humidity is higher it hasnt been humid at all. At least not where its been uncomfortable
In Phoenix its been in the mid 80's all week
Rain doesn't last all day but it feels humid all day when it does rain, I'll pass on that thanks.
Enjoying every minute of these beautiful spring days in Phoenix. Warm enough to swim in the afternoons and great weather for sunset hikes, one of my favorite things to do.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
