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Downtown, midtown, uptown Phoenix with greater population than the urban districts of Houston like downtown not only have highrise, light rail, trolleys, free transit options, BUT density and larger established urban residences (highrise, midrise, converted brick warehouses into lofts) that sustain this type of growth. Here in Phoenix downtown not only has THOUSANDS of residents in a very small 1.5 square mile area, but it has museums, high-rises, condos, lofts, schools (k-12, college, university, medical), grocery stores, nursing homes/hospitals, government offices, mom and pop home remodeling stores/little markets/restaurants/bakeries/boutiques/clotherie/coffee shops & houses/independent book and music stores/etc etc, places to buy everything from fruit, condoms, milk, and eggs within walking distance of a transit station/train station/house, condo, or loft...
Ok, you need to calm down and take your meds....immediately. I don't know what the heck you are talking about above, but it sure as heck ain't Downtown Phoenix..and yes, I've been there. Vibrant? You tell us......
Again, I'm just talking about ONE area that is 1.5 square miles! I'm ignoring the rest of the small areas of central Phoenix to concentrate on why one IS more urban than the other...that is the point you continue to miss.
Neither are very urban in the first place and both cities don't have huge downtowns or super exciting downtowns. Who really cares about the pathetic downtown of Phoenix versus the pathetic downtown of Houston and their downtowns do NOT make them top 10 sunbelt cities.
Go less than a mile outside of central Phoenix and you find sprawling single family residences with gaps of cactus and dirt in between lots.
Plus, there is almost NOBODY walking around Phoenix:
Less than a mile outside of downtown at 3rd and Portland. Yeah... urban.
Phoenix is not the urban metropolis it is being described at, not matter what anyone says. There is not that much life to the city core compared to other cities.
Most here from Houston have said that Uptown there is the "most urban" and contains the most high-rise living, etc. Well it is only 14,000-15,000 inhabitants for 3.5 square miles! That is not, in any way, dense! In that regards Phoenix has a huge head start and even our suburb (which is very urban) of Tempe has that beat; however, I know that some of Phoenix' (city proper) oldest suburban areas like Maryvale and Alhambra have densities between 7,000-14,000+/square mile but I'm not going to argue for their "urbanity"! LOL
I said Uptown Houston has more highrise living than DT Houston, not that it was the densest or even the most urban. Hardly what I said.
Hey coo7...nice editing there, what pictures from 2008 and from 1999? That last photo of Phoenix is missing ASU downtown campus starting after 2003, many, many, new towers/high-rises/hotels/where's the cityscape construction site??? Oh that's right, you're using photos older than a decade. That building with "Planet Orange" for the Phoenix Suns was knocked down a long time ago and that weird metal structure in the background of that same photo was Patriot's Square Park; both are now construction zone for CityScape's towers and shops, restaurants, hotels, condos, grocery store, athletic club (Gold's Gym), etc etc.
I would never post old photos of Houston and try to play them off that way. Here are some photos day and night around Roosevelt (the neighborhood I was talking about downtown) and Evans-Churchill. I'll have to get some of Grandview and Willo. Also on the skyscraper forum link the discussion was that the photographer ran out to take shots of Phoenix during our 4th wettest storm on record. As most know, if rain touches a Phoenician, we'll melt, LOL!
Near the San Carlos Hotel, Hollywood Stars like Marilyn Monroe have a copper star dedicated to them near the hotel they would stay when visiting:
Roosevelt Row (Evans-Churchill) near the independent art galleries:
I'm thinking this one is actually Melrose (the gayborhood heeeeeeeey gurl):
Nine/05 in Evans-Churchill:
Movie night at the park:
Near downtown Phoenix Public Market and Phoenix Union High School District's BioScience/Math High School in Evans-Churchill:
Last edited by fcorrales80; 02-03-2010 at 10:35 PM..
Most of the pictures aren't representative of Phoenix on a normal night though,sure people go out on the weekends,or for an event in a neighborhood,even a handful came out for movie night. Though on a normal week night DT PHX is not a bustling lively city,yet. And I am speaking off of experience and not trying to belittle Phoenix in anyway,it's definitely came a loong way and is only getting better,it's just not quite there yet. There downtown activity reminds me more of Long Beach,CA than Houston to be completely honest.
Most of the pictures aren't representative of Phoenix on a normal night though,sure people go out on the weekends,or for an event in a neighborhood,even a handful came out for movie night. Though on a normal week night DT PHX is not a bustling lively city,yet. And I am speaking off of experience and not trying to belittle Phoenix in anyway,it's definitely came a loong way and is only getting better,it's just not quite there yet. There downtown activity reminds me more of Long Beach,CA than Houston to be completely honest.
Why wouldn't a weekend or evening count? That doesn't make any sense. The truth is that these areas: Roosevelt Row, Roosevelt, Evans-Churchill and museum/arts districts are HUGE draws. This is where downtown "lives", these are our residential, cultural, and nightspot areas. The CBD, where most of the highrises are, is not as lively YET but after the construction of CityScape, Jackson St., UofA/ASU Medical Campus, etc it will be better down in that area as well. All of the light rail pictures except for one, where the huge crowd is on the platform and boarding/de-boarding are normal light rail crowds in Phoenix. As most know, it is the busiest and most significant initial light rail start up for the country. In only a few months, our ridership exceeded most cities (including Houston's 1994 system) and continues to do so beating our own transit systems ridership projections by 30,40, and 60%...even in July at 107°. Meaning a significant number of people in the areas with urban populations use them for commuting and transport daily. And movie night isn't just one night...
I dunno...a bunch of shots of people waiting for a bus or train, or attending a downtown festival, doesn't really scream urban vitality to me. Aside from the fact that there is a lot of sun in the pictures, a lot of those look like they could be of my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. I'm sure Phoenix has more going on than Columbus, but that's not particularly evident from the pics.
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I don't know what the heck you are talking about above, but it sure as heck ain't Downtown Phoenix..and yes, I've been there. Vibrant? You tell us......
That may be a tad too strong of a word I think... 
That building with "Planet Orange" for the Phoenix Suns was knocked down a long time ago and that weird metal structure in the background of that same photo was Patriot's Square Park; both are now construction zone for CityScape's towers and shops, restaurants, hotels, condos, grocery store, athletic club (Gold's Gym), etc etc.
