Can someone explain this phenomenon to me? (Growth related)

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

There may be something to what you say... AZ is very transient.

And it seems, the older you get, the more you gravitate back towards your family!

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I agree. But there is something new going on here too. The Phoenix area is about to grow up its first sizable generation of kids who were born here, went to school here and now are graduating and taking positions in the community. There are thousands of them out there, children of the people who came in the 80s and 90s - real Natives and near natives with parents and brothers and sisters who live here. Our neighbors who moved from Cali and Boston and Chicago have kids born here who are now firemen, students, engineers and burger flippers, too. These kids have no memory of the "old country", don't long for four seasons and snow at Christmas and are well-adjusted to the heat. Their friends live here and they know their way around. This is home to them. In many ways they are like the children of immigrants - the second generation. I think this new generation will finally give this place a sense of place.

Of course they are happy! Their families are here! Ha ha ha. Didn't I just say that? LOL I agree with you, this new crop of kids that grew up here will be very happy to stay here as long as the jobs are here.

[azkylady2]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

I've read many instances either on here, on other forums, or in the comments section of AZCentral where people complain about growth in Phoenix. About how the desert is being taken away by development, about how traffic is getting worse, about too many people, too much congestion, etc.

Usually the story goes like this..."When I moved here back about 1980, I was surrounded by beautiful desert...and look at it now, houses everywhere, it's not what it used to be."

Alright...well here's my question. WHAT DO YOUT THINK THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE IN 1979 SAID ABOUT YOU?!?! And the people before them...and the people before them...and the people before them?!
YOU, the guy who moved to the open desert in 1980, you were the first idiot in the first place!

Why is it that no one ever sees themselves as the problem...just everyone else? YOU are part of the problem, the reason why the desert is being reduced, the reason there is more traffic, the reason there is more congestion.

Why is it that when these people move here, it's ok...but then it's all supposed to stop? I don't get it.

some oldtimers could use this imformation for sure. I always chalked this attitude to the mememememe syndrome.

[Magnum Mike]

I was born and raised here, and I grew up in the 1960's and 1970's. and back then, the Phoenix area was primarily a place where retirees went to spend 6 or 7 months to escape the cold winters of the northeast and midwest. Nobody anticipated the growth we've seen in the last 30 years, so we ended up with a metro area that has many neighborhoods, with streets not wide enough to handle the traffic. Drive down 7th Street from Dunlap to downtown Phoenix and you can see the results, houses and businesses on both sides of the streets with no room to widen the road, and that again was the result of nobody anticipating the tremendous growth we've seen. If the city wanted to widen the street or if ADOT wanted to plan a freeway, they'd have to spend A LOT of money to buy established neighborhoods and uproot residents, and the state will not give you the money your property is worth, so it gets pretty tough.

My one particular complaint about unmanaged growth is the inability of ADOT and other state agencies to plan for it, not in already established areas, but on the outskirts. The best example of this is I-17 north of the 101. Anthem was built over 10 years ago, and it was obvious that when you have a town in that location, you were going to need more than 2 lanes of freeway to take you in and out of Phoenix. ADOT obviously was taking a nap while many new subdivisions were being built in the northern outskirts of Phoenix. Drive on I-17 north of the 101 during the evening rush hour and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's not unusual to see that stretch of the 65-75 MPH freeway become a parking lot, even on weekends.

ADOT finally realized this, and they're starting to do some work.

I have another analogy on the growth here, think of a parking lot at a mall. When there aren't that many cars, there isn't much business inside the mall and it's nice because it won't be crowded. But when that parking lot fills up, you know the frustration people experience when they can't find a parking spot, but they manage. Inside the mall, retailers are happy, and as long as they have enough workers/cashiers to ring up merchandise, everyone is happy, but when you have 100 people waiting in line and only 2 cashiers, you're not going to see too many people who are willing to wait in line there, so they'll go somewhere else.

[country pride]

I havent lived in Az all my life but can say yes, I did watch many parts of expansion during my 12 years there. And do have to agree, there are many areas that need wider roads now.

[MotleyCrew]

I can remember driving up and down the 101 Hwy from San Diego to Bolsa Chica and seeing only a handful of cars. The coastal areas were pristine and I think it would have been nice to keep the growth from going right up to the shoreline, but that did not happen. I am sure some of the old timers see the desert the same way.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by MotleyCrew

I can remember driving up and down the 101 Hwy from San Diego to Bolsa Chica and seeing only a handful of cars. The coastal areas were pristine and I think it would have been nice to keep the growth from going right up to the shoreline, but that did not happen. I am sure some of the old timers see the desert the same way.

It's the same everywhere... Last time I went back to my home town, I could barely see the sea (smelling it was totally out of the question)... Mastodon hotels everywhere. Same thing down in Rocky Point. Sandy Beach used to be just that - a beach. And Playa Encanto - now you can barely get to the beach unless you rent one of the houses fronting it.

Every generation will have its own nostalgia. Signs of getting old...