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Albuquerque is in between the two biggies - rainfall-wise.
( Denver is an arid city and doesn't come close to getting
enough rainfall to meet it's own needs. )
Did you mean Phoenix here? Denver does get more annual precipitation than ABQ.
ABQ would be better suited to follow Denver's example
This might be suited more for a poll since the topic is Albuquerque//Phoenix.
I brought Denver into it since I think that when you are looking for predictions of Albuquerque's future, Denver is a more likely course.
Naturally, any poll should include the option of Albuquerque not following either path.
I really really like this answer. It's very inciteful.
Since this question keeps coming up, we can just recycle it.
I have another question:
Why is it always "Will ABQ become the next Phoenix?"
and not "Will ABQ become the next Denver?"
Denver is almost the same size as Phoenix
( at they are on the same scale at the other ).
Denver is closer to Albuquerque weather-wise.
Albuquerque is in between the two biggies - rainfall-wise.
( Denver is an arid city and doesn't come close to getting
enough rainfall to meet it's own needs. )
You can see snow from both ABQ and DEN for many months of the year.
Wrong...Phoenix is substantially larger than Denver both city & Metro
Phoenix Metro 4.4 million
Denver Metro 2.6 million
Phoenix Metro 4.4 million
Denver Metro 2.6 million
The number you show for Phoenix is higher than what I usually see,
but as I stated, at least they are on the same scale as each other.
If you were just driviing around in Phoenix vs driving around in
Denver you couldn't really tell which one was bigger.
Look at the map of both places at the 5-mile scale. You
can't tell which one is bigger. They are on the same scale.
Denver and Phoenix are very comparable size-wise.
Worrying about one being 3 million and the other being 4 million
is picking at nits when you are comparing them to Albuquerque.
The number you show for Phoenix is higher than what I usually see,
but as I stated, at least they are on the same scale as each other.
If you were just driviing around in Phoenix vs driving around in
Denver you couldn't really tell which one was bigger.
Look at the map of both places at the 5-mile scale. You
can't tell which one is bigger. They are on the same scale.
Denver and Phoenix are very comparable size-wise.
Worrying about one being 3 million and the other being 4 million
is picking at nits when you are comparing them to Albuquerque.
actually its more closer to a 2 million difference than a 1 million difference for Denver and PHX, I would say Denver is alot more comparable when going up against ABQ than Phoenix, but Denver and PHX are on the same level.
I think people keep coming up with the comparison to Phoenix because it makes people anxious. Phoenix is seen as a shining example of uncontrolled growth and people here are nervous about Albuquerque following along in the same path.
I think that for lots of the reasons mentioned in this thread it isn't a likely possibility. Even with the fast growth of Rio Rancho the Albuquerque metro area will probably continue its low moderate growth pattern and that's undoubtedly a good thing.
I personally don't mind growth, I just was don't want to see anymore growth out, lets see more growth UP!!!
The big open sky and the views of the Sandias and the West Mesa are part of Albuquerque's appeal. I am not enthusiastic about seeing more upward growth. I moved here from a city with lots of skyscrapers and they don't excite me much at this point (not that I moved to get away from them or anything like that).
lots of cities have both views of mountains and skyscrapers. Its a non issue. building a few 300 ft skyscrapers downtown isn't going to block many views. the sandias are 5-6000ft above the city.
The number you show for Phoenix is higher than what I usually see,
but as I stated, at least they are on the same scale as each other.
If you were just driviing around in Phoenix vs driving around in
Denver you couldn't really tell which one was bigger.
Look at the map of both places at the 5-mile scale. You
can't tell which one is bigger. They are on the same scale.
Denver and Phoenix are very comparable size-wise.
Worrying about one being 3 million and the other being 4 million
is picking at nits when you are comparing them to Albuquerque.
Same scale?
I have to disagree with you again. The Phoenix metro area is HUGE.
Phoenix Metro area 16,400 Square miles
Denver Metro area 8,500 Square miles
Thats almost twice the size, I've been to both cities several times. Trust me the Phoenix metro area is huge compared to Denver's. And yes you can tell the difference when driving around both.
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