Lots of crime in downtown Mesa?

[AZ Tracy]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

It's too bad that downtown Mesa never really experienced the revitalization that other cities have. The city certainly has the population to support a more active downtown area. Light rail runs into downtown Mesa, but ends abruptly and doesn't run THROUGH downtown. Even so, I wonder how much light rail would actually help revamp the area because it doesn't seem to have improved certain areas of Phoenix thus far!

Have you been to DOWNTOWN MESA recently? The light rail WILL be going directly through the downtown area....it's in the works!

[ReadyFreddy]

Mesa has its older, lower income areas. I think the whole south half of the city is older and lower income, from say University to Baseline, though the further east you get the less so. There are nice pockets all over, too, of course.

I'm in north Mesa and my feeling is there is a lot of 'flight to the nicer suburbs' for families that can afford it everywhere, but perhaps even moreso here because of the strong Mormon population in Mesa. They typically have large families and want good schools and safer environments and all. It's a different demographic from say college kids or retirees or urban hipsters.

[azriverfan.]

You have to examine the community itself to determine safety and quality. I don't evaluate a community by how new it is. A community may be new but if the homes are cheap and the people in the area are not really educated or have stable jobs that is a bad sign and those are the communities that tend to deteriorate after some years. There are many communities now that continue to be upscale because their community is educated, has stable jobs and paid a fair amount for their home so they are not going to bail when the going gets tough. Examine the area and see who the major employers are and the demographics and the schools, those are important than "how new it looks" Don't get sucked into moving into the "new community" that is far out as others will push those type of communities.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by AZ Tracy

Have you been to DOWNTOWN MESA recently? The light rail WILL be going directly through the downtown area....it's in the works!

I know it will be eventually ... but the question still remains: how much improvement will light rail acutally bring? Some positive results have occurred with light rail through central Phoenix, but there are still areas along the line (west Camelback), and the Washington/Jefferson corridor outside of downtown that have many empty, dilapidated buildings and/or vacant lots with no signs of revitalization.

Any improvement of these areas, as well as downtown Mesa, will likely be from a combination of a better economy and an increased focus on established areas, older neighborhoods, and urban cores ... not just newer suburban areas. The idea that people should just keep moving further out into the newer suburban developments to escape the blight & crime is just running away from the problem like a coward, instead of DOING something about it!

[ReadyFreddy]

I don't think residents have a blanket responsibility to improve older areas. If the city officials want gentrification to happen they can enact incentives to get homeowners and businesses to choose to do so. Growth and new building is good for a city's economy, too.

[Phxguy]

Downtown Mesa in terms of Main street and for a few block radius is a pretty nice area; walkable, green, resturants and services. But going south over the rain tracks its a whole different story. When you get into nice central areas that are being revitalized you can never really be sure, crime is a hit or miss. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't but if someone said there's a lot of crime in downtown Mesa, it's be bogus. In fact, in my opinion, DTM is the nicest section of Main Street, besides Apache Boulevard.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

I don't think residents have a blanket responsibility to improve older areas. If the city officials want gentrification to happen they can enact incentives to get homeowners and businesses to choose to do so. Growth and new building is good for a city's economy, too.

I think you're right, gentrification takes place on a community level involving city officials, community activists, developers, local businesses and residents.

I prefer to live in the newer suburban areas for many reasons but older neighborhoods shouldn't be neglected either, and gentrification should always be encouraged.