Capital of Cars and Sprawl Slated for a Culdesac

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Voebe

I guess "culdesac" sounded better than "dead end."



The Capital of Sprawl Gets a Radically Car-Free Neighborhood

Phoenix, that featureless and ever-spreading tundra of concrete, has been called “the world’s least sustainable city.” It has been characterized as a “sprawling, suburbanite wasteland” and “a monument to man’s arrogance.” The Onion has darkly predicted that by 2050, “most of Earth’s landmass” will be swallowed by the encroaching Phoenix exurbs. The Walk Score index ranks the place as the second-worst big city in America for pedestrians, and traversing it has been described as “a slog through a desert, plus the occasional McDonald’s.”

Mr. Johnson’s thesis, as laid out over a few hours of recent Zoom calls, is that (a) the future of American cities is the walkable urbanism found in New York and San Francisco but that (b) that future is headed to the Sun Belt.

https://myfintale.com/business/the-c...-neighborhood/

I do like that our metro PHX urbanism is growing so fast that this writer is forced to admit it, while regurgitating a flawed story from just a few years ago. "To be fair, Tempe, the home of Arizona State University, gets high marks for bike friendliness and has seen a recent boom in high-rise construction."


If the author thinks Tempe has changed they should probably spend some time in downtown PHX as well.

[Starbar]

“A monument to man’s arrogance”.
Ok calm down, Peggy Hill.

[Sno0909]

Originally Posted by ajonesaz

"a monument to man’s arrogance." - A Cartoon Character on King of the Hill
"sprawling, suburbanite wasteland" - An angry liberal politician angry about a Seahawks loss to the Cards
And of course, The Onion


Prime journalistic sources there.

The metro does have several pockets of very walkable areas. Personally, being near San Tan Mall I can and do ride my bike a lot of places now that the weather is better.

LA has tried this before, but it creates parking issues. They are expensive and purchased by trust fund kids who still have cars. Any city built after WW1 is going to be car centric. The population density required to make things 'walkable' are going to make it hotter due to the heat island affect, negating any emissions savings.

Same. I also live in the same area and ride my bike everywhere now. A lot of newer developments are realizing that appeal of walkability. Even the newer shopping developments are making a central, focal area where everything is accessible by walking - as opposed to the older developments wherein you just park out front and walk into the shop you want.

I feel like a lot of the developments built during the boom years (pre-2008) are some of the worst culprits for suburban sprawl and zero-walkability. Those are also many of the bland, beige housing tracts you see as well. None of the new builds look like that (unless you head out to like Maricopa or something like that); they all have character and the color palette is very diverse.

[Alandros]

I love it when The Onion baits in people with their satire. I mean I thought the days of that were gone like 8 years ago, figured everyone knew by now they were satire (as in fake, like SNL made up stories for comedy). It's the little things in life though.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by Voebe

I guess "culdesac" sounded better than "dead end."



The Capital of Sprawl Gets a Radically Car-Free Neighborhood

Phoenix, that featureless and ever-spreading tundra of concrete, has been called “the world’s least sustainable city.” It has been characterized as a “sprawling, suburbanite wasteland” and “a monument to man’s arrogance.” The Onion has darkly predicted that by 2050, “most of Earth’s landmass” will be swallowed by the encroaching Phoenix exurbs. The Walk Score index ranks the place as the second-worst big city in America for pedestrians, and traversing it has been described as “a slog through a desert, plus the occasional McDonald’s.”

Mr. Johnson’s thesis, as laid out over a few hours of recent Zoom calls, is that (a) the future of American cities is the walkable urbanism found in New York and San Francisco but that (b) that future is headed to the Sun Belt.

https://myfintale.com/business/the-c...-neighborhood/

Walkability? I would think that when it is in the triple digits no one is thinking about walking from place to place.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Walkability? I would think that when it is in the triple digits no one is thinking about walking from place to place.

That cliche is frequently heard, but it's really not a valid argument against this project. Sure, when it's 110 degrees, no one is going to take long, leisurely walks except maybe at sunrise, but that's not really the point of improving walkability. Instead, it means improving conditions so that short trips, often those that combine walking over short distances with public transit, become safer and more comfortable. One of the keys to improving walkability is adding shade, which can come from both trees and taller buildings set closer to the street. With those improvements, the simple act of walking a quarter mile to a light rail station, riding a bike half a mile to a neighborhood business, or waiting 10 minutes at a bus stop is vastly improved, reducing the perceived necessity of a car for every trip.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Walkability? I would think that when it is in the triple digits no one is thinking about walking from place to place.

It's a lot like a cold Northeastern City in the middle of January. People aren't hanging out in parks having picnics but plenty of people work, ride or take public transit every single day here, as they do in Boston, New York, etc..

I happen to pedal into work quite a bit, not every day but I find it enjoyable and like the exercise. I'd sometimes change into shorts and a shirt for the ride home but it was only 30 minutes, not a big deal even in our hottest months.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Good points. My reference point is from Surprise. I would say that it is a car culture from my point of view, or in my case a truck culture. I am looking at a home that offers a 4 car garage. That is so cool if you ask me. As a kid in the late 70's I remember when some friends parents bought a home with a 3 car garage and I thought how cool is that. Now it would seem that a three car garage is fairly common place. With a four car garage builds becoming options, how long before that is the common thing.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Alandros

I love it when The Onion baits in people with their satire. I mean I thought the days of that were gone like 8 years ago, figured everyone knew by now they were satire (as in fake, like SNL made up stories for comedy). It's the little things in life though.

Some people just take things so literally these days. It is like they forgot there is humor out there...it isn't all politics and COVID.

[Alandros]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Some people just take things so literally these days. It is like they forgot there is humor out there...it isn't all politics and COVID.

Very true and well said. A lot of people need to unplug from politics, for large lengths of time. There's a lot more to life. Enjoy what's out there, including people falling for onion articles still, so it seems.