The city may be notorious as one of the fastest-growing and car-dependent urban places in the nations, but as a long-time Phoenix architect points out, the city is rich with history and architecture.
"The Phoenix metropolitan area is among the fastest-growing areas in the United States, and urban planning has usually taken a back seat to unfettered development as a result. The car is king here-driving is just about the only way to get around the more than 9,200 square miles of the region."
"Navigating Phoenix is a lesson in freeway nomenclature. The endless pavement and strip malls remind me of a distant Los Angeles suburb with its own international airport. But hope looms on the beautiful iridescent horizon."
"Says veteran Phoenix architect Will Bruder, 'The millennium has since marked gridlock and sprawl across the entire West from large city to small. The car has taken over. And what we've fortunately seen in the late '90s is awareness and people finally starting to do something. We have our first light-rail route coming online at the end of next year and high hopes about the new densification and where things are going.'"
FULL STORY: Phoenix Envy
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
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Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Amtrak Takes Lead on Texas Central Rail
The high-speed rail project isn’t a done deal, but if it moves forward, trains could begin operating in 2030.
Maine Approves Rent Relief Program
Legislators hope the assistance program will help struggling low-income households avoid eviction.
How Transit Architecture Impacts Real and Perceived Safety
More than a third of Americans believe major transit systems are too unsafe to ride. The built environment can change that.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
