Nice rundown, elmwood – that’s the kind of comparison I was interested in.
I’m sure, as Padeye mentioned, that a lot of Phoenix’s growth in the last few decades is fueled by its earlier growth – once it became a booming city, that continued to fuel the boom. Whatever made Phoenix the go-to city just after WWII is the base cause I was interested in.
I’ve got a gaggle of co-workers in the Phoenix/Tempe region and they like the relatively affordable housing, but from time to time, you’ll hear them whine about the heat. They also moan about how they have to drive to do anything. Apparently there’s nothing food-wise near our new data center except the vending machines. Even at the old center, which was nestled in an established industrial/commercial area, they still had to drive to lunch.
Yep. Phoenix is still not “urban” in the sense that you can really walk anywhere, and this might be because you probably wouldn’t want to in the summertime anyway. Almost all of the pedestrians and bicycle riders you see here are out for excersize, and even my friends who work downtown have to get in their cars and drive if they want more than a handful of choices for lunch (Honey Bear is good but it’s not 5 days a week good.)