is Phoenix the biggest suburb in the world?

Question

From the looks of that place.. its not even a real city. Has anyone looked at their skyline? I think Kansas City has taller structures and its 1/8th of the population of phoenix. lolol

Answer 1

Yes, essentially Phoenix is a sprawling mess.

Answer 2

Actually Phoenix represents something new in America: A suburb without an "urb". Having grown up in NYC and lived in Chicago for 10 years[ and Phoenix for 3 years] I know what a city looks like and Phoenix is not a city. If it wasn't for the gang bangers there would be nothing urban about it. We really need to invent a new word for places like Phoenix and all the other sun belt cities w/o urban cores.
This is the official Mr. Danger method for how to determine whether or not a city is a real city . In a real city wealthy and middle class people live in the city in a fake city they don't.
So where do the wealthy people of Phoenix live? in the suburbs
Where do the wealthy people of Chicago live ? along Michigan Ave and Lake Shore Drive

Answer 3

Phoenix is not a suburb, its an actual city and there are many larger in size & population cities than phoenix. Its beautiful out here, and mountains are everywhere.

Answer 4

Don't you hate people who can only cut and paste humongous articles in their answers? Anyway...

How tall do you have to be to be a city? One of the great things about Phoenix is that you can see for miles, and the views and sunshine are not obstructed by tall buildings. There are strict height restrictions for buildings. The goal is to blend into the desert, not stick out like a sore thumb.

Answer 5

Phoenix is a city...not a suburb...

Answer 6

kinda racist, i lived in the suburbs in the outskirts of phoenix its far different from the Bay Area.

Answer 7

No, luv, it's a city that's really spread out

Answer 8

West Phoenix

Maryvale is the predominant neighborhood of the near west side, from about 35th Avenue west to 83rd Avenue and from I-10 north to the boundary with the suburb of Glendale at Camelback Road. First developed in the 1950s and 1960s by developer John F. Long, these neighborhoods include inexpensive homes largely developed in the 1950s. Like many older inner-ring suburbs around the United States, Maryvale is suffering some signs of urban decline as the belt of growth has passed by, moving ever outward. Shopping in this area is provided by Desert Sky Mall, and Cricket Pavilion offers an open-air entertainment amphitheatre for concerts and attractions. Because of the lower housing costs, Maryvale has attracted large numbers of families and immigrants from all over the world. It is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The growing west side of Phoenix continues to spread outward. Newer suburbs are springing up, including Avondale, Goodyear and Buckeye. Further north, newer suburbs like Surprise, Peoria, El Mirage and the western end of Glendale are exploding with development.

Glendale is the first suburb of Phoenix moving northwest from downtown. It now has over 250,000 people, and downtown Glendale features many historic neighborhoods. Catlin Court has first-rate antique stores and shops, along with many restaurants and lodging opportunities. Further north is the newer Arrowhead Towne Center Mall, which affords shopping and diverse dining choices.

Cardinals Stadium is finally completed, and was opened to the public on August 10, 2006. Glendale. The Fiesta Bowl is moving to the stadium in 2007 and the 2008 Super Bowl (XLII) will be held at Cardinals Stadium. Glendale Arena was finshed a few years ago and now houses the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team. The proposed area around the two stadiums includes a semi-fashion district and up-scale shopping area named Westgate which has been in construction since the beginning of the Glendale Arena.

Southwest

The "village" of Laveen (within the City of Phoenix) is growing fast with new moderately priced homes and new businesses. The proposed new Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway will link Laveen with Ahwatukee.

South Phoenix

South Phoenix is generally considered to be the area between 35th Avenue to the west, 48th Street to the east, Van Buren Street to the north and South Mountain Avenue to the south. With about 400,000 residents South Phoenix is bursting at the seams. The community is helping to fuel the growth of one of the nation’s fastest growing cities, with golf courses and new housing developments appearing everywhere. But there are challenges to development in this area. About 30 percent of the South Phoenix population lives in poverty. Quality housing is in short supply. Most older homes were built by the homeowners themselves using adobe and wood, with construction methods that fail to meet current building codes. Low property values often make it unattractive for lenders to finance improvements on these older homes. Community development systems are still in their early stages, but over the last decade important steps have been taken to make quality, low-cost housing available.

Ahwatukee

The community of Ahwatukee is located in the southeast corner of the Phoenix city limits, largely separated from the majority of the city by South Mountain. Ahwatukee residents are mostly older adults and urban professionals but also has many middle class families, and upscale apartments coexist with middle class and upscale housing. Housing prices rose over 40 percent in 2005, and the area has some of the most expensive homes in the city of Phoenix or in the southeastern metropolitan area.

Northwest

Past the neighboring cities of Peoria and Glendale are the communities of Sun City, Sun City West, Youngtown, and Surprise. Hikers will enjoy the White Tank Mountain Regional Park. The Sun Cities and Youngtown are largely retirement communities. While Surprise is part of a booming mid to upper class segment of the Northwest valley. The city of Surprise recently built a spring training facility for the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, both a part of the MLB baseball league. An up-scale mall is proposed for the area including and surrounding the Surprise area which contains several small towns that have major plans for economic growth in the form of housing and small business development. Many such as Waddell have already constructed many up-scale houses in its boudaries. Transportation remains an issue for the Northwest valley because of its explosive growth although a proposed freeway has made its way through the process of getting approved and many hope it will meet is proposed build date of 2010. This freeway will eliminate the need to drive through more centralized cities to get home as the closest finished freeway is located 10-15 miles to the east through neighboring Peoria and Glendale. The 303 will grant the Greater Northwest Valley with excellent access to Downtown Phoenix as well as the east valley.

East side

The eastern side of Phoenix contains some of the city's most desirable neighborhoods. The Biltmore area near 24th Street and Camelback Road has become Phoenix's ritziest intersection. Stretching east, several mid-rise offices and condos line what is known as the Camelback Corridor. The area gets its name from the Arizona Biltmore Resort. This Phoenix landmark has pampered guests since the 1920s. Its lush grounds and golf courses are surrounded by some of the most exclusive homes in the Valley. East of the Biltmore area is the Arcadia neighborhood. Located at the base of Camelback Mountain, Arcadia contains well-kept homes on large lots. Built on former citrus groves, Arcadia is known for well-irrigated, mature landscaping. Several yards prominently feature orange, lemon and grapefruit trees as reminders of the area's past.

The eastern suburbs of Phoenix are generally called the East Valley. The Northeast Valley is home to Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills, Carefree and Cave Creek. The Southeast Valley is home to Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, and Apache Junction. Separating the Northeast Valley from the Southeast Valley is the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation, which, with its vast farmland and open fields, is a stark contrast to the highly-developed surrounding suburbs. This 53,000 acre reservation is nearly entirely surrounded by East Valley suburbs: Fountain Hills to the northeast, Scottsdale to the northwest, Tempe to the southwest and Mesa to the southeast.

Although they are considered suburbs of Phoenix, many of the East Valley cities have quite unique identities and sizable populations of their own:

Sandwiched between Phoenix and Scottsdale is the small town of Paradise Valley. Northeast of downtown Phoenix and the Biltmore area (and on the other side of Camelback Mountain from Arcadia), Paradise Valley features the most expensive real estate in Arizona, and consists almost entirely of single-family homes on one acre lots. As a result, the median housing price reached $1.39 million in early 2006. This town of about 14,000 residents also has the highest per capita income in Arizona.

East of Paradise Valley and Arcadia is Scottsdale, with the signature tagline of being "The West's Most Western Town." Known for its world-class resorts, golf, clubs, and shopping, Scottsdale is the center of the Phoenix area's hospitality industry. The city features mostly upscale housing, with a median housing value of about $570,000 in early 2006. The newest and most expensive parts of Scottsdale are in the northern parts of the city abutting the McDowell Mountains, but Scottsdale also has a rather dynamic downtown area. Nearly 2,000 residential units are under construction in and around Old Town, with some mid-rise buildings reaching up to thirteen stories tall. This $2 billion in residential redevelopment is changing downtown Scottsdale's image of staid art galleries and tourist-oriented shops. For many years now, downtown Scottsdale has been the hub of ultra-hip nightlife and fine dining. South of downtown, the southern portion of Scottsdale contains many neighborhoods dating from the Valley's post-war boom. Plans by Arizona State University to build a bioscience campus in south Scottsdale have helped spark a renewed interest in the area.

Located south of Scottsdale, Tempe is the home of Arizona State University and the Sun Devils. Tempe boasts a vibrant economy, liveable neighborhoods, and the Valley's most dynamic downtown. Tempe is second only to central Phoenix as an employment hub in the Valley. Downtown Tempe centers on Mill Avenue, where an eclectic mix of restaurants, night clubs and shopping attracts a wide range of visitors. Local festivals such as Oktoberfest, the Fall Festival of the Arts, and the New Years Eve Block Party (the largest in the southwest and routinely ranked as one of the top ten in the country) are extremely popular on Mill Avenue. High-density residential development has also taken off in recent years, with at least a dozen residential high-rises under construction or in the planning phases, ranging up to 30 stories tall. Just north of downtown, the city has constructed Tempe Town Lake in the dry bed of the Salt River. The lake's unique urban setting has created a building boom along its shores. The roughly two-mile-long lake is also the only place in the Phoenix area where sailboats are a common sight. Arizona State University is located just south of Town Lake and to the east of downtown Tempe. With over 50,000 students on its main campus, ASU is now the largest university in the country. The synergistic relationship between Tempe and ASU is vital to the city's economy. Beyond downtown and ASU, Tempe is made up of mostly single-family residential neighborhoods. The city's housing values have risen dramatically in recent years with many people drawn to Tempe's central location and homes with mature trees and landscaping. South Tempe has some of the southeast Valley's priciest homes.

East of Tempe is Mesa, the third-largest city in Arizona with nearly 450,000 people. Known for its affordable, family-oriented neighborhoods and strong Mormon roots, Mesa is still largely a bedroom community. Downtown Mesa has struggled to attract businesses and new development; however, the recent completion of the Mesa Arts Center has raised hopes that the area will see a turnaround. Following a massive boom in the 1970s and 80s, Mesa is working on asserting itself as a major player in the Valley and finding ways to step out of Phoenix's shadow. The area around Mesa's Williams Gateway Airport is poised to become a major employment hub in the southeast Valley and the airport hopes to establish regular commercial airline service.

South of Mesa, Chandler remained largely an agricultural community until a major growth spurt beginning in the 1970s and accelerating through the 1990s. Much of Chandler houses young families and middle-class professionals in newer stucco and tile developments. With a large Intel presence, the city has also established itself as a center of the high-tech industry in the Valley.

East of Chandler is the town of Gilbert. A small farming community of 5000 in 1980, Gilbert is today a city of over 160,000. Despite this dizzying growth, Gilbert tries hard to retain its small-town feel and agricultural heritage. The town is largely a bedroom community, but with the completion of the Santan Freeway (Loop 202), Gilbert is seeing a flood of new economic development along this future transportation corridor.