May 23 2013
May 23rd, 2013Posted by James Gardner
Without the usual fashion cycles of period architecture, vernacular architecture remains, as always, “immutable, indeed, unimproveable, since it serves its purpose to perfection” – or so Bernard Rudofsky, author of Architecture Without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-Pedigreed Architecture, believes. Rudofsky’s brief foray into non-pedigreed architecture takes us across time and space, highlighting some [...]
May 09 2013
May 9th, 2013Posted by James Gardner
Phoenix, Arizona has earned a reputation as a city of endless stucco boxes, but what many don’t know is that it is actually a city filled with diverse and vibrant neighborhoods. There are dozens of historic neighborhoods in the city with beautiful bungalows possessing fantastic characteristics. There are many groups working to highlight these historic [...]
April 25 2013
April 25th, 2013Posted by James Gardner
The streets came alive on April 13th, 2013 as thousands of people flooded 1st Street to partake in the inaugural Feast on the Street, hosted by Arizona State University’s Art Museum and Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation. The idea was simple – bring together the community by hosting a dinner on 1st Street. The goal [...]
April 11 2013
April 11th, 2013Posted by James Gardner
In a recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, William deBuys, author of A Great Aridness, predicted a bleak climate future for Phoenix, Arizona. He explained that a heat island effect has been created by an overly concrete world and our dependence upon water from the Colorado River. But, in a short piece on KJZZ, [...]
March 28 2013
March 28th, 2013Posted by James Gardner
For the first time since 2002, the City of Phoenix, Arizona is undergoing a General Plan Update. The current plan is being updated in order to comply with Arizona state statutes, particularly the Growing Smarter Act, which requires cities to update their general plan every 10 years. This time around, Phoenix has created an interactive [...]
March 14 2013
March 14th, 2013Posted by James Gardner
Phoenix, Arizona is infamous for its sprawl, its little stucco boxes, and its dominant car culture. But an ambitious project spearheaded by the City of Phoenix, Arizona State University (ASU), and St. Luke’s Health Initiative called Reinvent Phoenix aims to change the way Phoenix’s light rail is developed around neighborhoods. The project is funded by [...]
February 28 2013
February 28th, 2013Posted by James Gardner
Phoenix, Arizona has been making changes from its suburban, single story, sprawling past. The inception of Phoenix’s , light-rail system, METRO, has acted as a catalyst for the proliferation of transit oriented developments (TODs) along the corridor it occupies. This is no accident, as the cities in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area have been pursuing [...]
February 14 2013
February 14th, 2013Posted by James Gardner
Phoenix, Arizona is extremely auto-dependent, in part because of its low-density urban design and its vast road networks. The city must realize that light-rail will not serve all of the neighborhoods in greatest need of affordable public transportation, but rather, it must increase bus facilities in the metro area. Currently there is a bus station for [...]
January 31 2013
January 31st, 2013Posted by James Gardner
Urban planning officials in Tempe, Arizona are striving to keep pace with cyclists in town. According to a report by the League of American Bicyclists, an advocacy group that grants communities the title of Bicycle Friendly Community, the city is trailing behind neighboring Scottsdale in bicycle friendliness. Tempe is home to Arizona State University, and as a [...]
January 17 2013
January 17th, 2013Posted by James Gardner
The Phoenix Metro area has seen a steady increase in ridership on the Valley Metro Light Rail.The surge in riders to almost 50,000 a day has prompted Phoenix Metropolitan area policymakers to accelerate the engineering, design, and completion of extensions, in some cases by seven years. Phoenix has made a valiant effort to provide access [...]
