Phoenix, the Urban Desert - Essay Example

Paper Phoenix, Arizona is a fast growing located in the Sonora Desert. In only half a century, the has been able to develop from a small desert town into the 6th largest in the United States of America. Initially the city started out as an agricultural centre but slowly grew into an urban desert city with most of its inhabitants in its earlier years being of middleclass society. The growth of the town into a city itself is quite spectacular since its geographical positioning does not allow for the sustenance of human life. Though faced with many challenges, the city has been able to provide the basic human needs for its residents’ food, shelter, clothing and other additional elements such as roads, electricity, gas and proper sewerage system. Like any other developing urban area Phoenix has also had its fair share of ‘growing pains’ (Logan, 2007). There are several factors that have led to the fast growth of the city. What attracted individuals in the first place to set camp on what was once but a mere agricultural centre was the aesthetic value of its natural environment, favorable climate and the many opportunities and potential that the area possessed. Individual goals and dreams also drove people to this area. With that as a foundation, the residents in the area together with the administration worked as a community rather than individuals engaging in forums and discussions toward the improvement of the city. This brings out the fact that the development of the city takes into consideration the community’s need rather than an individual’s needs but still looking out for the individual’s rights. Individualism has therefore been apparently eliminated in that the community as a whole as one unified voice contributed to the development of the city (Zukin, 1993). Policies that put out projects open to the public especially the water projects, have also contributed to creation of habitable space to a land that initially was seen to be hostile and non-fruitful. Earlier the water projects had been developed for the sole purpose of directing water to the farms, but as years passed by, with the fast growth of the city, the water is now provided for use in the residential areas, the city itself and recreational spots. The dry nature of the land in Phoenix and its high temperatures in the summer would have made it impossible for settlement. The rapid growth of the area has made water management a big issue since there is now need to come up with water supply schemes, which will counter the increasing population of the city. Drawing water to the city however is a danger to the sources since it causes strain to the sources themselves and it is questionable if they will be able to uphold the rapid growth rate of the city in the future (Logan, 2007). Private investments also added to the attraction and rapid migration of people to the area. For example, Sun City developers have provided residential spaces at an affordable price and at the same time creating a suitable environment for living. This entails having compact community based units that have educational centers, recreational sports and parks all adding up to lifestyle desired by many. Affordability in housing has lead to an outstanding statistic when it comes to the numbers of residential areas that come up in Phoenix, especially towards its fringe. Moving further out into the desert should however not be viewed as Phoenix’s way of resolving its growing needs. Building of these residential areas has open up job opportunities to people of the surrounding community, thus bringing Phoenix to a socio-economic state. These people come into Phoenix, interact with the community of Phoenix and eliminate racial barriers. They change how the community views ideas. Their values thus become an area of social equity and diversity (Orfield, 2002). Though the idea of suburban growth seems to be of substantial benefit to the growth of this urban desert city, several conflicts, issues and needs have come up with it. With regard to the continuing decapitation of natural vegetation and clearance for land for the building of more accommodation the conflict of open land preservation versus development comes up. Open space is quickly being filled with structures that are the fruits of development. The open space that initially had been sought out by people looking to find residence in the area is now being lost to development, therefore, making Phoenix loose it sense of place. Every piece of unused land in the area is now being looked at for its financial value rather than its natural value. Not only is this, but the question of land being used is driven by market force or the initial plan of the city together with the conflict between individual interest and the community’s interest. Emphasis on the development of Phoenix’s edge and use of the open land around it, has attracted the people who once lived in the city’s central together with investors towards the edge, thus neglecting what had once been the city’s core. Urban related problems such as crime and poverty have hence crept up into the central city. Need for its revitalization has come up and the city again as a community has agreed to come together and address their issues as a unified voice in order to bring back life into the central city. This has however, not stopped development in the city of Phoenix and the area surrounding it. Development has now taken to the land surrounding Phoenix that is the natural desert land. This can be termed as ‘Urban sprawl’, a phenomena that has been seen to cause threat to the ecosystem of the area. There is now need to preserve this ecosystem and ensure balance between man and nature. This is important since the spectacular and beautiful desert, plus its one of a kind ecosystem, is what makes the city unique. Without it, the city would be just like any other urban project experiment (Taylor, 2002). Pima Maricopa, an Indian community, who were the initial inhabitants of the land, however, seem to withhold traditional customs and beliefs that are associated with the appreciation of the lands earthly value. They see a catastrophic future that will come about if development does not cease to misuse the desert land of Phoenix. This is somehow true since problems that are brought about by development are already evident in Phoenix. For example, air pollution and coming up soon land degradation and degeneration. The urgency to preserve the desert lands had began a few decades ago with citizen activists pushing forward the need to the leadership board. Currently, desert programs have been set up to preserve more land. The residents are willing to pay more tax to fund the buying of land for parks and reserves, which are included within the city’s urban area. Edge treatment is being implemented where the line between the suburban expansion and the public reserves continues to be emphasized. This is however, still a challenge since most of the land where the expansion occurs is on State Trust land that had initially been set aside for school programs. This land has now been leased out to individuals who view its financial value more than its sole value, making it difficult to enforce these guidelines and programs since they view the land in terms of individual property (Massey, 1998). Since Phoenix continues to grow in terms of geographical spanning, the system of transportation has been implemented to enable access to each and every corner of the city. This can also be viewed as an issue that has sprung in relation to urban sprawl. The road systems have been widened. This means an increase in number of lanes and freeways, but transportation is majorly in form of vehicles. With the increase in population, it leads to an increase in the number of automobiles, thus, traffic congestion. Traffic congestion has been a concern with regard to the development of the city and it is evident that other forms of transport are not catered for in the system. Emphasis has been put on expansion of the roads systems rather than alternative means of transportation being implemented as a possible solution to the issue. Another concern that can be viewed in relation to this is the deterioration of urban core neighborhood. Since most of the transportation is by private means, people rarely get chances to interact, thus, defying the lifestyle that had been desirable to Phoenix in the first place. Spanning of Phoenix’s geographical size has now brought it closer to the other urban desert cities surrounding it. This, therefore, means further development of Phoenix will affect the other cities. The aspect of regional co-operation has now surfaced since the closeness of the cities has brought about a mutual relationship in terms of expansion and development, therefore, the leaders of the cities and the communities will have to work jointly for the good and growth of the region rather than individual cities (Stone, 1989). The rapid growth of Phoenix city has not ceased, therefore, the conflict of limited resources versus unlimited growth continues to persist. It is essential that Phoenix’s future is well designed and planned before these issues catch up with it. This involves coming up with policies that will counter the challenges facing the development of the city. Land rates should be increased and restrictions imposed on housing developers to reduce sprawl, thus, drawing the investors back towards the center and away from the edge. This will also encourage growing upwards rather than outwards. Parks and reserves should also be increased towards the edge. Another probable policy would be a water recycling policy, where the city would recycle the water it draws in, to keep it circulating within and shun misuse of water. If possible, the city should also increase water rates so that it is used at minimal. With regard to transportation, the city should plan to implement other means of transportation such as the affordable public transport and cyclists’ lanes. References: Stone, C. (1989). Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta. University Press of Kansas. Zukin, S. (1993). Landscapes of the Power: From Detroit to The Disney World. University of California Press. Kunstler, James. (1994). The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Manmade Landscape. Free Press. Massey, Douglas and Nancy. (1998). American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. Harvard University Press. Taylor, M. (2002). Harlem between Heaven and Hell. University of Minnesota Press. Orfield, M. (2002). American Metropolitics: New Suburban Reality. Brookings Institution Press. Logan, J. Molotch, L. (2007). Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place. University of California Press. Read More