“As for me, I don’t think it will happen. Arizona, especially metro Phoenix, has become a self-selecting population that perpetuates a failing status quo.”

In other words, Talton teases readers my making it seem like he’s a contructive voice and then concludes with a statement that he doesn’t think anything good will happen. How is that a useful basis for discussion?

He also regularly belitlles people who dare to disagree with him as “duhs” and “ignos,” and has called the population of the Phoenix Metro Area “four million idiots.” When did that type of rhetoric become acceptable?

I’m happy to see some intelligent discussion about the challenges facing our city. I don’t think it needs “fixing” because it’s already a fundamentally good place, but it could certainly use improvement — just like all cities, including Seatlle. If we really want this to be productive conversation, though, I’d focus on people who are doing positive things right here in Phoenix rather than a naysayer living in self-imposed exile in Seattle.

1. I mostly agree with you on this. My only real problem with “sprawl” so to speak in Arizona is the propagation of building as an “economy”.

8. I drove my car and I liked it. So do others. I’m pro having transportation options. I’m not in favor of heavy subsidization, that’s why I said lets get creative.

9. I believe in his original article it was about projecting Phoenix as a place outsiders would want to invest in. Silly IMHO.

13. I think the developments that are coming online before they have infrastructure and then bleeding out other cities is wrong. I advocate fixing that.

Personally, I think there is something wrong with Phoenix, but it has very little to do with it not being “urban” enough. It has to do with number of creatives we lose. Losing those people make it hard to start and operate viable businesses.

I plan on getting a lot more vocal on using what other people see as our “weakness” and instead harnessing it as a “strength”.

2. I agree that the price of water is out of line with the marketplace, at least it -seems- that way. The fact that there are already people trading water contracts suggests that it will become more expensive. Dealing with Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California AND the federal government doesn’t make this any easier.

8. People like driving their own cars, alone mostly, to and from work. If enough people REALLY wanted mass transit somebody would build it, but they don’t so everyone is stuck hoping some city government will subsidize it to the hilt.

9. WTF does “Become an outward-looking place.” mean? That’s just gabbing.

13. Again, enough with the semi-rural suburbanite bashing. Let people work and live where they want.

I personally don’t know why everyone thinks that there is something wrong with the Phoenix metro area. If you want some hip urban area with “green” transport, coffee shops and dense population… move somewhere else, Phoenix doesn’t have that and it’s pretty clear that nobody wants that (except for you and the people who live in the aforementioned other place).

Practically everywhere you go has underperforming schools, poor business climate, bad politics, and a host of other problems. All in all I don’t think Phoenix is that bad, it’s just in people’s nature to complain.

Would we rather be some shit place in the rust belt? Would we want an even worse RE climate like Las Vegas or Southern CA? I know I wouldn’t want to be there.

I immigrated to PHX at age 4 with my parents, who went to ASU for grad school. I grew up there, went to Boston for college, now living in New York. PHX was a great place to grow up, but I find it increasingly unrecognizable every time I go back to visit. My family lives in Scottsdale now, and the “new urbanism” stuff they are trying out in Downtown and North Scottsdale are a good start, but there is more to higher-density development than building condos above shopping malls.

Why do we hate height so much here?