Posts Tagged ‘Central Phoenix’

September 19, 2011

3 Reasons Why Biking is Preferable instead of Just Doable in my New Neighborhood

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet As you may know, Paul and I moved to Red Mountain, which is just outside the Woodlea Historic Neighborhood, about three weeks ago. We used to live at 3 Palms, in the Avalon neighborhood, between Osborn and Thomas near 16th Street. When we first decided to buy Red Mountain, I knew we’d be a lot closer to my office – Lux Coffeebar. But I didn’t realize how close we’d be to other stuff that we like too. We have one car between the two of us and most days Paul takes it to work. So I have to navigate…

August 15, 2011

Phoenix: America’s Desert Metropolis

by: Will Novak

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Will Novak. One of the most exciting things about being a Phoenician is being from a place that looks unlike any other major City in the United States. Very few large American cities are in deserts and only two, Phoenix and Tucson, reside in the world’s most beautiful desert, the Sonoran. Phoenix needs to do a better job embracing the desert and leveraging our unique climate to become America’s and the World’s foremost desert metropolis. Embracing Xeriscaping In Phoenix’s early days its Anglo residents were strangely embarrassed by the Desert and the Arizona…

March 29, 2011

Urban Cycling and the Fetish of Mobility

by: Kevin Kellogg

Tweet Today’s post is by architect/urban planner/thought leader Kevin Kellogg: Phoenix is a great town for mobility. Great swaths of asphalt beckon motorists and the great distances between destinations keep us on the road for a good portion of our lives. In another sense, mobility appears to welcome the hard working and the ingenious, as the relatively shallow roots of society indicate room for ascension and to improve our lot in life. Looking closer beyond the promise of this young city, it begs the question: is anyone really going anywhere? Or, does it matter? For all the focus on transportation…

February 14, 2011

Feliciano Vera of Habitat Metro on Downtown Oriented Development in Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Feliciano Vera, a partner with Tim Sprague and John Hill in the local development firm Habitat Metro. Habitat Metro developed Portland Place and is now redeveloping The Oasis Motel on Grand Avenue. Just recently, they announced that they acquired the Lexington Hotel on Central Avenue and plan to rehabilitate it into a chic, boutique hotel. Can’t wait! Feliciano grew up in South Phoenix then set off to Harvard after high school. Fortunately, he not only came back to Phoenix, he also started giving back to the city. If you…

January 05, 2011

The Musical Instrument Museum – A Great Cultural Treasure in Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) has been in the news a lot lately. In fact, it was featured on NPR today. Last week I had the pleasure of personally visiting the Musical Instrument Museum with my out of town family and I absolutely loved it. The building and the surrounding landscaping are fantastic, but that’s not why I love this museum. I love this museum because it celebrates, respects and cherishes every culture in the world in a state that can easily be considered a little xenophobic after the passage of SB 1070. Having a varied cultural background myself,…

December 29, 2010

Reverse Lanes Place Cars Above Community

by: Yuri Artibise

Tweet Today’s post is by the avid urbanist, community activist and my friend, Yuri Artibise. Yuri Artibise—aka the Incurable Urbanist—has spent the past four years creating community in the urban desert that is better known as Phoenix. Through his Yurbanism brand, Yuri explores the ‘Y’ of urbanism by sharing ways to make our cities more livable, community-oriented places one block at a time. Find out more at yuriartibise.com. On December 14th Phoenix City Council voted 5-1 (with 2 absences) to accept the report of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Reverse Lanes. (A summary of the report is found at…

December 27, 2010

6 Things Phoenix Could Learn from Bisbee

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet You may think Bisbee, AZ is just a podunk town in the middle of nowhere and what the heck could a big city like Phoenix learn from a no-place like that? Well, to some people’s surprise, they get a whole lotta things right in Bisbee and we could take a few pointers from the tiny town here in our mega metropolis. 1. Go Local There’s a big emphasis on local in Bisbee. I know Bisbee is often seen as a tourist trap, but it’s not. In fact, Bisbee has a very strong and loyal local population that makes sure…

November 17, 2010

Children and the City

by: David Bickford

Tweet Today’s post is by guest blogger David Bickford, PHX Rail Food blogger. I first met David at a Radiate PHX event and I’ve run into him several times around town at places like the Public Market and Lola’s on Central. Sometimes we have time for a great conversation but usually, David is on his way to pick his little girls up after work. He’s one of the few people I know who is an urban dweller that has kids. David works in a managerial position at a Phoenix-based institution of higher education, but his hobby is PHX Rail Food,…

November 15, 2010

Phoenix – Small Town Big City

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet This weekend I attended three excellent community events, Pecha Kucha Night Phoenix #2, Cupcake Camp Phoenix and Certified Local! Fall Festival. There were probably five other events happening simultaneously that I missed, I’m sure. It’s November and the event season in Phoenix is in full swing! So I knew a lot of the people at each of these events. I would say I knew a good chunk of them. And I would also say that this same chunk attended all three events and will probably attend the various events that are coming up this holiday season. It seems like…

September 06, 2010

Greg Stanton on Sustainable Economic Development in Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet About three weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Deputy Attorney General Greg Stanton and talking with him about a sustainable Phoenix, not only in the environmental sense, but in the economic sense as well. Mr. Stanton is currently working for Attorney General Terry Goddard and is working in support of Mr. Goddard’s gubernatorial race. But he is also seriously thinking about running for Mayor in 2011. Today’s post features Mr. Stanton’s positions on economic development, City North and future growth in Phoenix, among some other things. Stay tuned for the rest of the interview in…