HOUSING & NEIGHBORHOODS
Ask residents here what they love most about living in Arizona, and you’ll find as many answers as stars in the big, open desert sky. For some, it’s the Sonoran Desert, with its wild, open and beautiful vistas. For others, it’s the lakes and golf courses that offer a delicious escape from the work-a-day world.
Others claim that the real reason to live here is the culture – Arizona’s diversity combined with a lively arts scene keeps life vibrant and exciting. But whether Arizona native or recent transplant, the one thing everyone does agree about is their love for Arizona itself.
organized the building of a canal and was able to divert enough water to raise a few crops. From there, Phoenix quickly devel- oped into a town. Cotton, cattle, citrus and copper, known locally as the “Four Cs” were the cornerstones of its early twentieth-cen- tury economy. Before World War II, Phoenix had been a sleepy little southwestern town best known for having a climate that offered relief to asth-matics. In 1940, the city’s population was a mere 65,000 and the largest of the surrounding towns was Mesa, with 7,000 people. With the advent of WWII and the ensuing military buildup, defense contractors searching for land, water and a willing work force, found everything they wanted in fledgling Phoenix. The defense contractors moved in, bringing educated employees and a wealth of new jobs. Farmland and desert scrub were cleared to build massive plants that flew the banners of Goodyear Aircraft Corp., AiResearch, Motorola, Sperry Rand and General Electric, some of which are still among the city’s largest employers today.
During the post-war years, word began to spread that, contrary to Saturday matinee Westerns, Phoenix was a civilized city with abundant sunshine and recreational plea- sures to spare. Phoenix began to see another boom – this time fueled not by cattle or the mining industry, but by lifestyle and economic opportunities. New residents come to start a new job, go to school or make a fresh start continue to stream into the area – only now they drive SUVs and minivans instead of the covered wagons popular in the late 1800’s. Phoenixhas exploded to become the nation’s sixth most populous city with about 1.5 million residents. Unlike other cities that have grown slowly over time, Phoenix catapulted to this position in relatively short order. From a modest 17 square miles and population of 100,000 in 1950, Phoenix has grown to encompass more than 430 square miles and the city’s population has grown exponentially. In the past the Phoenix metro area was home to four of the fastest-growing suburbs: Buckeye with a growth rate of 23 percent,
PHOENIX:
For thousands of years, people who have visited Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun have decided to stay and make it their home. The Hohokam who first lived here devel- oped the Valley’s first canal system, which allowed the farming of beans, corn, squash and cotton. They also built a community that suited their needs: single family homes, apart- ment buildings, an outdoor neighborhood recreation center, and a ceremonial spot for the celebration of special events. After a resi- dency that lasted for more than 1,700 years, the Hohokam mysteriously left, leaving the area for others to discover and enjoy. Just as the Hohokam adapted the area to suit their needs, so did the later inhabitants of the area. Phoenix’s modern history actu- ally begins in 1868, when Jack Swilling
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