[Source: Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic] — The skyline may be interesting, but it is not where we live. “We should not care about the skyline but the streetscape,” says Nancy Levinson, head of the Phoenix Urban Research Lab at Arizona State University. “The skyline of Manhattan is something you appreciate in New Jersey. In the thick of Manhattan, you’re excited about the streetscape. The skyline is something you see from a specific angle. Many great cities don’t have a great skyline.”
And it is that street-level view that is lagging most in Phoenix. “All good cities share a common quality,” Phoenix architect Eddie Jones says. “They are walkable.”
Phoenix doesn’t make the grade. “Downtown Phoenix is not a pleasant environment,” says Dean Brennan, a planner with the Urban Form Project, a city initiative to guide development. “People don’t come to downtown Phoenix to walk around — not like they do in downtown Tempe. In Phoenix, we talk about shade. That seems obvious. But when a building is designed, you’d think shade would be a critical element of that design, but it’s not. Shade isn’t provided. Maybe some trees or a canopy, but it’s an afterthought.”
The question is: If the temperature is 105 degrees even in the shade, will landscaping be enough to turn Phoenix into a “walkable” city? [Note: To read this article and online comments, click here.]
Downtown Voices Coalition 