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| - The City of Phoenix is overall run well, though as with any city comes with its glitches and negative aspects. As of now it is the nation's fifth largest city (and appears to be nestled in this statistical spot for some time to come) and the metro area ranks 12th... for now. It is likely to jump to 10th by the Arizona Centennial.
It is the largest city in the region at over 1.5 million residents and over 500 square miles. Founded in 1881 it's relatively young even by standards in the Americas. Outside of downtown, especially to the north, neighborhoods clearly transition in age and it is possible to watch decades go by as you move away from downtown. Phoenix is also the cultural and financial heart of the state, with multiple layers of government powers roosting here: city, county, state and federal.
On the bad side, City of Phoenix leaders tend to string major developments along, which leads to a lot of failed projects, i.e. the Trump Hotel, Metro Lofts, Copper Pointe and many, many more. Had civic leaders allowed for more projects to come to fruition, the city would have a much more Manhattanized appearance in its central core. The city is somewhat bad about historic preservation. Photos from Central Phoenix in 1940 present almost unrecognizable images. At the beginning of Hitchcock's "Psycho", you will see Central Phoenix circa 1960, and sadly, very few of those buildings remain. Regardless, the city has made an effort to NOT bulldoze the old neighborhoods around downtown. However, many of the buildings seen in Central Phoenix were built during/after the mid-60s.
Regardless, some dedicated leaders have striven to catapult the city to its greatest potential and beyond. You can almost see it happening before your eyes, though urban progress is a slow feat. The city has had to compete with other prestigious Valley cities and at times has to work around State of Arizona and Maricopa Country legislation, which may hinder its progress, for example, in 2009 the state hurt bio-tech industries and "green" energy resources through crippling legislation, though Phoenix worked to maintain its existing bio-tech companies and land a new high-capacity solar plant.
In the end the city is more progressive than many of its suburban counterparts and offers plenty of amenities for locals. Many locals who have transplanted themselves here from elsewhere have not invested, do not invest and will not invest themselves in the city to explore and understand it further. As it works to become more established, more neighborhoods take on a demographic quality and niche, as black, Latino, gay, artistic, family, singles, blue, red, etc. neighborhoods have emerged into distinct parts of town.
Local or visitor, take some time out to immerse yourself in places outside your neck of the woods, explore, see what more Phoenix has to offer you never knew of before.
*Addendum: To clarify, my rating system on this is meant to reflect how I feel the city is run/operates.
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