VanderMeer, Philip R., 1947-
Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, c2010.
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Notes:

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 367-444) and index.
• Civilizing the desert : the initial phase — Building the modern city : physical form and function — Shaping the modern American city : social construction — Creating a new vision : the war and after — Building a new politics — Growing the city : economic, cultural, and spatial expansion — From houses to communities : suburban growth in the postwar metropolis, 1945-80 — Political change and changing policies in the 1960s and 1970s — Changing the urban form : the politics of place and space — An uncertain future : looking for a new vision.
• Whether touted for its burgeoning economy, affordable housing, and pleasant living style, or criticized for being less like a city than a sprawling suburb, Phoenix is a city that by all environmental logic should not exist. Yet despite its extremely hot and dry climate and its remoteness, Phoenix has grown into a massive metropolitan area. From its origins in the 1860s to its present status as the nation’s fifth largest city, this exhaustive study examines the history of how Phoenix came into being and how it has sustained itself. From the beginning, Phoenix sought to grow, and although growth has remained central to the city’s history, its importance, meaning, and value have changed substantially over the years. The initial vision of Phoenix as An American Eden gave way to the Cold War Era vision of a High Tech Suburbia, which in turn gave way to rising concerns in the late twentieth century about the environmental, social, and political costs of growth. To understand how such unusual growth occurred in such an improbable location, Philip VanderMeer explores five major themes: the natural environment, urban infrastructure, economic development, social and cultural values, and public leadership. Through investigating Phoenix’s struggle to meet the expectations of a major American city, his study also offers a unique view of what it means to be a desert city. –Book Jacket.

Subjects:

• Phoenix (Ariz.) — History.
• Phoenix (Ariz.) — Economic conditions.
• Phoenix (Ariz.) — Social conditions.
• Phoenix (Ariz.) — Politics and government.
• City and town life — Arizona — Phoenix — History.
• City planning — Arizona — Phoenix — History.
• Social change — Arizona — Phoenix — History.
• Cities and towns — United States — Growth — Case studies.
• Cities and towns — Growth. fast (OCoLC)fst00861781
• City and town life. fast (OCoLC)fst00862081
• City planning. fast (OCoLC)fst00862177
• Economic history. fast (OCoLC)fst00901974
• Political science. fast (OCoLC)fst01069781
• Social change. fast (OCoLC)fst01122310
• Social history. fast (OCoLC)fst01122498
• Arizona — Phoenix. fast (OCoLC)fst01213753
• United States. fast (OCoLC)fst01204155
• Case studies. fast (OCoLC)fst01423765
• History. fast (OCoLC)fst01411628

Requested by Lansing, M.