Masters of Urban Sprawl.

I spent about 6 days in the Mesa/Phoenix metro area to do some things for and with my grandmother, squeeze a little work in, and to read a book.

All of my tasks were accomplished and I left feeling successful.

It was hot, my book was great, the tasks were manageable, my grandmother fantastic.

This is not a new trip for me.  Last year I was in AZ on two different occasions.  Once the year before that, twice the year before that. I think I must have made the MSP/PHX round trip flight about 20 times by now.   I am still continually baffled by the mastery of Urban Sprawl that exists down there.

Nothing is more than one story tall.  There is a new mall or shopping strip at each mile turn off of major highways. There are grocery stores and/or a pharmacy on nearly every corner.  Now if this was just in Phoenix proper, or in Mesa proper, that would be one thing…

but Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale, Surprise, Tempe… and so on and so forth all run into each other and continue on further than the eye can see in the valley.  It is NUTS!  They just keep building and building and building.  I want to know where all the people are coming from to fill all these buildings.  Are there entire communities left abandoned somewhere?

In college I learned of the blight of urban sprawl in our environment.  Put a rampant sprawling growing community in the middle of a dessert with no water supply and you have to marvel a bit at the stupidity and brilliance of humans.

Says me.

S.