Will Mesa become a 'Twin City'? Or will it always be a bedroom community?
Will Mesa become a 'Twin City'? Or will it always be a bedroom community of Phoenix/Tempe?
I think we all agree that Mesa is the nation's largest suburb. Here are some Mesa Stats: 1] The 2018 population estimate for Mesa, AZ is 508,000. 2] It's the second largest municipality in a metro of about 5 million. 3] On pace to pass up Arizona's second largest city: Tucson [pop. 545k] this decade. 4] Mesa is the 35th largest city in America, passing Sacramento and Atlanta this decade, will come close to pass Baltimore by 2030. |
Do people see San Francisco and San Jose as twins? The latter is bigger but San Francisco stands out as the main city where as San Jose is 'just another city' in the Valley to outsiders.
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What qualities or characteristics does Mesa have that could possibly qualify it as one of the rare 'twin cities' in America?
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Downtown Mesa is starting to show signs of a pulse. That's thanks in part to light rail running right through the middle of town. Not coincidentally, former mayor Scott Smith now runs Valley Metro.
However, most of Mesa's built form is suburban and can't match Tempe's urbanity (much less Phoenix's) unless it undergoes some sort of a major urban overhaul. For that reason, it will always act as more of a bedroom community and can't really compete with what Tempe and Scottsdale have to offer. That could change eventually, but it'd take a while. |
No, Mesa is just the largest suburb in a metro that has large-sized suburbs.
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I can't imagine there being midrises any time soon. Mesa's NIMBYs are some of the worst in the Valley, and there's still plots of desert right up to the Pinal County line waiting to be developed into subdivisions.
My parents moved to east Mesa two years ago from Ahwatukee (they're so close to Gateway Airport that you can read the tail numbers on Allegiant's jets). My knowledge of Mesa doesn't extend much past Mesa Drive (never had much reason to go any farther east when I was growing up) and I'm continuously amazed/flabbergasted by the amount of suburban development going out as far as Apache Junction... |
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How are we defining "urban" in the context of a discussion about Mesa? According to the New York Times' census widget, Mesa's highest-density census tract (tract 422103) works out to 17,481 persons per square mile. That may look impressive on paper...but then you look at the way it is built out....
https://goo.gl/maps/p2igHTMiYpEMLcGv5 https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3948...7i16384!8i8192 Ouch. While some may perceive that area as 'urban,' I don't. Basically, we can look at it a couple of different ways: Mesa as a nondescript stretch of greater suburban Phoenix, and/or Mesa as a major American city in its own right. If it's the former, then it's not a 'twin city.' And if it is the latter, then it is the most unimpressive and boring major city in America, with the smallest downtown and the absolute worst skyline. Either way, the answer to the thread title is "no." |
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I would disagree.
Mesa has a lot of people within its municipal borders, is growing rapidly, and part of it is served by a light rail line. Nothing else about Mesa is noteworthy, and it doesn't enjoy a rare 'twin city' status because of that. |
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They need a major university (the ship has sailed on that unless one is moved there) or a major industry to build around. Short of that, it's the biggest fraud of cities with 500,000 people. My suburb has 100,000 and nothing worthy of calling a CBD. I can't imagine that on a scale of 5.
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Maybe Tempe as it has a downtown core with some gravitas and tall buildigns Mesa is just a giant sprawling mass that has no identity. It might as well be 20 small suburbs who cares. |
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Mesa just is nothing but sprawl it has a little downtown street that has improved but it does not even house a basic bar street/entertainment area like the other major suburbs do. |
And after Phoenix and Tempe, Scottsdale is much more notable to outsiders than is Mesa.
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Isn't Scottsdale more of a contender to be a ''twin city'' then Mesa? I mean, yes, Mesa has double the population of Scottsdale, but Scottsdale is far more famous countrywide. It's nothing to write home about either with a pitiful downtown, but it's got more of a pulse and is definitely seeing more ''urban'' development than Mesa and probably Phoenix as well.
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Mesa has potential to develop an physical and visible urban node. |
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