Arizona's Second City by a Mile
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2/21/2006
Tucson is the liberal alternative to staid, conservative Phoenix. This is a good thing, IMO. But Tucson has major problems.
First, Transportation. Tucson's roads are terrible. The city is difficult to get around in. With one freeway, you're stuck using major streets and a parade of stoplights. Phoenix may have more traffic volume, but it is much easier to traverse and it has a stellar airport. Second, crime is ridiculous. I haven't felt safe whenever I've visited. I don't what know what to attribute this to. Poverty, perhaps? The vast majority of this city is impoverished, with decrepit buildings and dust-covered ranches with ugly yards. The mountains to the north are a nice backdrop but I don't think Tucson is more green than Phoenix. Someone from San Francisco said the air here was clean, but I think they're commenting on how sunny it is compared to the relative cloudiness of the Bay Area. Indeed, air pollution here is evident. Besides, what city has cleaner air than San Francisco?
Population growth here is nothing compared to Phoenix which says something. If Tucson really was the better city, why is it growing so much more slowly? Because: low--paying jobs, corrupt and inefficient city government and planning, poor water quality, and geographic isolation, just to name a few reasons.
Tucson is really just a border town, even though the border is 100 miles away. As desert cities, go, Phoenix is better, Albuquerque is worse. Until it entertains an identity and gets its act together, Tucson is just a motel stopover to somewhere else.
Michael | Phoenix, AZ