The Site Analysis: Key Neighborhoods

The Central City South (CCS) usually refers to eight or more neighborhoods at the southwest corner of the central city village, or more generally, 13 neighborhoods with a roughly 10,000 population located on the south side of Union Pacific Railroads.2 Historically, 10 out of these 13 neighborhoods were inside the historical redlining area. According to the U.S. census bureau, by 2018 more than 70% of the population from these communities are under the poverty line, while more than 85% of the population are not white non-Hispanic.2 The average tree canopy of these neighborhoods is around 3%, which is significantly lower than the current average tree canopy coverage of Phoenix (12.4%) and even further away from the 2030 tree canopy target of the city (25%). Due to the lack of tree canopy and the number of paved surfaces, the CCS tends to be 1.85.4 degrees hotter than surrounding areas.

The Eastlake and Garfield neighborhoods are located in the northeast part of the central city village with a population of roughly 8000.2 They have very similar but slightly better conditions when compared to the CCS. A sustainable green systems strategy plan was enacted to cultivate equity, engagement, economic development, and design excellence for these two neighborhoods through transit-oriented development. It aims to increase permeable surfaces from 44% to 70.3%, reduce the percentage of surfaces with a temperature above 130 F from 31.4% to <1%, and meet the citywide tree coverage target (25%) by 2040.

The Roosevelt, Evans Churchill, F.Q.Story, and Grand Neighborhoods are located on the north side of the downtown core with a population of roughly 8000.2 These areas are becoming increasingly popular and desirable. Increasing development and improvements throughout downtown Phoenix provide a perfect clientele and the support uses on which a district such as Roosevelt Row can develop and ultimately thrive. Their challenges are usually caused by the disparity between increasing new developments, outmoded infrastructures (parking/ curb/pedestrian connectivity), and lack of amenities.

Neighborhood map

Source: Chenhao Zhu