Making Sense of Place Film Series A documentary film and educational outreach project launched by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Making Sense of Place – Phoenix: The Urban Desert

Viewer Comments

"I think that at some time there needs to be an exploration of the values, culture, and incentives that promote growth as evidently good and necessary. We need to better understand our tendencies to consume aggressively, horde and measure success in short-term gain and possession. Those societal dimensions need to be considered simultaneously with better (and more) compiled data on [the] costs and benefits, demographics, and a valuation of ecological processes if we are to really strategize on substantive improvements to quality of life in [our] community."

"Were the Hohokams foreshadowing? Is water the defining growth limiter for our region? Are there other defining physical resources that will limit growth in the area?"

"What I liked best about the video is that it offers a clear vision that is very applicable to our country's reality. Independent of the differences in scale, economic and territorial differences between Phoenix and San Salvador, there are many parallels and similarities. San Salvador has grown progressively toward the city limits, where land that once had very little value is now the object of speculation. As in Phoenix, this has caused traffic chaos, environmental degradation, etc., and in this sense the video really resonated with me."

"Why not put a moratorium on new swimming pools (save water) or an extremely high tax on any type of new water development- i.e., lakes, water features in new home areas? Also make development pay more for roads, land use etc."

"It's interesting how Phoenix became the dream for so many people, which leads to a high population growth, and yet how long will this dream last? ... This video is very important because it makes us reflect and consider: How should we value land and our (natural) resources? What is the value of land? What determines our quality of life, and what will our role as future architects be in the quality of life in our cities?"

"To introduce sanity into the Valley's development all of us must collectively work in concert. 3 million people, plus those not yet arrived ... have to be influenced and persuaded to join in [the] effort."