South Mountain is an important part of South Phoenix area
and it plays a major roll in urban landscape of the area and
development of the area. The South Mountain park is known as the
largest urban park in the United States but it is much more than just
that. It is a beautiful place so it is not a surprise that most of the
homes on its slope are some of the biggest and most expensive. The
demand for development land close to the mountain is high and
increasing as is the standard of living.
I have always looked at the South Mountain from a
distance, North Phoenix, to be exact. I finally decided to drive up to
the top of the mountain and see what does the city, especially South
Phoenix look like by looking in a different direction. Looking down
from the top of South Mountain the only things that stood out were
numerous subdivisions and some farm fields. The downtown, although so
close, was barely visible due to the thick band of polluted air. As I
stood there observing I pulled out and article with some photos South
Phoenix from few decades ago. It was only when I compared the photos of
old South Phoenix to today’s South Phoenix that I realized how urban
landscape of the area has changed so drastically over the years. What
was once farmland is now covered by subdivisions and many empty land
lots already have heavy machinery present ready to start developing. Is
it being close to the mountain or the downtown or perhaps both that is
bringing such a large number of middle class people to South Phoenix?
It is these middle class families that prefer subdivision lifestyle as
the number of subdivisions keeps increasing. I began to wonder what
would South Phoenix look like in the future. Is South Phoenix going to
become what anthropologist Theresa Caldeira in her article “Fortified
Enclaves: The New Urban Segregation” calls a “city fragmented by
fortified enclaves” where “creation of spatial segregation transforms
the quality of public life”. As I turned my head slightly to the left I
noticed some dust being kicked up in the air. It was a tractor working
one of the smaller fields. That particular field was surrounded by
subdivisions on all four sides so I figured that its days were numbered
and it was just a matter of time when that farmland will be converted
into a subdivision. Is South Mountain Park going to be the only public
piece of land left in the area that everyone can enjoy equally?
I accidentally overheard a conversation by a group
of people standing nearby, as one lady described South Phoenix as such
a beautiful place to look at. I looked at her and thought to myself,
perhaps if it wasn’t for all that pollution and all the same-looking
roofs of subdivisions it would be much better to look at. The real
beauty of South Phoenix, in my opinion, lies in its residents, their
own uniqueness and their culture that which is expressed throughout
South Phoenix in many different ways.