Phoenix is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States and the most populous state capital in the country.
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and the most populous county in Arizona, and making Arizona one of the nation's most centralized states. The county seat is Phoenix, the state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States.
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city also contains the Arrowhead Towne Center shopping mall. As of the 2020 census, Glendale had a population of 248,325.
Peoria is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the U.S. state of Arizona. Most of the city is located in Maricopa County, while a portion of it in the north is in Yavapai County. It is a major suburb of Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the population of Peoria was 190,985, up from 154,065 in 2010. It is the sixth-largest city in Arizona in land area and the ninth-largest in population. It was named after Peoria, Illinois. The word peoria is a corruption of the Miami-Illinois word for "prairie fire". It is the spring training home of the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners, who share the Peoria Sports Complex.
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott, a retired U.S. Army chaplain, the city was incorporated in 1951 with a population of 2,000. At the 2020 census, the population was 241,361, which had grown from 217,385 in 2010. Its slogan is "The West's Most Western Town". Over the past two decades, it has been one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale and the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community on the north, Chandler on the south, and Mesa on the east. Tempe is also the location of the main campus of Arizona State University.
The Salt River is a river in Gila and Maricopa counties in Arizona, United States, that is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about 200 miles (320 km) long. Its drainage basin is about 13,700 square miles (35,000 km2) large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the 195-mile (314 km) Verde River. The Salt's headwaters tributaries, the Black River and East Fork, increase the river's total length to about 300 miles (480 km). The name Salt River comes from the fact that the river flows over large salt deposits shortly after the merging of the White and Black Rivers.
The Phoenix Metropolitan Area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, Metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the city of Phoenix. It includes much of central Arizona. The United States Office of Management and Budget designates the area as the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), defining it as Maricopa and Pinal counties. It anchors the Arizona Sun Corridor megaregion along with the second-most populous metropolitan area in the state, the Tucson metropolitan area. The gross domestic product of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area was $255 billion in 2018, 16th-largest amongst metro areas in the United States.
Arizona State Route 101 or Loop 101 is a semi-beltway looping around the Phoenix Metropolitan Area in central Arizona, United States. It connects several suburbs of Phoenix, including Tolleson, Glendale, Peoria, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, and Chandler. Construction began in the late-1980s and was completed in 2002.
The Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority, more popularly known as Valley Metro, is the unified public brand of the regional transit system for the Phoenix metropolitan area. Within the system, it is divided between Valley Metro Bus, which runs all bus operations, and Valley Metro Rail, which is responsible for light rail operations in the Valley. In 2022, the combined bus and rail system had a ridership of 33,944,600, or about 104,700 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2023.
Ralph Haver (1915-1987) was an architect working in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, USA, from 1945 until the early 1980s. Haver designed the Mid-Century Modern Haver Homes, affordable tract housing executed in a contemporary modern style.
The metropolitan area of Phoenix in the U.S. state of Arizona contains one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing freeway systems, with over 1,405 lane miles (2,261 km) as of 2005.
Arcadia is a neighborhood in the areas of Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona. It is bounded 44th Street to 68th Street and Camelback Road to the canal. Arcadia contains well-kept homes on large lots; these homes command relatively high property values. Built on former citrus groves, Arcadia is known for well-irrigated, mature landscaping. Several yards prominently feature orange, lemon and grapefruit trees as reminders of the area's past; the area used to be occupied by citrus farmers from 1919 to the mid-1950s. In the mid-1950s, the rest of Phoenix caught up with the farms and the area suburbanized with characteristic ranch homes on large lots. Arcadia High School serves and derives its name from the neighborhood. Arcadia is frequently listed as the top place to live in all of Phoenix Metro due to its ideal location for both work and fun, vibrant food / culture, walk-ability, and plush landscape. It is also just south of the desired hiking destinations of Camelback Mountain and Piestewa Peak. Much of Phoenix's cycling scene pedals through this neighborhood, as Campbell / Lafayette is one of the main Phoenix cycling corridors.
Many arterial roads in the Phoenix metropolitan area have the same name in multiple cities or towns. Some roads change names or route numbers across town borders, resulting in occasional confusion. For example, the road known as Apache Boulevard in Tempe continues east as Main Street in neighboring Mesa and then as Apache Trail in Apache Junction. Although Broadway Road maintains the same name through Goodyear, Avondale, Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, and Apache Junction, each town uses a different reference point for address numbers.
The Canyon Athletic Association (CAA), previously known as the Arizona Charter Athletic Association, is an American non-profit regulatory organization for athletic competition among secondary schools located in Arizona. The CAA serves small non-traditional education institutions including charter schools, public schools, home school organizations, and parochial schools. As of 2014, the CAA membership consisted of approximately 125 High Schools and Junior High Schools.
Bell Road is a major east-west arterial road in the northern Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. It is one of the few roadways to cross the Agua Fria River in the northwestern part of the metro area, providing a vital link between the growing suburb of Surprise with Phoenix. As a result, the portion of Bell Road passing through Surprise and Sun City is the busiest arterial road in the state of Arizona.
William John Murphy was an American businessman, contractor, land developer and founder of the Arizona Improvement Company. He is also remembered as the "Founder of Glendale, Arizona" and an important contributor to much of the early development in the Phoenix area.
There is a current proposal to bring commuter rail service to the Phoenix metropolitan area.
