Mesa is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community on the north, Chandler and Gilbert on the south along with Queen Creek, and Apache Junction on the east.
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. The 2019 population was estimated at 258,069. Its slogan is "The West's Most Western Town." It has been one of the fastest growing cities in the United States over the past decades.
The Phoenix Metropolitan Area – also the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, or Metro Phoenix – is the largest metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States, centered on the city of Phoenix, that includes much of the central part of Arizona. The United States Office of Management and Budget designates the area as the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), defining it as Maricopa and Pinal counties. As of the 2020 census, Metro Phoenix had 4,845,832 residents, making it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the nation by population. 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.
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is coextensive since 2003 with Clark County, Nevada. The Valley is largely defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a 600 sq mi (1,600 km2) basin area surrounded by mountains to the north, south, east and west of the metropolitan area. The Valley is home to the three largest incorporated cities in Nevada: Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas. Eleven unincorporated towns governed by the Clark County government are part of the Las Vegas Township and constitute the largest community in the state of Nevada.
Arizona State Route 51 (SR 51), also known as the Piestewa Freeway, is a numbered state highway in Phoenix, Arizona. It connects Interstate 10 just outside Downtown Phoenix with Loop 101 on the north side of Phoenix, making it one of the area's major freeways. It is a largely north–south route and is known for traversing the Piestewa Peak Recreation Area. The peak was named after Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat in the U.S. Military. Prior to this time, the freeway was known as the Squaw Peak Parkway, a name considered offensive by many Native Americans. Rapid growth and increased traffic demand on the east side of Metro Phoenix made the Piestewa Freeway necessary.
Arizona State Route 101 or Loop 101 is a semi-beltway looping around the northern end of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the 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 2001. Additional general purpose lanes and a high occupancy vehicle lane (HOV) are being constructed along the eastern stretch of Loop 101 from Scottsdale to Chandler, starting at Princess Drive to Loop 202.
The Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority, more popularly known as Valley Metro, is the unified public brand of the regional transit system in and around the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area, responsible for public transit. 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.
The Phoenix Public Library is a municipal library system serving Phoenix, Arizona, and operated by the city of Phoenix. There are 16 branches currently in operation citywide, anchored by the flagship Burton Barr Central Library on the northern edge of downtown Phoenix. Four of the 16 locations were designed by prominent local architect Will Bruder: the Burton Barr central library, the Cholla branch location at Metrocenter Mall, the Mesquite branch at Paradise Valley Mall, and the Agave branch in far northwest Phoenix. Many of its branches are named for endemic desert plants.
Paradise Valley Mall was a shopping mall located in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The last remaining anchor stores were JCPenney and Costco. There were 3 vacant anchor stores that were once Sears, Dillard's, and Macy's.
Valley Metro Rail is a 28.2-mile (45 km) light rail line serving the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa in Arizona, USA. The network, which is part of the Valley Metro public transit system, began operations on December 27, 2008. The line carried 49,416 passengers per day in 2016, making it the 14th busiest light rail system in the country.
Desert Ridge Marketplace is a super-regional shopping mall located just off the Loop 101 and Tatum Boulevard in North Phoenix, Arizona. It was built by Vestar Development Co. and opened in December 2001. The mall has a gross leasable area of 1.2 million square feet. The mall was targeted at upscale residents of the north East Valley, and of Scottsdale, a five-minute drive from the mall via the freeway.
The metropolitan area of Phoenix in the U.S. state of Arizona contains one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing freeway systems, boasting over 1,405 lane miles (2,261 km) as of 2005.
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.
There are 9 routes assigned to the "N" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "N" zone includes county highways lying in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
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.
Valley Metro Bus is a transit bus system for public transport in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Buses are operated by private companies contracted by Valley Metro and the City of Phoenix. Service currently operates throughout the broader Phoenix Metropolitan Area. All buses have wheelchair ramps or lifts, and except for paratransit vehicles, all buses have bike racks.
Deer Valley or Deer Valley Village is one of the 15 urban villages that make up Phoenix, Arizona, United States. As of 2010, the population was 165,656, 25% of whom were under 18 years of age. The origin of the name is unclear; it first appeared on a 1921 General Land Office map of the area describing the valley created by Skunk Creek.
