Work in progress
Stippled illustration of Metro Phoenix life: mountains and hikers, a coyote, an owl and desert birds, wildflowers and saguaros, bicyclists, a park, homes, a family grilling beside a pool, a vivid sunset, and a monsoon.

Theoretical
Phoenix

How might the desert develop by 2050?

Explore the idea

The desert deserves
a closer look.

Often misunderstood as lacking life or beauty, Phoenix rises from the metaphoric ashes as part of the Sonoran Desert, which ranks as America’s most diverse ecosystem including plant and animal life. Theoretical Phoenix aims to document the imagination and care shaping this region and ask how it can flourish for generations to come.

Field Notes

The Valley of the Sun is decentralized into different districts, suburbs, and neighborhoods. Up until now, no one has attempted a comprehensive catalog of metro Phoenix in this way. Explore the first dispatches below.

Read Field Note

Thomas Road & Verrado Way · Buckeye

Verrado Heritage District
Read Field Note

Indian School Road & Verrado Way · Buckeye

Verrado Main Street District
Read Field Note

McDowell Road & Dysart Road · Avondale

Rancho Santa Fe

More Field Notes

  1. Indian School Road & Dysart Road · Avondale Read Field Note ↗
  2. Brown Road & Val Vista Drive · Mesa Read Field Note ↗

Join us on our journey.

More field notes and a living atlas of metro Phoenix are ahead. Know someone who sees more in this place? Bring them along.