Capitol Rebuild: Phoenix
Everyone has to stop growing at some point, don't they?
Phoenix didn’t grow in the 20th century - it exploded.
Arizona achieved statehood in 1912 with Phoenix as its capital when the city wasn’t much more than a desert outpost with fewer than 6,000 residents. A little over a century later, it’s now the fifth largest city in America with 1.7 million people and still growing.
No other U.S. capital city experienced a population boom this dramatic. It’s amazing what air-conditioning, cheap land and the eternal appeal of a snow-free forecast can do. On its current growth trajectory, Phoenix will leapfrog Chicago and be the fourth largest city in the country before the end of the century. However, climate change might eventually have something to say about this growth at all costs approach. Is Phoenix a capital of the future, or just a warm layover?
Flame on!
How Did the Capital End Up There?
The original capitol building itself is very meh. Basically it looks like any other office building that was built in the early 20th century with southwestern influences. The original design included a dome (all capitols should have a dome!), but they ran out of funding before they could finish it. And so the original capitol building remains domeless and now just serves as a museum to bore kids who are on a the state capital field trip (over 70% of the museum’s annual visitors are school field trips). Building on a common theme in Phoenix, there is not centralized capitol building where government happens - it is all sprawled out in the Governmental Mall (two words that should never go together).
My Experiences with Phoenix
When I was developing the idea for Capitol Rebuild, I went through all of the capitals to see how many I visited. And I was certain I had been at a conference at Phoenix and I’d be able to recollect all of the details. But it appears that I tricked myself. Other than connecting to another flying at Skyharbor Airport, I’ve never been there. Ominous sign.
What’s Working
Civic Infrastructure
Phoenix is the first city in this series that truly embraced its capital city status. Not only is it home to state and city government, but Maricopa County—one of the largest in the country—also anchors its offices downtown. And unlike in many state capitals, these layers of government don’t just coexist; they actively collaborate on economic development. Sometimes too much—it seems like there may be a few too many overlapping groups—but the intent is clear: they’re all focused on growing Phoenix.
Regional coordination is a real strength here. The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) actually functions as a forum for smart planning, especially around transportation, water, and air quality—areas that tend to fall through the cracks elsewhere. That level of alignment across municipalities gives Phoenix an edge so many other cities would love to have.
Leadership in Phoenix has a clear bias toward action—and toward saying yes. Yes to housing. Yes to highways. Yes to chip plants. Yes to growth. It’s how the city went from a desert outpost to one of America’s largest metros in under a century. The semiconductor boom, led by TSMC and others, is just the latest example of Phoenix going full throttle.
Could this growth have been more thoughtful? Of course. But in a country where many cities choke on their own regulatory red tape, Phoenix has positioned itself as the opposite: a place where things get built, fast. That mentality—growth at all costs—has fueled an economy that, at least for now, achieves its goal.
Place
Roosevelt Row is the most distinctive urban neighborhood in Phoenix, and it shows what's possible when the city puts effort into place. It's a dense, mural-covered stretch packed with street life, art galleries, local businesses, and new housing. It’s not huge—just about a mile—but it’s become the cultural anchor for downtown.
The challenge now is protecting its soul. Like most places that are deemed “cool”, the sharks are circling, and there’s a real risk that the very vibe that made Roosevelt Row special could be sanitized or priced out with new development. Phoenix needs to keep it unique and make it a model for future infill.
Arts and Culture
Phoenix has the raw ingredients for a robust arts and culture scene—big-name museums, major venues, and a strong Latino and Indigenous creative base. But outside Roosevelt Row, it doesn’t seem like a city brimming with culture. Much of the artistic energy is still spread out or under-leveraged. If Phoenix wants to compete for talent with cities like Austin or Denver, it’ll need to make arts and culture a visible, daily part of urban life—not just something you drive to on the weekend.
What’s Not Working
It’s too damn hot.
Let’s not overthink this. Phoenix is insanely hot—and getting hotter. In 2024, the city clocked 113 straight days over 100 degrees, stretching from May 27 to mid-September. Nearly 40% of the entire year crossed the triple-digit mark. And this year’s first 100-degree day hit on April 10—three weeks earlier than normal.
You can say it’s a “dry heat.” You can point to widespread air conditioning. But the reality is no one wants to be sweating in the shower at 6 a.m. The heat isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a quality of life issue. A public health issue. A workforce retention issue. And no amount of "but it's cheaper than California" arguments makes that go away.
Phoenix, we have a water problem.
The entire growth model of Phoenix is built on borrowed time and borrowed water. The Colorado River is shrinking, groundwater is drying up, and the Southwest is entering a new era of climate risk. Meanwhile, the city keeps building like water will just magically appear.
Now throw in water-guzzling semiconductor fabs, which need millions of gallons daily, and the math gets ugly fast. Sure, there’s some recycling and reuse, but it’s not enough to offset the trajectory. Phoenix hasn’t answered the most basic question about its future: What happens when the water runs out?
Innovation isn’t a magic word
Phoenix is undeniably entrepreneurial—people come here to build and make money. But innovation? That’s still lagging way behind. Arizona State is trying hard to change that story, with big moves downtown and partnerships with chipmakers. But the national brand of ASU is still more “party school” than “research powerhouse.” And Phoenix doesn’t have the research density, tech clusters, or venture capital backbone that cities like Austin, Denver, or Raleigh have managed to build.
You can’t just declare yourself innovative. You have to do the work. Right now, Phoenix has the ambition—but not the ecosystem.
It doesn’t have a soul to sell
This one’s going to sting. But it’s a fair question: What does Phoenix feel like?
It’s a city of transplants, rapid buildout, and cul-de-sac sprawl. History is thin. Culture is scattered. Outside a few pockets like Roosevelt Row, it’s hard to find a place that feels uniquely Phoenix.
When people talk about Phoenix, they talk about what’s affordable, what’s new, what’s growing. Rarely do they talk about what’s beloved. That’s not just a branding problem—it’s a place problem. And it’s one the city will have to fix if it wants to be more than a sunbelt boomtown with an expiration date.
People Doing the Work
In an era when most mayors are just trying to survive their next election, Mayor Kate Gallego is thriving. She not only won re-election—she did it with a larger margin the second time around. That alone is rare. But more importantly, she’s been unapologetically focused on the big issues that matter to Phoenix’s long-term survival: climate resilience, water security, and housing affordability. Despite the limitations of Phoenix’s City Manager system—where mayors don’t have executive authority—Mayor Gallego is steering the policy conversation in the right direction. She’s not just showing up for ribbon cuttings; she’s making sure Phoenix has a future worth building toward.
As the founder of the Indigenous Design Collaborative at Arizona State University, Wanda Dalla Costa is doing something you don’t see in almost any other American city: elevating Indigenous knowledge as a foundation for sustainable urban design. In a place like Phoenix—built in the desert and under pressure from climate change and growth at all costs—her work isn’t just culturally significant. It’s vital.
If Roosevelt Row is the heart of Phoenix’s arts scene, Catrina Kahler is one of the people who helped keep it beating. As President of Artlink Inc., she’s led efforts to connect artists, developers, and policymakers in ways that center culture—not sideline it. From organizing Art Detour and First Fridays to pushing for permanent artist inclusion in city-building decisions, Catrina has helped turn Phoenix from a place where art happens to a place where art is valued. She’s built more than events—she’s built infrastructure for arts and culture to thrive.
2025 Capitol Score
Capitol Score is my subjective ranking (using a 10 point scale) on how the city stacks up with regards to place, innovation, arts & culture, and overall livability. A perfect score isn’t the goal, improvement is.
Phoenix 2025 Capitol Score is 7.9
Phoenix has a Capital Score Potential of 8.4 (limited due to climate change)
Three Wishes from the Capitol Genie
Just a quick note here. This is just me throwing ideas on the wall based on my limited knowledge of what’s happening. There are likely many many things that need improvement and the folks on the ground will always know more.
Slow the growth down. Yes, the growth has been remarkable. Phoenix is booming. But it’s time to hit pause and catch your breath. There’s a long list of things that need fixing to make this a city people love, not just tolerate: better transit, smarter water management, more sustainable economic development. Chasing the next shiny thing—whether it's chip plants or data centers—won’t solve the underlying issues. In fact, it may make them worse. Sometimes, the best move is to sit on the bench, get a breather, and come back in with a better game plan.
Continue the rebrand of Arizona State and get them even more involved Downtown. Arizona State has come a long way from its party school reputation, but let’s be honest: it hasn’t exactly morphed into a Quaker seminary either. Still, ASU is a critical asset, and it should play an even bigger role in shaping the future of Phoenix. That means continuing to invest in its Downtown campus, especially in graduate research programs and tech transfer capacity. If ASU keeps building real research and startup muscle downtown, Phoenix might finally get to use the word “innovation” in its press releases without everyone rolling their eyes.
Phoenix has a long-range transportation plan. It has a funding source. Now it needs a sense of urgency. The city has to move faster on expanding light rail, improving bus frequency, and making it possible to live without a car. A place growing this fast can’t keep functioning like a car-only city. It’s time to stop admiring the plan and start laying track.
What’s Happening in Phoenix?
Phoenix City Council to consider zoning policy for data centers. Good?
Arizona lawmakers debate Chase Field renovation funding. Not good?
Capitol Roundup: Director nominations committee gets back to work. This is absolutely insane and the biggest challenge with purple states - unreliable government partner.
TSMC’s debacle in the American desert. This reads like a remake of the 80’s movie Gung Ho (RIP George Wendt).
Developers Lobby to Keep Building, Water Shortages Be Damned. Ugh.
Final Thoughts
I have no doubt there are people who love Phoenix. With the right tour guide, I’m sure I’d have a great weekend—maybe even start to see what makes it so attractive to people. But from the outside, it’s hard to shake the feeling that Phoenix is a city still figuring out what it wants to be, beyond bigger than it is today.
And yet…people keep coming. There must be something in the water—or at least, what’s left of it.
My hope is that Phoenix’s next century of growth looks different from the last. Smarter. More intentional. More rooted in place and culture, not just sprawl and surface. The ingredients are there. The question is whether Phoenix wants to build a city that people don’t just move to—but one they never want to leave.
Capitol Rankings
Capitol score (Capitol potential)
Phoenix, 7.9 (8.4)
Des Moines, 6.7 (8.2)
Harrisburg, 4.3 (6.1)
Next week we visit one of the nation’s earliest state capitals in lovely Montpelier.