Quinn Whissen | This Could Be Phoenix
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Author: Quinn Whissen

28 Jul

It's no myth that Phoenix is a car-centric city. With streets in the heart of our city as wide as 8 lanes, it can often feel like owning and driving a car is the only way to get around. Have you tried walking down Indian School road lately? The very street itself doesn't encourage anything but traveling on top of four wheels with a tank full of gas. And that's not the only street that can tell the same story. When I moved back to Phoenix 3 years ago, I moved closer to the light rail in order to be able to diminish as many car trips as I could, but the reality of Phoenix, and the convenience factor of having a car on our city streets (in addition to the fact I had no auto payments) left me with no other logical choice but to keep my car. I always loved the idea of living in a city where I didn't have to own a car, but Phoenix wasn't really that city. That is, Phoenix didn't become that type of city until the decision was made for me. My car was stolen in November of 2013, and that was impetus enough for me to try a car-less lifestyle in seemingly one of the most un-friendly cities for such a lifestyle. You can read more about the story of my decisions and how I'm making car-free work for me in Phoenix on my recent blog post: "How I Live and Work without a Car in Phoenix, Arizona."
07:28 / Urban Lifestyle & Culture
04 Apr

I read in a book once that every city has its own word. A word thats describes the spirit of the city and the people living in it. LA is "Succeed," New York is "Achieve," and Rome is "Sex." I think that all of these are pretty perfect words for those cities, so it got me thinking: What is Phoenix's word? And if a city's word can be different for every person living in it, what is my own personal word in Phoenix? You see, I grew up here and wouldn't have been able to tell you its word 10 years ago. In fact, I don't think it really had one other than maybe "Sprawl." I couldn't wait to get out of here when it came time to go to college. I had my sights set on Los Angeles (word for me: "Opportunity"), dreaming of being an actress. I enjoyed a couple of great years immersed in theatre, but when it came down to it, I loved being on stage but I did not love the business of acting.
08:47 / My Phoenix Story
17 Mar

You get what this post is about from the title. I don't have a car. And I live and work in Phoenix. But let me be clear on one point... this isn't a story about how I came to my senses that my gas guzzling SUV was evil and I could manage without one. I didn't suddenly decide to truly embody my 'urbanist' vision and forego four wheels of transportation for my two legs (even though I wasn't opposed to it). This also isn't about not ever getting in a car or using a car. I do that too. This is about not owning a car in Phoenix, and how I make it work in a city that isn't typically known for a car-free life. The fact of the matter is that I had a car. And it was stolen. All of a sudden, I was faced with a big decision I knew I was going to make at some point in the near future anyway...Car or no car?
07:50 / Urban Lifestyle & Culture
08 Nov

Project Rising Phoenix is an urban infill accelerator, helping ideas become a reality here in Downtown Phoenix. They are currently running their call for ideas that is open to the public to submit what they want to see on three vacant or undeveloped sites Downtown.  Even if you don't want to submit a formal entry to Project Rising, This Could Be PHX wants to hear from you! What do you want to see in these spaces? Leave a comment here or join the discussion on our Facebook page. We'll be exploring each site in more depth in the coming week but here's a little preview.
06:30 / Current Events & News