By Jessica Boehm | Arizona Republic
New River is just outside the Phoenix city limits, but it hardly looks like the metropolitan it borders.
About 15,000 people are spread across 50 square miles of mountainous terrain along Interstate 17. All of the homes in New River are located on at least an acre of land. Many residents raise horses, chickens and other farm animals.
New River and its smaller neighbor Desert Hills, home to almost 3,000, are unincorporated areas in Maricopa County.
In April, the county was named the fastest-growing county in the United States for the third year in a row. As many of the far-reaching corners of Maricopa County have boomed, New River has managed to stave off most new development.
