Via Culdesac
By Jessica Boehm | Axios
In a metro that’s been called “sprawling,” “car-centric” and “the world’s least sustainable city,” one new development stands in steadfast defiance.
State of play: Culdesac, near downtown Tempe, is Arizona’s first car-free community and it looks and feels entirely different from the dozens of other apartment buildingsspringing up across the Valley.
- That’s in large part because it doesn’t dedicate half its land to parking, the way a typical development would, Culdesac external affairs lead Erin Boyd tells us. Instead, 55% of its 17 acres is reserved for public space, in the form of wide paseos, gathering areas, restaurants and a grocery store.
- The development mimics the design and architecture of a European metropolitan with the buildings close together to provide shade throughout. There’s no asphalt in order to combat the urban heat island effect.
Why it matters: This housing project shows what’s possible in a city with an increasing number of mass transit and micro-mobility options and offers a product for people who want a car-free lifestyle.
- At a large enough scale, this type of development that eliminates private vehicles could help with Phoenix’s ozone pollution.
The intrigue: The gamble of selling carless living in car-dependent Phoenix seems to be paying off: There’s a waitlist of 600 people who have paid a deposit to live at Culdesac, Boyd says.
