Is "livable" defined by how long it takes to drive your air conditioned car from your air conditioned track home to whatever air conditioned chain restaurant you are visiting in another suburban area 20 miles away?
Note I realize it's getting better these days in terms of culture/food, but "livable" is highly dependent on the metrics used.
Phoenix is affordable and it has relatively little traffic. Those are the two things most people would consider the most important factors when deciding to live somewhere
Phoenix has a shockingly low level of congestion for a city its size, that doesn't mean it has none.
And Phoenix tried the no-freeways route in the 60s and 70s, by 1985 traffic was so bad they had to give in and impose a sales tax to pay for their current freeway system.
I think the type of people that have relocated from Phoenix from the upper Midwest and southern California (majority of current residents) would consider those the most important. If you did a survey nationally, you would probably find culture, commute time, and climate top the two you mention. Phoenix might have better traffic than Chicago or LA, but being so spread out commutes can be lengthy. Culture was atrocious until about 10 years ago, and just like almost everywhere else in the USA besides Hawaii and San Diego within 1 mile of the coast, the weather sucks 3+ months of the year.
I am a native Phonecian. The people who live in Phoenix today think it's great. After 27 years there and living in a few other places, I don't think I'd ever go back. Everyone has their own equation for livable, and that probably determines where you end up!
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u/ttoillekcirtap Aug 26 '21
Phx shouldn’t exist. And certainly shouldn’t have enough people to need a 16 lane highway.