When I first came here to go to college, a battle for Tucson’s soul was raging between the “Let’s grow like Phoenix” crowd and the “Let’s stay Tucson” enthusiasts.
With people leaving the Rust Belt for the Sun Belt, a certain amount of growth was inevitable, but surely Tucsonans would never go the Phoenix route of growth at all costs, and growth for growth’s sake. Phoenix was like a painted hussy, standing on a desert street corner. Tucson had character, personality and a strong sense of community. The phrase “proud Tucsonan” was redundant.
There’s no way of pinpointing when it happened, but at some point within recent decades, Tucson became less of a state of mind and more of a “place,” a Balkanized collection of neighborhoods run by petty people who engage in petty arguments over issues that are sometimes petty, and sometimes not. It’s as though every point of discussion became a philosophical battle between the pack of all-out growthers and the no-growth-at-all clique. There was no middle ground, for to concede a point was not just a sign of weakness, but an abandonment of high principle.
After a while, both sides had dug their heels in so deeply that the very concept of compromise went away. The vehicle of Tucson was being driven with one foot pressing the accelerator all the way to the floor, and the other stomping on the brake for all it was worth. Any motion at all came when the brakers, out of sheer exhaustion, eased off a bit—and then just for a moment. Mostly, however, the stalemate just burned out the engine and wore down the brakes.
The worst thing about it is that Tucson has seen huge growth in recent years, and yet is almost certainly worse off for not having planned for it. In 1970, Tucson was the 53rd-largest city in America. Today, it’s No. 32. The city at No. 33, Atlanta, has teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball. Tucson, with its Pushme-Pullyou, suck-up political sensibilities, couldn’t even hold on to a minor-league baseball team. In fact, Tucson is larger than more than 40 percent of the cities that have NFL teams. What would be the odds that an NFL team would want to relocate to this schizophrenic place? Or that any industry would want to come here, for that matter?
(Meanwhile, the whore up the highway, Phoenix, went from being the 99th-largest city in the U.S. in 1950 to the fifth-largest now. Say what you will—and I would never want to live there—but it has never suffered from a lack of confidence or a split vision as to what it wants to be.)
For the first time in all my years here, the thought has crept into my head as to whether Tucson’s best years are behind us. I sincerely don’t believe that Tucson is destined to go downhill from here, but the fact that I could even formulate that thought is troubling.
An article in the July 1 issue of this publication probably had something to do with it. The article (“Too Many Meetings?”) is indicative of what plagues our community. A few years ago, a majority of us decided that there was a need for long-term traffic planning, so we voted to establish and fund the Regional Transportation Authority. It certainly hasn’t been perfect, but neither has it been reactionary, like much of what goes on around here.
The RTA has two projects on 22nd Street, both badly needed to help with the traffic flow along the east-west artery. As with all major traffic-improvement projects (and the attendant disruptions caused by construction), public meetings are held to explain what will be done, how long it will take and what the final outcome will be. These meetings are generally sparsely attended and rarely contentious.
However, the head of the RTA, Gary Hayes, believes that some self-proclaimed community activists are using the meetings to derail the process. The meetings cost money—to pay for attending consultants, to advertise the meetings, etc. These costs are generally passed along to the RTA, but Hayes wants hard limits placed on those “soft” costs.
And so we have a handful of people with the power to monkey-wrench a multi-million-dollar project. Do these neighborhood preservationists have a point? Maybe. With more than twice as many people living here as there were a quarter-century ago, do we need to improve 22nd Street? Absolutely.
Using past growth to rationalize further unchecked growth is irrational. Denying that growth has taken place is not a sound course of action, either. I’d like our “leaders” to develop the ability to look past their own self-interests, to be able to see beyond the edge of their yards and do what is in the best interest of the vast majority of people.
I hate sprawl. I hate the thought of subdivisions leapfrogging out into the desert. But I’ve also had it with people who only pull their heads out of the sand long enough to shout, “No!” We need more people who love Tucson, and not just their neighborhood.
I don’t want Tucson to be Phoenix, but I sure wouldn’t mind it if Tucson were to become Tucson again.
This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2010.
If Tucson is growing so much, why is it so hard to sell a house there? The home prices have collapsed. Where are all these new Tucson citizens living, in their cars, in parks and under bridges?
Who are these new residents? Is the growth an estimate counting illegal border crossers as they pass through Tucson on their way to Phoenix and beyond? Seriously, do you think the current census will show much population growth in Tucson? I’d sure like to find someone moving to Tucson and sell them my house in the Foothills.
TYJesse is clearly speaking from a “newbie” point of view. As one who’s been here for 36 years I have a much different perspective. Back in the mid 70’s the Tucson metro area was about 250,000. The metro area is now about 1 million people.
In the 80’s as Tucson’s growth was ratcheting up, a group of politicians led by the likes of Molly McKassen, Ron Asta, et al. thought it was time Tucson planned for and channeled growth. At the same time water issues were being seriously discussed. Since it is so much more costly to pump water uphill, water rates for the monied foothillers dramatically increased to reflect the true cost of supplying them.
Almost overnight the greedy developers and the greedy car dealers (sorry for the double redundancy) put together a massive war chest to recall those politicians. They were unfairly branded as “no-growthers” and since vast sums of money talks…they were quickly replaced. The message sent to (and heeded by) every politician since is that if you want to stay in office…don’t mess with Tucson’s growth.
So now we have unchecked sprawl with the concurrent traffic and infrastructure problems that we all must suffer through. And we lowly flatland dwellers are STILL subsidizing TXJesse’s water rates.
Any progress in limiting growth is a direct reflection of all these “Balkanized” neighborhoods fighting to keep their way of life and not be steamrolled by the development cartel. It surely is not because of any political support.
And the reason, TXJesse, you can’t sell your home, is that the country as a whole is in a terribly depressed economic time. That is the only silver lining in the war against sprawl. These crappy times have regulated what decades of politicians couldn’t.
Republicans had the majority for eight years and did nothing except triple the deficit, stoke immigration fears, pander to paranoids, squander the Clinton surplus, authorize warrantless wiretaps, gut the Fourth Amendment, condone torture, support risky subprime mortgage derivatives, deregulate the oil and mining industries (causing great loss of life) and trick America into war. Without the Bush tax cuts, we could have created a $539 billion surplus in 2005; instead, we added $539 billion to Bush’s already ballooning deficit. Between 2001 and 2007, in exchange for mega tax cuts, republicans received $47 million in “contributions” from big oil. Remember: if republicans take control of the House, Barton (paid BP lackey) will control the Energy Committee. Ah, the hypocrisy! Bush and Cheney isolated America and adopted a unilateral stance that made America the laughingstock of the world; Obama unites America and proves to the world that he is the consummate humanitarian, visionary, and diplomat. Strangely, where was all the Tea Klan outrage during the Bush/Cheney cabal? Americans do not have a clear understanding of who is responsible for creating the deficit currently crippling our country—it’s not Obama; it’s the republicans. The seeds of the current financial crisis were sown early on during the Bush Administration. Working class republicans: If you want to live like a republican, you must vote democrat. America cannot be ruled by the top 2%.
As to the comments posted by Wise-Guy, I can only add: AMEN.
“freedomfor2012” is absolutely correct in pointing out that we are experiencing the effects of Republicans’ notions of what it means to govern (?). It is so obvious to any sentient being that conservatives are nothing but BS artists who are proficient in the propaganda methods that consistently persuade average people to vote against their own interests. And as long as voters allow themselves to be manipulated by these cynical bastards, our country will suffer.
Democrats certainly aren’t perfect. A lot of them are fools who legislate as if they were Republicans. But by and large, the Dems tend to work for the common man, while the GOP reliably caters to the whims of the rich and powerful. So there ARE choices, and if the voters are too blind to perceive the difference, they get what they deserve. Pay attention, people. You don’t HAVE to be suckered!
I read this article and the comments with interest because since I first visited Tucson in 1985,and every year thereafter, I have always wanted to live in Tucson.
I have now retired from teaching, my husband will soon retire from the local police department, and YES!, we have pensions, savings, money to spend. We have been looking for a house and we WILL pay cash.
The only thing is, something happened along the way.
We started subscribing to the AZ Daily Star this spring to read about local issues and get a feel for our future city. We found out how liberal Tucson is, how badly the TUSD is run, how Tucson hates the illegal immigrant law, how Tucson is running out of water. I could go on.
Bottom line, no thanks.
We’re looking in Utah now.
Good luck, Tuscon, you’ll need it.
Count me a second for Wiseguy. As one of the few natives left, I have seen Tcuson go from being the “Little town with Big Ideas” to a valley with checkerboard sprawl. Why are there subdivisions on the far east and north sides of town when there is empty space inside the city limits? Why must local governments provide water and other basic services to these areas? Can’t they provide it for themselves? We have got to quit listening to the Developers and their lackeys and deiced what kind of place this will be for our children and grandchildren!
I love you guys! (freedom & roger) I used to think my husband and I were the only ones who saw the blatant hypocracy. Everything I’ve heard Republicans accuse Obama of scheming or doing is something GWB has already done, all the while Republicans stood by beaming like new parents when their baby farts. We watched in horror as Cheney’s evil genius manipulated the Puppet King. I shuddered every time Bush uttered the phrase “the American people”, knowing he didn’t speak for me… or anyone I knew! And Sarah Palin and her Dutch Uncle John! When I saw Republican women sing her praises, not because she was a qualified candidate, (and clearly she is NOT) but because she was a woman…I was embarrassed to be a woman! The idea that a blow up doll in a designer suit could one day run our country absolutely terrifies me! Thanks for articulating what seemed so obvious.
It would appear that Tucson is obsessed about itself, it ruminates and has many doubts.
The size of the city doesn’t make it pro-sports eligible; it’s the size of the metro area. Atlanta only has roughly half a million inhabitants but it has a metro area of nearly 3 million people in a 5 or 6 county area of northern Georgia. Tucson has a bit bigger population than Atlanta but its metro area is somewhere between 800,000-1,000,000, depending on whom you count. BE GLAD FOR IT!!! When you leave Atlanta, you’re snarled in traffic jams that stretch well into the suburbs. When you leave Tucson, you’re in the desert, rolling, mostly unproblematically, on I-10. Be GLAD that Tucson only has 1.25 freeways, if we count the little stretch of 1-19 as one of Tucson’s freeways, instead of a snarling tangle like L.A., Atlanta or Phoenix. Tucson has it pretty good…but developers and other bottom feeders would have you think otherwise. Build a freeway over the Rillito to “help alleviate traffic for those poor souls on the east side”? No, that’s not what it’s for…a freeway there would free up nearly the entirety of Reddington Pass to be set upon by developers so they can add yet another ring of hell to the city, much like the hideous, blighting tracts added on Kino and Tucson Blvd between midtown and the airport over the last 10 years. Major league sports are kinda nice, but they’re overpriced and a mess to have around. I’m content seeing the D-Backs in Phoenix and coming home to Tucson. Be glad for what Tucson’s got…what it doesn’t have is terrifying.
You folks are so off the mark with your sorry attempt to blame your problems on a fed republican government. Look a lot closer to home with your republican mayor that is so much a democrat with his hotel and trolley it makes me laugh.