Sprawl

I might have known intellectually this wasn't quite right, but I always thought, or felt, or something subconscious, that American cities sprawled like Australian cities sprawl.

They don't.

I thought I had some understanding of the deep need of many Americans to own and use a car - after all, I thought, many Australians feel the same need.

No, they don't. It's different.

After only a few days in Phoenix, I'm beginning to understand how absolutely impossible it would be to live here without a car. To some extent, this understanding started to form in Ann Arbor, but there, I think, it is merely difficult to get by without a car. Much like Canberra, where I managed without one for six months: it was possible, it was even ok, but I wouldn't want to do it for much longer.

But in Phoenix, it would not even be possible. Not really.

Every time we've needed to go somewhere, we've jumped in the car. To some of those places, I might have walked had I been by myself - but we've often been on our way somewhere else anyway, so the car it is.

Anyway, the sidewalks tend to run out.

And more: no two places we've wanted to go have been in the same general location. There are often only a few shops, cafes, etc in the one small area, and as soon as you are getting in the car anyway, it seems you may as well drive for 20 minutes as for five to go to the place you really want to visit.

The city is, according to my friend and host, A., the fifth largest in the country. Unlike the other large cities in the USA that I've visited (and that's really only two or three, depending what you count as a large city), it feels to me like a collection of very spread out suburbs. On any given trip, I can't tell if we're moving closer to the centre, further away, or just travelling around.

It's like Canberra on steroids in this regard, although without the sheep. Maybe I just haven't been far enough outside the city yet.

On one trip, A. told me we were on the outskirts of the downtown area. It did not feel any less suburban to me.

On another trip, we were heading to the outskirts of the metropolitan area - apparently a little more rural - and while there were a couple of lots with some hay bales, it still just felt suburban to me.

What's more, I am having a very difficult time distinguishing bits of the city from other bits. This is not assisted by the fact that, I'm told, all of the malls are owned by the same company. They certainly look to be. (It's not only the malls.)

As a result, I am experiencing the city in a very different way from the way I normally experience cities. It is, to be honest, a bit disconcerting.

I suppose that's not a bad reason to be here.