Urban Form Project

The Downtown Phoenix Urban Form Project is a collaborative process to comprehensively revise downtown zoning – to shape future growth and to help realize the city’s vision for a livelier, more integrated and sustainable downtown. The city has embarked on this project due to heightened development interest: a variety of residential, retail, and office projects are being proposed on vacant sites throughout downtown. The existing zoning is out of date and does not ensure that projects built will create an attractive downtown with shade, pedestrian-oriented streets and quality design. The zoning needs to be revised in order to achieve a great downtown that can be an exciting destination for the residents of Phoenix and the region.

The Urban Form Project is intended to establish the rules that will guide downtown as it continues to develop and transform. The actual transformation of downtown depends primarily on the initiative of the private sector and will be driven by market demand for housing, office, hotel, and retail. The city plays a key role by investing in streets, parks, art, and other improvements and by assisting critical “catalyst” projects such as the ASU Downtown Campus and the biomedical center.

Project Area

The study area contains about 1,500 acres, roughly bounded by Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street, McDowell Road to the north and Buckeye Road to the south. The geographical heart of the city, the study area includes Copper Square, the 90-block core of downtown, where the majority of the area's office, convention, cultural, university, biomedical, entertainment and government uses are located. The study area also encompasses residential neighborhoods, historic districts, unique arts districts and many vacant and underutilized areas surrounding Copper Square that offer outstanding opportunities for continued growth. Finally, the area also is home to METRO, the region's new light rail system set to debut in late 2008. (From City of Phoenix website)

Listed below are proposals for various districts and streets throughout the planning area.