Tempe Land Use Case Study

Tempe Land Use: Going to Plan? A city’s general plan is an important aspect when building a successful city. The city of Tempe, Arizona uses a general plan to help spread their vision. Tempe wishes to create a community of vital neighborhoods, visually attractive, transit sensitive, with resident participation in making crucial decisions about the future (United). Tempe’s general plan is then broken down into the elements of history, land use, design and development, economics, conservation, transportation, open space and public facilities (United). Each of these elements were broken down and analyzed to see what could be changed by 2030 to make an overall better city. One of the most critical elements of a general plan is land use. The land …show more content…
In their general plan, the city of Tempe has included a table which shows there existing residential density as of December of 2003. The city also provided projected numbers for the city’s density in 2030. The basic trend of the projected density table is to move away from the single family residential homes. These low density homes have one to three dwelling units per acre. As of December of 2003, the city of Tempe had 63,375 dwelling units with approximately 2.5 residents per unit. If the same residents per unit stays the same, the city will need to have a total of 78,683 dwellings by 2030 (United). It is possible for the city of Tempe to reach their goals, but in order to do so, they will need to start building upward. Tempe may need to fill in the last of the remaining open areas of its city. It would be more practical for Tempe to buyout areas using just compensation. Using just compensation, the residences of the single family residences can get market value for their home and the city is able to accommodate for its growth (Kim). By increasing the density of housing to meet their 2030 goal, Tempe will remain an economically sustainable …show more content…
In order for Tempe to match up its general plan with boarding cities, they obtained help from the Maricopa Association of Governments. The Maricopa Association of Governments uses a regional planning document to make cities like Tempe, construct similar zoning areas on the city’s boarders (United). Being surrounded on all boarders, the city of Tempe really uses this regional general plan to their advantage. To the North, Tempe shares a boarder with Scottsdale and encompasses a mix of commercial and residential buildings. The 101 freeway to the east which divides Mesa and Tempe, also contains a similar commercial and industrial focus on both sides of it. The city if Chandler to the south merges in similar industrial and commercial buildings. Finally the town of Guadalupe contains pronominally residential architecture throughout its town (United). Tempe is making a more attractive and livable city by incorporating regional plans with their