Phoenix covers nearly 520 square miles and has a population of more than 1.5 million, ranking it fifth in the United States. While Phoenix is the corporate and industrial center in the Southwest, it has retained its long-time reputation of friendliness and citizen involvement in government.
Vibrant Downtown Core
The city has many new projects and activities in its increasingly vibrant downtown core. Downtown Phoenix features theatres, major sports arenas, the Phoenix Convention Center, the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, and the growing Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix Campus and University of Arizona College of Medicine. Connecting the downtown core to the rest of the Phoenix area is the light rail transit system.
A Great Place To Live
Our 300 days of sunshine a year provide the perfect landscape for experiencing the rich diversity of things to see and do in Phoenix. We have everything from world-class hotels and resorts to exhilarating adventure, breath-taking golf courses, trendy shopping, modern nightlife and enriching culture. About one in four residents belong to an emerging ethnic group, bringing traditions, beliefs and values that enhance the city’s social fabric. We are home to the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Honored for its commitment to excellence, Governing magazine recognized Phoenix as the best-managed city in the United States in 2000. Phoenix received this acclaim for its success in the areas of human resource management, capital management, managing for results, financial management, and information technology management.
In addition to its five All-America City titles, Phoenix won the 1993 Carl Bertelsmann Prize, a prestigious international competition that recognized the best-run city government in the world. Phoenix, which shared the prize with Christchurch, New Zealand, was praised for its highly efficient and customer-oriented programs.
