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Population growth in the Phoenix metropolitan region is converting agricultural landscapes into suburban sprawl at one of the most rapid rates in the United States, yet little has been done to protect this resource, which has been vital to the development of this region's sense of place as a land of economic opportunity. This paper addresses the status of the region's land-use planning options for agricultural landscape preservation on private land. In order to reveal the value of the region's landscape character, the authors first present a typology of the four major agricultural landscapes remaining on private land, and the diverse farming traditions of some of the region's major ethnic and religious groups that created these landscapes are described. Next, the challenges and opportunities facing the preservation of these four remaining landscapes are discussed in relation to changing land attitudes and values in Arizona. Existing land-use planning and policy options for protection of the four remaining landscapes at the federal, state, and local levels are discussed, and examples of the integration of agricultural landscapes into the physical design of suburban development are provided. Finally, for the benefit of legislators, policymakers, and planners, the authors make recommendations for the development of a landscape-based policy framework and tools for the protection of agricultural landscapes in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impacts, feedbacks, and mitigation of the urban heat island in Phoenix, Arizona (USA). At Sky Harbor Airport, urbanization has increased the nighttime minimum temperature by 5 °C and the average daily temperatures by 3.1 °C. Urban warming has increased the number of ''misery hours per day'' for humans, which may have important social consequences. Other impacts include (1) increased energy consumption for heating and cooling of buildings, (2) increased heat stress (but decreased cold stress) for plants, (3) reduced quality of cotton fiber and reduced dairy production on the urban fringe, and (4) a broadening of the seasonal thermal window for arthropods. Climate feedback loops associated with evapotranspiration, energy production and consumption associated with increased air conditioning demand, and land conversion are discussed. Urban planning and design policy could be redesigned to mitigate urban warming, and several cities in the region are incorporating concerns regarding urban warming into planning codes and practices. The issue is timely and important, because most of the world's human population growth over the next 30 years will occur in cities in warm climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a framework for land suitability analysis for the upper Gila River watershed in Arizona and New Mexico. Low-density housing suitability analysis; Commercial development suitability analysis; Industrial development suitability analysis.

Examines the potential for environmentally sensitive area protection in the upper San Pedro Drainage Basin of southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. Use of a watershed as an appropriate unit for ecological planning; Growth pressures faced by the watershed.

Focuses on some of the strategies proposed by the suburban desert development team in the Northern Phoenix area in Arizona for alternative suburban planning. Landscape ecological inventory and analysis; Summary of the biophysical features of the planning area, including land forms, climate, rainfall and water sources, vegetation and wildlife; Models for suburban desert development; Continuity of desert ecosystems; Diversity in development densities; Creation of community; Issues faced by developers including drainage requirements, cost of grading and other lot improvements, and delays in the approval process; Golf course design; Principles and recommendations for future suburban desert development.

Examines the use of public art in freeway mitigation using data from surveys of residents conducted after the construction of the Squaw Peak Parkway in Phoenix, Arizona and installation of public artwork. Public art as an element of city planning; Mixed responses from respondents on the relevance or effectiveness of freeway mitigation programs; Implications for planners.