Made possible by a HUD Community Challenge Grant from the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, the Reinvent PHX initiative enabled a new vision for a more livable and equitable development future, beginning along Phoenix’s Valley Metro light rail corridor. A multidisciplinary team assembled and led by DPZ collaborated with the City’s stellar Planning & Development Department to conduct a series of charrettes in 2013 to study the corridor’s five TOD Districts. The main goal was to produce a Walkable Urban Code that addressed land within 1/2 mile of light-rail stations, but was also meant to stimulate growth beyond the districts. Also participating in the efforts were numerous City agencies, allied partners, Arizona State University (ASU) and St. Luke Health Initiative.
The TOD code was adopted in July 2015. A variety of interventions have resulted that continue to transform the city, strengthen commitment to major thoroughfare reconfiguration and secure additional funding through such sources as CIP. In July 2018, one of the TOD districts was awarded a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant to help address the Edison-Eastlake community’s serious shortfall in affordable housing.
Development Approach
Main focus: land-use, transportation, utilities, affordability, and development regulations.
Community Participation: well-attended public charrettes thanks to groups like the Gateway Steering Committee.
Charrette energy leveraged: local architects and developers invited for discussions = peripheral Projects in process were improved.
