Entering Surprise, Arizona


Bild von Ken Lund
Surprise is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. The population was 30,848 at the 2000 census; however, rapid growth has boosted the city’s population to 90,717 by 2007, according to Census Bureau estimates.[1] As such, it is the second fastest-growing municipality in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area (after Gilbert), and between 1990 and 2000, it was the sixth fastest-growing place among all cities and towns in Arizona.

The city was founded in 1938 by real estate developer and state legislator Homer C. Ludden, who named it after his hometown of Surprise, Nebraska. Although there were only a few houses and a gas station on the one-mile-square parcel of land when Ludden subdivided it to build inexpensive houses for agricultural workers, Surprise has experienced tremendous growth in the years since. [3] It incorporated into a city in 1960. [4]

Tens of thousands of retirees moved to the city in the 1990s and early 2000s to live in Sun City Grand, an age-restricted resort-like community, with homes built by the property development firm Del Webb. Surprise is about five miles northwest of Del Webb’s original Sun City development and adjacent to Sun City West.

Sun City Grand has become a large contributor to the city’s population, which more than septupled from 10,187 to about 75,000 in 2004.[5] The city’s population is now considerably larger than Ludden’s hometown, which had a population of 44 in the 2000 United States Census.

Rapid growth has led city officials to estimate the population at over 103,000 as of 2007, a figure the city maintains in spite of more conservative population estimates by the Census Bureau.[6] Thirty-two of the state’s top 50 homebuilders cater to new homebuyers, who are attracted by the city’s modestly-priced homes, its relative proximity to Phoenix, and by the property taxes, which the city claims are among the lowest in the state.

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 30,848 people, 12,484 households, and 9,725 families residing in the city. The population density was 443.9 people per square mile (171.4/km²). There were 16,260 housing units at an average density of 234.0/sq mi (90.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.97% White, 2.61% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.87% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 23.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. In recent years, the racial makeup has varied due to the rapid growth of the city.

There were 12,484 households out of which 21.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.75 people.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 25.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was ,156, and the median income for a family was ,899. Males had a median income of ,079 versus ,347 for females. The per capita income for the city was ,451. About 5.6% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surprise,_Arizona

Approaching Surprise, Arizona


Bild von Ken Lund
Surprise is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. The population was 30,848 at the 2000 census; however, rapid growth has boosted the city’s population to 90,717 by 2007, according to Census Bureau estimates.[1] As such, it is the second fastest-growing municipality in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area (after Gilbert), and between 1990 and 2000, it was the sixth fastest-growing place among all cities and towns in Arizona.

The city was founded in 1938 by real estate developer and state legislator Homer C. Ludden, who named it after his hometown of Surprise, Nebraska. Although there were only a few houses and a gas station on the one-mile-square parcel of land when Ludden subdivided it to build inexpensive houses for agricultural workers, Surprise has experienced tremendous growth in the years since. [3] It incorporated into a city in 1960. [4]

Tens of thousands of retirees moved to the city in the 1990s and early 2000s to live in Sun City Grand, an age-restricted resort-like community, with homes built by the property development firm Del Webb. Surprise is about five miles northwest of Del Webb’s original Sun City development and adjacent to Sun City West.

Sun City Grand has become a large contributor to the city’s population, which more than septupled from 10,187 to about 75,000 in 2004.[5] The city’s population is now considerably larger than Ludden’s hometown, which had a population of 44 in the 2000 United States Census.

Rapid growth has led city officials to estimate the population at over 103,000 as of 2007, a figure the city maintains in spite of more conservative population estimates by the Census Bureau.[6] Thirty-two of the state’s top 50 homebuilders cater to new homebuyers, who are attracted by the city’s modestly-priced homes, its relative proximity to Phoenix, and by the property taxes, which the city claims are among the lowest in the state.

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 30,848 people, 12,484 households, and 9,725 families residing in the city. The population density was 443.9 people per square mile (171.4/km²). There were 16,260 housing units at an average density of 234.0/sq mi (90.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.97% White, 2.61% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.87% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 23.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. In recent years, the racial makeup has varied due to the rapid growth of the city.

There were 12,484 households out of which 21.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.75 people.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 25.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was ,156, and the median income for a family was ,899. Males had a median income of ,079 versus ,347 for females. The per capita income for the city was ,451. About 5.6% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surprise,_Arizona

The High Line (New York), June 2009 – 01


Bild von Ed Yourdon
This is the Standard Hotel, at 848 Washington Street, near the southern end of the High Line. The New Yorker article says "The concrete-legged brute offers its guests prime view of the High Line; its glassed-in rooms will present park visitors with equally stimulating spectacles."

Note: for another look at the High Line, about a month after this set was photographed, and also when the weather was somewhat more interesting, see my Flickr set Return to the High Line – Jul 2009.

Note: this photo was published in an Aug 27, 2009 Consumerist blog titled "Hotel With Glass Windows Overlooking A Park Markets Itself To Exhibitionists." An Italian variation of this blog was published as "Un hotel scandalosa." It was also published in a more flamboyant Nov 11, 2009 Gawker blog titled "Guest at Horny Sex Hotel Assumes Rape Included in Price." It was also published in a Jul 27, 2010 blog titled "Get a Room? Get Some Cash! Hotel Rates Rising."

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A recent Wikipedia article informs us that "the High Line is an abandoned 1.45-mile (2.33-km) section of the former elevated freight railroad of the West Side Line, along the lower west side of … Manhattan between 34th Street … and Gansevoort Street in the West Village. The High Line was built in the early 1930s by the New York Central and has been unused as a rail line since 1980. Part of it reopened as a city park on June 8, 2009."

Since its opening a few days ago, the High Line park has gotten quite a lot of publicity including a June 10, 2009 Huffington Post blog/article titled "Story of Reusing the City: Welcome to High Line," and a June 15-22, 2009 New York magazine article titled "The Twin Pleasures of the High Line: A Petite New Park, and a District of Lively Architecture" (the online version of which seems to be much more sparsely illustrated than the hard-copy version, though I’ve just been alerted to the existence of a PDF image of the photos from that New Yorker article, which you can find here).

So I ventured down to the West Village today, along with a gazillion other New Yorkers, tourists, and visitors, to see what it looked like. Photographing the crowds along the walkway was probably a worthwhile exercise, because it serves as a reminder of how many people a park like this must serve, in a city the size of New York. On the other hand, there’s no question that I’ll want to come back in a few months, after the novelty has worn off, to see what it looks like when it’s essentially empty (showing up at 7 AM when the park opens, instead of noon, would probably help too!).

It was a gray, leaden day when I strolled through the park, with sprinkles of rain as I reached the northern end of the park at 20th Street — and that probably didn’t do much to help the pictures. I’ll come back on a sunny day, sometime, and I may well wait until late afternoon or early evening, in order to catch the sunset glow in the western New Jersey skyline…

But for now, the pictures do offer a view of a very different kind of park than most people envision; instead of vast, open, grassy fields and views that try to deny the very existence of the surrounding city, this park is woven right into the abandoned train tracks, the surrounding buildings, and the abandoned piers along the Hudson River. And it has obviously inspired a wave of innovative architecture in the new hotels and office buildings that have sprouted up along the way; where possible, I’ve tried to identify the buildings, too, so you can draw your own conclusion about whether all of this is beautiful, inviting, or just a little bizarre.

If you’re interested in finding out more, the afore-mentioned Wikipedia article has a number of links to articles and other resources about the past, the present, and the future of the High Line…