Residential Subdivision Identity in Metropolitan Phoenix

Abstract

Residential subdivisions are often criticized for a lack of identity, yet this systematic analysis of subdivision names and landscape traits jqnds that identity actually flourishes in metropolitan Phoenix subdivisions. Identity varies according to the location and age of developments, as well as the residents' income level, race, and ethnicity. Subdivision names with environmental themes, especially height, have increased in frequency since 1973. Higher-priced areas set the standard for name themes that are then borrowed by middle-income neighborhoods. Field observations in twelve subdivisions reveal that personal landscape signatures, common in all developments, are more important for the projection of identity in lower-priced areas, whereas institutional signatures are more often the distinguishing characteristic of higher-priced subdivisions.