Since 1986, the city of Phoenix has been divided into urban villages, many of which are based upon historically significant neighborhoods and communities. Each village has a planning committee. This committee is appointed directly by the city council. According to the village planning handbook issued by the city, the purpose of the village planning committees is to work with the city's planning commission to ensure a balance of housing and employment in each village. The committees also concentrate on development at identified village cores, and to promote the unique character and identity of the villages.
There are 15 urban villages in the city at this time: Ahwatukee Foothills, Alhambra, Camelback East, Central City, Deer Valley, Desert View, Encanto, Estrella, Laveen, Maryvale, North Gateway, North Mountain, Paradise Valley (not to be confused with the town of Paradise Valley), South Mountain and Rio Vista. Rio Vista was created as New Village in 2004 and is currently very sparsely populated, with no large amount of development expected in the near future.
Commonly referred-to Phoenix regions and districts include Downtown, Midtown, West Phoenix, North Phoenix, South Phoenix, Biltmore Area, Arcadia, Sunnyslope, Ahwatukee.
The early economy of Phoenix was mostly agricultural. It was mostly dependent on cotton and citrus farming. In the last twenty years, the economy has changed as quickly as the number of people has grown. As the state capital of Arizona, many residents in the area are employed by the government. Arizona State University is there. Many high-tech and telecommunications companies have also recently moved to the area. Due to the warm climate in winter, Phoenix benefits greatly from seasonal tourism and recreation, and the golf industry.
Phoenix is currently home to several Fortune 1000 companies. Companies in Phoenix include waste management company Allied Waste, electronics corporation Avnet, Apollo Group (which operates the University of Phoenix), mining company Freeport-McMoRan (recently merged with Phoenix-based Phelps Dodge), retailer PetSmart, development company Tempo Creative, energy supplier Pinnacle West and retailer CSK Auto. Honeywell's Aerospace division is headquartered in Phoenix, and the valley hosts many of their avionics and mechanical facilities. Intel has one of their largest sites here, employing about 10,000 employees and 3 chip manufacturing fabs, including the $3 billion state-of-the-art 300 mm and 45 nm Fab 32. American Express hosts their financial transactions, customer information, and their entire website in Phoenix. The city is also home to the headquarters of U-HAUL International, a rental company and moving supply store, as well Best Western, a hotel chain. Mesa Air Group, a regional airline group, is headquartered in Phoenix.
The military has a significant presence in Phoenix with Luke Air Force Base in the western suburbs. At its height, in the 1940s, the Phoenix area had three military bases: Luke Field (still in use), Falcon Field, and Williams Air Force Base (now Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport), with many other air fields throughout the region.
As the capital of Arizona, Phoenix houses the state legislature. In 1913, the commission form of government was adopted. The city of Phoenix is served by a city council. The city council is made up of a mayor and eight city council members. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote to a four-year term. Phoenix City Council members are elected to four-year terms by voters in each of the eight districts.
The current mayor of Phoenix is Phil Gordon, who was elected to a four-year term in 2003. He was again re-elected to another four-year term in 2007. The mayor and city council members have equal voting power to govern the city.
Phoenix operates under a council-manager form of government, with a strong city manager. The city manage supervises all city departments and executing policies adopted by the Council.
The United States Postal Service operates post offices throughout Phoenix. The main Phoenix Post Office is at 4949 East Van Buren Street.
As of February 9, 2009, Phoenix offers a domestic partnership registry open to opposite- and same-sex couples with no resident requirements for registrants.
By the 1970s there was rising crime and a decline in business within the downtown core. The city's crime rates in many categories have improved since that time, but still are higher than state and national averages. The crime rate in Phoenix has gone down through the years. However, recent kidnappings and human trafficking due to the Mexican drug trade have brought negative attention to the city.
Car theft has been a problem in Phoenix. In 2001, Phoenix was number one for theft rate with 35,161 total thefts, giving a rate of 1,081.25 per 100,000. However, in 2003, Phoenix dropped to second for with 1,253.71 per 100,000, although it was first for total car thefts with 40,769.
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital city and largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Billy Joel mentions it in "We Didn't Start the Fire".
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is on the Connecticut River and only 24 miles from Springfield, Massachusetts. Hartford has the third most people in the state behind Bridgeport and New Haven. It is an important center of Insurance. Airline service is provided from Bradley International Airport.
Hartford has an American Hockey League team called the Hartford Wolf Pack, a rugby team called the Hartford Wanderers and a United Football League team called the Hartford Colonials. From 1979 to 1997 Hartford had a National Hockey League team called the Hartford Whalers.
The first Europeans known to have explored the area were the Dutch. They were led by Adriaen Block. They sailed up the Connecticut River in 1614. Dutch fur traders from New Amsterdam came back in 1623. They wanted to build a trading post and fortify the area for the Dutch West India Company. The first place was on the south bank of the Park River. This would have been in the present-day Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood. This fort was called Fort Hoop or the "House of Hope." In 1633, Jacob Van Curler bought the land around Fort Hoop from the Pequot chief. He paid only a small price. A few families and a few dozen soldiers lived there at that time. Everyone left the fort by 1654. The area is known today as Dutch Point; the name of the Dutch fort "House of Hope" is reflected in the name of Huyshope Avenue.
The English started to come in 1636. They settled upstream from Fort Hoop near the present-day Downtown and Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhoods.
Throughout the 19th century, Hartford's number of people, economic productivity, cultural influence, and political power continued to grow. The Industrial Revolution in Hartford in the mid-1800s made it one of the wealthiest per capita in United States.
On December 15, 1814, people from the five New England states (Maine was still part of Massachusetts at that time) came together at the Hartford Convention. Unhappy about the War of 1812, they discussed New England possibly breaking away from the United States.
During the early 19th century, the Hartford area was an important place for abolitionist activity. The most famous abolitionist family was the Beechers. The Reverend Lyman Beecher was an important Congregational minister known for his anti-slavery sermons. His daughter, Harriet Beecher Stowe, wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin"; her brother Henry Ward Beecher was a well-known clergyman who strongly hated slavery. He also supported the temperance movement and women's suffrage. The Stowes' sister Isabella Beecher Hooker was a leading member of the women's rights movement.
On the week of April 12, 1909, the Connecticut River reached a record high flood stage of 24.5 feet (7.47 meters) above the low water mark. This flooded Hartford. It did a lot of damage.