I Visited Culdesac Tempe and I Have Thoughts

Tempe, Arizona: a suburb that's more walkable, bikeable, and has better transit than the core city of Phoenix. Tempe is home to America's largest university, AND home to Culdesac, a neighborhood built from the ground up to support car-free living. How's it all working? Let's find out.

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Want to support better multimodal options in Tempe and genius acronyms? Donate and/or buy swag from Tempe Bicycle Action Group!

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Previous CityNerd videos referenced:

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Resources:

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Images
- All courtesy yours truly (and Google Earth of course)!

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Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)

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[derick-smith]

I'm from Detroit and I love cars. I'm one of the hardest nuts to crack when it comes to separating from vehicles because I love to drive so much. That said... your content is opening my eyes to things I hadn't considered before. I'm even starting to see a possible future for myself that doesn't involve a metal box. I know you catch a lot of flack from ignorant humans but those of us with critical thinking skills really appreciate the content!

[seattlegrrlie]

I love all way, scramble, cross walk. It allows pedestrians to get all the way across, minimizes the risk of getting hit by a turning car, and forces cars to unconsciously recognize pedestrians as users who are allowed on the road. I'm seeing more and more usage and I really like it

[secondengineer]

I think one key point about Tempe is that it is boxed in, while most other cities in Phoenix have open space to expand to. Because of that Tempe is incentivized to build up rather than out

[avibarr]

The best part about Culdesac is the non-grid layout of tight, narrow streets. It is reminiscent of old medieval European villages

[blakehartung]

Tempe resident here! I bike to work at ASU, and the bike infrastructure is only getting better

[davidtardio]

Heard on the news yesterday that LA is planning on doing some major transit upgrades in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Sounds like a good future video topic, don’t you think?

[bethmcdonagh]

As a resident of Bologna, Italy - the city which has a UNESCO world heritage-approved set of arcades/porticoes - I often wonder why every city in the world that is either very hot or very wet doesn't line its streets with arcades. It seems like a natural choice but it's quite rare.

Great video by the way, as always!

[tysonfontanez]

The reason Tempe is so much more walkable is, in my opinion, because it's a college town. Downtown Tempe is less than a mile away from ASU's main campus. ASU is one of the largest universities in the world in terms of enrollment, and the main campus houses thousands of out-of-state and even out-of-country residents during all months of the year. So, unlike Phoenix, the city of Tempe is heavily incentivized to be able to accommodate many people who don't have access to cars, because the core of their commerce comes from students

[NelsonBrown]

I hope Culdesac is successful. I think that will inspire more investment in similar projects elsewhere.

[freddyalexander]

Shoutout Riverside Tempe!! Been living car free for 2 years now

[POINTS]

We have all been waiting for CityNerd to visit Culdesac. Thanks for the review!

[cieproject]

The disdain Mr Nerd has for normal winter weather never ceases to amaze. I live in the Northeast, and I enjoy my cold months of studded tires, thank you very much!

[NickCombs]

I moved from Chandler (just south of Tempe and Mesa) to Lincoln City, OR in 2019 because there just wasn't anything reasonably priced and I was tired of the heat and lack of seasons and greenery. Anything affordable was either a rundown shack or way out in Maricopa or Queen Creek. That's an hour drive into the city if you're lucky.

Now I'm in a coastal rainforest and I don't drive at all. The only downsides are that (A) there's no rail connection to Salem or Newport and (B) I moved to a rural neighborhood just outside of town and have to bike on highway 101 for a short but scary half mile. Luckily, they just started building a multi-use path on that exact stretch of road. There's wetland along part of it, so that path is also going to be a boardwalk!

[AdamGamingClips]

I worked as an intern on the design of this project back in 2021-2022! Cool Video!

[MrFolton]

I’ve been waiting for this one CityNerd. You’re my hero!

[kiosk]

I’ve said it before, Tempe is the urban core of Phoenix itself, and considering how centrally located it is, how good the transit provisions are, how much better the nightlife is, and how vital ASU is to the metro economy, it’s not unreasonable to say

[frameshifty]

Tempe is my hometown. It's wild to see how much it has changed every time I go to visit. The light rail is pretty nice!

[greenpurl]

I went to ASU in the 70s and do not recognize present day Tempe! Beats the heck out of me how I rode my bike in the summer....

[Austin]

As someone who lives in Tempe, i enjoyed both Arizona videos. Well done

[Madaboutmada]

Just checked out the rent for a one bedroom and for how crazy-expensive Phoenix is, this is not too crazy.