Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Phoenix

Sprawl Madness Redux: Driving 17 Miles to Go 500 Feet in Phoenix

sprawl_madness
These two houses in Phoenix are 500 feet or 17 miles apart depending on your mode of transportation. Image: Google Maps

Last year, Angie posted an unfortunate map of two houses in Orlando that share a backyard but are seven miles apart if you take the disconnected local street system. That's quite a distance to ask your neighbor for a cup of sugar.

Well, reader Sean Horan just sent this mind-blowing sequel: two houses in Phoenix, Arizona -- yes, inside the city limits -- that are about 500 feet apart as the crow flies but an amazing 17 miles apart if you drive on streets.

The street network also allows you to take this amazing route, which is half a mile shorter, Google Maps helpfully tells me:

The shortest distance between two points is not this. Image: Google Maps
The shortest distance between two points is not this. Image: Google Maps
The shortest distance between two points is not this. Image: Google Maps

You may have noticed in the first map that to drive between those two addresses, you have to go around around a big, mountainous, roadless area. Just to be clear: The point is not that we should build a nice, connected street network across the Sonoran wilderness. The point is that there wouldn't be crazy disconnected streets encroaching on the desert foothills if Phoenix didn't have so much spread-out, low-slung development like this everywhere else:

Just to clarify: The mountainous, roadless area isn't the problem. Design like this is the problem. Image: Google Maps
Just to clarify: The mountainous, roadless area isn't the problem. Development like this is the problem. Image: Google Maps
Just to clarify: The mountainous, roadless area isn't the problem. Design like this is the problem. Image: Google Maps

If you've got a sprawl contestant that can top this, please send it. Until then: Congratulations, Phoenix, the champion of sprawl.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Shutdown Showdown: Trump Blames Democrats for Transit Cuts In His Continuing War on Cities, ‘Woke’

It's the second time in as many days that the Trump administration has denied funding over policies it opposes.

October 1, 2025

Marcus Molinaro Is Wrong About Chicago Transit

Local transit advocates have diverse opinions on the best ways to improve transit safety. But there's one thing most of us can agree on. Donald Trump parachuting in soldiers, in an attempt to bully Chicago into submission, is not the answer.

October 1, 2025

Advocates In America’s Deadliest Car Crash City Are Forming a Powerful Coalition

A group of Memphis advocates are uniting to challenge car dependency and unravel its devastating impacts on residents

October 1, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Will Tax Your Patience

RIP electric vehicle tax credits, the Trump administration's latest assault on transit, and more.

October 1, 2025

BIG ZERO: Trump Stiffs NYC Transit System in ‘Sanctuary City’ Tantrum

The federal government is denying the MTA tens of millions of dollars in public safety funding over of New York's immigration policies.

September 30, 2025

More Transit Means Safer Streets

Promoting transit isn't just a social good. It's also a tool to achieve Vision Zero.

September 30, 2025
See all posts