car-less community set for development in tempe

Plans have been announced for the construction of a neighborhood in Tempe, Arizona that will have apartment buildings, commercial structures, and green space - everything making up a typical American neighborhood, except accommodations for cars.

The project is being developed by a company called Culdesac, which says the $140 million effort will be a first-wave prototype of what future car-less communities across the country may look like.

Based in San Francisco, Culdesac is dedicated to the idea that the community of the future will be a place where transportation needs are handled by everything from bikes and scooters, to ridesharing and light rail.

“Culdesac is building spaces for the post-car era,” Ryan Johnson, the company’s chief executive officer, was recently quoted in the publication Smart Cities World.

Johnson added that the Tempe project will allow residents to “live life from their doorsteps, rather than seeing it through their windshields.”

The project, officially called Culdesac Tempe, will see the construction of around 600 apartment units as well as 24,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

The 16-acre site chosen for the new development will also see the construction of a grocery store, coffee shop, and co-working space.

Culdesac officials say they are actively reviewing sites in other cities across the country, including Denver, to develop and build similar neighborhoods.

Culdesac Tempe will go up on the east side of Tempe, near the intersection of Apache Boulevard and River Road.

By Garry Boulard

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