Quisque at lectus ante, nec gravida diam. Mauris varius, nisl non fermentum fringilla, massa metus faucibus lacus, et rutrum augue orci ac nibh. In elementum lacinia lobortis. Nam interdum, leo eu eleifend vehicula, lacus arcu luctus nisl, nec dictum orci odio sit amet dolor. Suspendisse quam urna, tempor ac lacinia vitae, aliquet pulvinar est. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec placerat ultrices lectus non vestibulum. Nam fringilla quam eget ligula laoreet eu eleifend risus ultrices. Nunc mi sem, dapibus at interdum eu, iaculis eget risus. Vestibulum orci arcu, sollicitudin ut pharetra at, rhoncus ut ante. Praesent quis tellus vitae massa fermentum mollis eget id orci.

Since the post-war boom, there have been people who simply can’t afford to own a car and they have generally been facing an uphill battle to have access to all the great things that are available to those who do own one, such as higher education and access to good jobs and upward mobility.

Our car-centric urban planning has built a wall between the car-haves and the car-have-nots.

The recent advent of the Light Rail has alleviated some of these issues, because all of a sudden people without a car are able to be connected, easily, to things like the Mesa Center for the Arts, ASU, the Small Business Administration office and a multitude of other services and destinations. And this is why it’s SO important that we continue to extend the Light Rail to other parts of the Valley, especially underserved places like South Phoenix, to make sure that everyone has access and is connected to all the wonderful things our region has to offer.

Besides people who can’t afford to have a car, I’m getting to know more and more people who refuse to buy into the I-must-have-a-car-to-live-in-Phoenix myth and that have chosen the car-free lifestyle. They have not only chosen it, but they are creating it, day by day, step by step and ride by ride. The reason behind this is that they’re sick of contributing to the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions, to the coffers of big oil corporations, and to the lonely and disconnected nature of our car-centric city.

Last week I featured two such people who have chosen the create a car-free lifestyle in our full-of-cars city, Eddie Jensen and Nicole Underwood. Their stories, along with those of others who have chosen this path, inspired Paul and I to go completely car-free in our household.

We are already a one-car family, a car-lite family, if you will. But there is a big difference between being car-lite and being car-free. It’s like the difference between eating a little meat and being a full-out vegan. One takes a little bit of a commitment, the other takes a whole other level of commitment and impacts your life in a much deeper way.

Even though a week isn’t a long time, we learned a lot about what it takes to get around the city and about our own habits when it comes to car-addiction. I’ll share with you those things on the next installment of this series on What I learned from Living Without a Car for a Week in Phoenix.

Photo credit: Congestion on a Valley freeway. Photo from aznow.biz.

I’ll be posting updates on the construction to keep you posted on the progress.

Here’s what’s happening on site right now:

Demo: All the existing interior studs, (remember, this house was stripped to the studs when we got involved with it), have been removed. Those angled vertical members are just temporary bracing until the roof structure is properly reinforced.

Salvage: Not to worry, the interior studs are being salvaged to be reused in the project. They will be used for the fencing and planters in the front and for the gates to the back.

Making Urbanite: The existing concrete slab in the back has been broken up to be used as urbanite, which is landscape-speak for pavers made out of broken up concrete.

Saving some existing plantings: Our amazing landscape designer, Jeremy Stapleton, is great at salvaging existing plantings. He did an inventory of what was on site and determined what was healthy enough to be replanted. Here’s the landscape subcontractor seeing how to best salvage this existing cactus:

New plantings: It’s nice to see these new cacti planted amid the rubble of construction, giving just a hint of the wonderful courtyard space that is to come…

That’s it for this time! Stay tuned for more updates on the Castaway House in the coming weeks!

Photo Credit: All photos by the author.

Make sure to read Part I and Part II of this essay if you haven’t yet.If you’d like to read Will’s entire essay in one sitting, you can find it on the Arizona Town Hall report starting on page 76.

“Towns and cities across Arizona understand the value of ‘local’.”

Big bold regional thinking, with no opt out clause, for urban, suburban and rural communities in 10, 25, and 50-year increments. Yes there will be overshooting and underestimating but a wave of people are coming our way and we need a map of possible absorption that is better than ‘drive until you qualify’, a map that radiates with vibrant nodes of social and economic density, lively neighborhoods and distinctive destinations linked by rail and road, bike paths and trail systems.

‘Local First’ as we decide next steps. Towns and cities across Arizona understand the value of ‘local’. Support efforts to map, develop and mentor neighborhood based public markets, unique retail, and restaurant opportunities based on local resources and benefiting local businesses. The more real it is the more we will want to be here and others will want to join us for a visit or for life.