I'm so done with this "discussion" or "debate".

Low-density cities are very much cities. Every urban environment has its own flavor. They went up, we went out.

But those looking for a "big city" don’t mean a place with more residents or square miles. People associate them with skyscrapers and trains and more than one busker playing electric guitar downtown on a Friday night.

a) even big cities have laws against amplified sound on public thoroughfares and b) do you even live in the same Phoenix? We have all those things.

Is it an exploration of urban studies that any reader can get their mind around or something? Why is there so much commentary on this question?

I always suspect the writer of commentary like this is a suburbanite who park-and-rides into town for big events and can appreciate Phoenix's "urban flare" from the "safety" of suburbia.

Phoenix is so spread out because it's hard for rich white people to keep away from brown people when there are so damn many of them. It's very much a "city" though. This article is ridiculous.