Urbanization of the arid regions of the Southwest US is a comparatively recent phenomenon, with its meteoric expansion largely coming after World War II. In the 1995 US Census, 8 of the 10 fastest-growing cities and 6 of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas were in the arid Southwest.
Arizona has been the second fastest-growing state for the past six years, with Phoenix as its capital and the largest city in the Southwest. The Phoenix metropolitan area's spectacular growth in population -- doubling twice in the past 35 years -- and its rapid and continuing expansion into former agricultural and pristine settings provides a unique opportunity to monitor human-induced ecological transformations, resulting from rapid land-use transformations.
Human Environment
