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Bird on Fire: Lessons from the World's Least Sustainable City ReviewAbsolutely superb.Whether in corporations, government or one's personal life, nothing matches an intelligent outsider's perceptive view of strengths, weaknesses and potentials of any enterprise. Phoenix has long typified mindless urban sprawl, which makes it an ideal candidate for a study of potential pathways to sustainability.
As a resident since 1972, I can vouch for Ross's conclusions. Compared to earlier histories, this is a gem that offers rare insight into why Phoenix is the nation's second hardest hit city in the Great Recession. However, it's not a Phoenix only book; his observations relate to every urban area. Fortunately, most readers may console themselves, "Well, at least we're not THAT bad."
In Southwest terms, this is a gem dropped into a patch of 'Teddy Bear' cholla (that's the "Jumping Cactus"). People stay clear of it because its barbs will cling to anyone who brushes past. Ross's "barbs" are very real, which is why Phoenix decision-makers will read, lament, denounce and stay clear of this book.
Why? The Phoenix elite have a very good life, and see no need to change. The one-in-six residents for whom hunger is an issue (according to local billboards) have no means to change or to be heard. Every week, a 53-foot trailer loaded with free food from St. Mary's Food Bank is parked in a church lot near my South Phoenix neighborhood. The downtown is overrun with homeless beggars who pack the main library and new trolley system to find some cool comfort in the summer.
The debilitating weakness of Phoenix is its uncaring government. Non-violent crime is among the highest in the nation; the Phoenix police, dubbed "cash registers" by others, tell victims, "We don't take reports of burglaries ... call your insurance company." More than a billion dollars a year is spent on prisons; virtually nothing on rehabilitation, except for private charities.
Until local government cares about more than the comfort, wealth and status of the elite, nothing will change. Ross cites the myriad problems that made Phoenix "the world's least sustainable city" and in so doing cites Phoenix as an abject (sic) lesson for cities everywhere. It makes this an invaluable book for everyone, anywhere, who is interested in a better community.
In Phoenix, any and every problem has one answer, "It's a dry heat!" It doesn't solve anything, but it lets people imagine life in Phoenix -- despite its problems -- is better than anywhere else.
In brief, 'Bird on Fire' is a superb and thus frightening look at what an urban area can become when the elites don't care and good people are ignored. In other words, "Don't try the Phoenix example in your hometown."
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