Amazon.com description: Product Description: Thanks to its majestic desert setting, appealing climate, and abundant economic opportunity, the Phoenix metropolitan area is the fastest growing in the U.S. Along with its population growth, the city has seen a flourishing of expressive arts of all kinds. Phoenix 21: Desert Metropolis captures the historic movement and youthful energy of the region as it evolves into a vibrant world-class metropolis with a unique character. Phoenix is an unexplored area of young artistic talent - Phoenix: 21st Century City reveals the new wave in the areas of architecture, painting, sculpture and product design. Phoenix: 21st Century City is the fourth in a series published by Booth-Clibborn Editions on cities or boroughs where young designers live and work, the first being Berliner Style (2003), the second Brooklyn: New Style (2004) and the third Moscow Style (2005). The metropolitan cities area has the largest growth in America with over 200,000 people moving there each year amongst whom are many young creative people who, attracted by the climate and prospects, bring a new dimension and vitality to the artistic scene. As Time recently stated about Arizona, 'Americans discover the desert's clean air, warm weather, open spaces, and relatively affordable housing'. The publication is a visual mosaic of the metropolitan cities area, with a special emphasis on Phoenix, but other cities such as Scottsdale and Tempe are also included. A specially commissioned photographic essay on the city runs through the book showing Phoenix and its surroundings, the urban sprawl, key buildings such as the Phoenix Central Library, shopping malls, urban projects and also events such as the First Friday Art Walk which 15,000 people attend each month. An introductory essay by Nan Ellin, Associate Professor of Urban Design at ASU, places the city and its art scene in a broader historical and political perspective. The project is sponsored by Maricopa Partnership for Arts and Culture