Arizona Community Thrives With Mediterranean Inspiration

Quick Smiles:

• A planned community in Tempe, Arizona, has adopted Mediterranean building strategies to keep temperatures cooler.
• Culdesac features car-free living, lively streets, and easy access to local businesses.
• The design encourages social connection and offers an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Culdesac, a 17-acre neighborhood in Tempe, Arizona, is reimagining community life with shade-filled streets and Mediterranean-inspired architecture. Buildings are clustered, tall, thick, and white, channeling breezes and keeping the ground remarkably cooler than surrounding areas.

This innovative, car-free neighborhood is designed around walkability and electric transport, connecting 21 businesses and eateries, including a James Beard Award-winning restaurant and creative shops.

“Once you pull the cars out, there’s so much more opportunity to make a vibrant, thriving community,” said architect Daniel Parolek.

Residents enjoy plazas and alleys reminiscent of Italian and Greek villages, sparking spontaneous social interactions and reducing city loneliness. Inspired by historic sun-soaked towns, the design prioritizes people over vehicles, transforming daily life.

Erin Boyd, Culdesac’s government relations and external affairs lead, shared, “Culdesac Tempe has shown that people do want to live car-free in the US, even in a metro area like Phoenix that’s often seen as the poster child for car dependency. This success has shifted the conversation around what’s possible in American development.”

As connections thrive and the environment is prioritized, Culdesac shines as an inspiring example of joyful, sustainable living. Could this positive approach influence communities far and wide?

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