Yes, Phoenix is seriously hot. Whose idea was it to put a city in this desert? The average July temperature hovers around 105 degrees, not to mention all that radiant heat from all the new buildings and hardscaping generated by the city?EUR??,,????'???s burgeoning growth.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, like many locals, wants the downtown to be a bit more livable, which means ?EUR??,,????'??? more shade. You think?

The San Francisco-based urban planning firm (Dyett & Bhatia) hired by the city is surprised Phoenix hasn?EUR??,,????'???t done more in the shade department. Aren?EUR??,,????'???t we all. Back in Dec. 2004, the city did release a study called ?EUR??,,????'??Downtown Phoenix: a Strategic Vision and Blueprint for the Future,?EUR??,,????'?? which broached the shade issue. Who needs a report to figure out the city needs shade trees? And how about copious use of all the great fabric shade products on the market? The use of alternate materials to help keep buildings and hardscapes cooler also bear investigating, but that seems unlikely to happen in this decade.

In a recent story in the Business Journal of Phoenix, Ten Eyck, owner of Ten Eyck Landscape Architects in Phoenix, chastised the city for its lack of trees and not taking care of the ones it has.

Shade strategies, however, are not exactly juggernauting. It is predicted that reworking the zoning codes and making shade recommendations won?EUR??,,????'???t be completed until the waning days of 2007. Oh well, the locals are acclimatized to the heat. ?EUR??,,????'??Let them wear hats,?EUR??,,????'?? Marie Antoinette might have said.