About the Chandler, Arizona Area 

Chandler, Arizona

City of Chandler, Arizona
Downtown area of Chandler
Seal
Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona
Coordinates: 33°18′12″N 111°50′29″W / 33.30333, -111.84139
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Maricopa
Government
- Mayor	Boyd W. Dunn (R)
Area
- Total	58.0 sq mi (150.2 km²)
- Land	57.9 sq mi (149.9 km²)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²)
Elevation	1,214 ft (370 m)
Population (2007)
- Total	247,097
- Density	4,202.2/sq mi (1,622.7/km²)
Time zone	MST (no DST) (UTC-7)
Area code(s)	480
FIPS code	04-12000
GNIS feature ID	0002748
Website: http://www.chandleraz.gov

Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, and is a prominent suburb of the Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the south by the Gila River Indian Reservation. Chandler is an example of modern urban sprawl, with its population booming from about 30,000 in 1980 to over 240,000 in 2007. The city contains a large amount of modest tract homes. It also has satellite locations for the technology companies Intel and Orbital Sciences Corporation.

 History

In 1891, Dr. Alexander John Chandler, the first veterinary surgeon in Arizona Territory, settled on a ranch south of Mesa, studying irrigation engineering. By 1900, he had acquired 18,000 acres (73 km²) of land, and began drawing up plans for a townsite on what was then known as the Chandler Ranch. The townsite office opened on May 17, 1912, the same year that Chandler High School was established. By 1913, a town center had become established, featuring the luxurious Hotel San Marcos, the first golf resort in the state.

Most of Chandler's economy was successfully sustained during the Great Depression (a second San Marcos hotel was canceled due to the Depression however), but the cotton crash a few years later had a much deeper impact on the city's residents. Later, the founding of Williams Air Force Base in 1941 led to a small surge in population, but Chandler still only held 3,800 people by 1950. By 1980, it had grown to 30,000, and it has since paced the Phoenix metropolitan area's high rate of growth, with vast suburban residential areas swallowing former agricultural plots. Some of this growth was fueled by the establishment of manufacturing plants for communications and computing firms such as Motorola and Intel, but despite the inclusion of many large businesses, Chandler is often considered a bedroom community for the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

Geography

Chandler is located at 33°18′12″N, 111°50′29″W (33.303237, -111.841328).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 58.0 square miles (150.2 km²), of which, 57.9 square miles (149.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (0.17%) is water.

Chandler has reached its physical limits save for some remaining county islands and cannot expand outward anymore due to being bound in by the Gila River Indian Community, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, and Phoenix.

Demographics

A typical suburban neighborhood in Chandler.

As of the census of 2000, there were 176,581 people, 62,377 households, and 45,410 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,050.5 people per square mile (1,177.7/km²). There were 66,592 housing units at an average density of 1,150.4/sq mi (444.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.19% White, 3.48% Black or African American, 1.20% Native American, 4.22% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 10.76% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. 21.99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Following the 2000 census, Chandler has remained one of the fastest growing cities in America, reaching population growth above 20% since this time. Growth is expected to subside within the next ten years due to fixed borders with Pinal County and the Gila River Indian Reservation to the south, Mesa and Tempe to the north, Phoenix to the west, and Gilbert to the northeast.

There were 62,377 households out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 38.0% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $58,416, and the median income for a family was $62,720. Males had a median income of $44,578 versus $31,763 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,904. About 4.6% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Elected officials

Chandler is represented by a mayor, a vice mayor and council members. The vice mayor is elected by the city council from among its members. The mayor, vice mayor and council members represent the entire city and are not elected from districts or wards.

Mayor: Boyd Dunn
Vice Mayor: Lowell Huggins
Council Members

Culture

A.J. Chandler Park, located in downtown Chandler

Chandler is noted for its annual Ostrich Festival. Initially, agriculture was the primary business in Chandler, based on cotton, corn, and alfalfa. During the 1910s, there were ostrich farms in the area, catering to the demand for plumes used in women's hats of the era. This demand ebbed with the increasing popularity of the automobile, but the legacy of the ostrich farms would be commemorated by the Ostrich Festival. The Chandler Center for the Arts, a 1500-seat regional performing arts venue, and the Arizona Railway Museum are both located downtown.

Economy

Computer chip manufacturer Intel has a major presence in Chandler with four locations within the city. Other technology firms also have operations within the city. In 2001, a 1.3 million square-foot shopping mall, the Chandler Fashion Center, opened in Chandler.

 Education

 Elementary and secondary

Most of Chandler is served by the Chandler Unified School District. Chandler west of Loop 101 is served by the Kyrene Elementary School District and the Tempe Union High School District. The area east of Loop 101 and north of Warner Road is served by Mesa Public Schools. The San Vincente neighborhood in Chandler is served by Gilbert Public Schools.

Education alternatives include charter schools, Christian schools, parochial schools, magnet schools, as well as "traditional" academies.

 Post-secondary

The two-year Chandler-Gilbert Community College, serving 13,000 students, is located in the east of the city near the Gilbert border. Private educational institutions Western International University and Apollo Group subsidiary University of Phoenix have locations here. Arizona State University is located 14 miles (23 km) from downtown in Tempe.

Chandler Public Library

The Chandler Public Library (CPL) serves Chandler and the greater Phoenix East Valley. The main branch is located in downtown Chandler, with three additional branches located throughout the city: Sunset, Basha High School, and Hamilton High School. Basha and Hamilton branches are shared-use facilities located on high school campuses.

As part of a family literacy project to encourage literacy and library use among families who live in public housing, the Chandler Public Library visited three public housing locations to offer a four-week series of programs at each.

Transportation

 Addressing

Most incorporated portions of Chandler, along with other East Valley cities Gilbert, Mesa, and Tempe have their own addressing system distinct from Phoenix and greater Maricopa County. The north-south meridian is Arizona Avenue, also known as State Route 87. Commonwealth Avenue, two blocks south of Chandler Boulevard is the east-west baseline. With the significant exception of the stretch of the city from Chandler Boulevard to Ray Road, address numbers follow in mile-long increments of 1000 along the grid. Modern remnants of county addressing from the city's rural agrarian days can be found in some neighborhood street names (90th Place, 132nd Street) and county islands surrounded by the city proper.

 Airports

Chandler Municipal Airport is a two-runway general aviation facility located in the heart of the city south of Loop 202. Memorial Airfield in the Gila River Indian Community may serve the city in the future. The city is jockeying for membership in the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority, several miles to the east, which as of 2007 only offers limited service to Chicago and Las Vegas, Nevada. Most area residents continue to use Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport 20 miles (30 km) from downtown Chandler.

City bus

Chandler has very limited bus service compared with other Valley Metro cities of similar size. Most local routes dead end a few miles from the city or have further limited service within its borders. Currently, two express bus routes leave from the city near downtown, and a new park and ride facility was recently completed further south. Faced with increasing congestion, the land-locked city is pursuing transportation alternatives including enhancement of the local bus system. This goal has partially been achieved through Proposition 400, which converts transit funding from city-based to county-based. The result has been increased frequencies on routes 72 and 156, as well as Sunday bus service on these two routes. However, other routes have yet to be converted to "supergrid" status.

 Freeways

Main article: Phoenix Freeways

Chandler is served by three limited access highways:

• Loop 202, the Santan Freeway, completed through the city in 2006, cuts through the midsection of the city along the Pecos Rd alignment.
• Loop 101, the Price Freeway, was completed in 2001, dividing West Chandler from the rest of the city. A majority of the city's employment, over 10,000 people as of 2007, are along the city's Price Road Corridor. Air Products' industrial pipelines located there are unique to the metropolitan area. South of Pecos, the freeway borders the Gila River Indian Community.
• Interstate 10 is the city's westernmost border. On the other side is located the Phoenix neighborhood of Ahwatukee.

 Railroads

Heavy rail

Chandler is served by two single-track branch lines of the Union Pacific Railroad. One generally traverses the Kyrene Road alignment and currently dead-ends at the Lone Butte Industrial Park. The other runs east of Arizona Avenue and dead-ends near the location of the former World War II company town of Goodyear. Commuter rail service on these lines is under study as of 2007.

 Light rail

No light rail lines have been approved in the city, although high-capacity corridors including light rail have been identified in other regional and local plans. City officials joined the regional light rail authority, Valley Metro Rail, in 2007, expecting service perhaps in 2020. The initial route through the city will most likely be the Tempe South light rail line on Rural Road.

[edit] Radio and television licenses

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