Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Phoenix, etc. I can understand part of the appeal (like Las Vegas), and it’s not like people haven’t lived in desert cities for millenia, but looking at them from Google Earth, they’re absolutely massive and sprawling. How can these places be viable to live in and grow so huge? What’s so appealing to them?
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When Albuquerque was founded, it was on the excellent farmland produced by the Rio Grande. The Spanish explorers spoke of its excellent crop yelds and access to timber.
Especially compared to the surrounding areas, it was really the only place that any sizable community could form. But Mexican and early American Albuquerque remained relatively small due to its isolation, that is until 1880.
Albuquerque grew rapidly as a railroad town and as a repair depot. From the 1880s-1930/40s.
But as the railroad work declined. Work from the nearby Air Force base kept high quality jobs in town as well did route 66 and the later cross roads of I-25 & I-40.
The continued existence of the Base and national labs, the amount of traffic on the high ways, cheap air conditioning as well as usually pretty pleasant climate as allowed Albuquerque to continue to grow.
Albuquerque is built “in a desert” only because it’s farmlands have now been paved over and it still serves as the best hub in the Southwest.
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