Editing Phoenix, Arizona (section)

===Cityscape===
{{See also|List of tallest buildings in Phoenix}}

{{wide image|Downtown_PHX_Panorama.jpg|1000px|alt=aerial view of the Phoenix skyline, showing the tall buildings of downtown Phoenix to the left of the photo, mountains in the background, the flatness of the rest of the city, with Sky Harbor airport |align-cap=center|A panoramic view of Phoenix from the South Mountain range, winter 2008, with Sky Harbor International Airport on the far right}}

====Neighborhoods====
[[File:Phoenix Urban Villages.svg|thumb|alt=a graphic representation showing how Phoenix is broken up into 15 urban villages|Map of the urban villages of Phoenix]]

Since 1979, the city of Phoenix has been divided into [[urban village]]s, many of which are based upon historically significant neighborhoods and communities that have since been annexed into Phoenix.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phoenix.gov/pdd/pz/village-planning-committees |publisher=City of Phoenix |title=Village Planning Committees |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325080714/https://www.phoenix.gov/pdd/pz/village-planning-committees |archive-date=March 25, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Each village has a planning committee appointed directly by the city council. According to the city-issued village planning handbook, the purpose of the village planning committees is to "work with the city's planning commission to ensure a balance of housing and employment in each village, concentrate development at identified village cores, and to promote the unique character and identity of the villages."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/pdd_pz_pdf_00020.pdf |publisher=City of Phoenix |title=The Village Planning Handbook |page=1 |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327021820/https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/pdd_pz_pdf_00020.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There are 15 urban villages: [[Ahwatukee, Phoenix|Ahwatukee Foothills]], [[Alhambra, Phoenix|Alhambra]], [[Camelback East, Phoenix|Camelback East]], [[Central City, Phoenix|Central City]], [[Deer Valley, Phoenix|Deer Valley]], Desert View, [[Encanto, Phoenix|Encanto]], [[Estrella, Phoenix|Estrella]], [[Laveen, Arizona|Laveen]], [[Maryvale, Phoenix|Maryvale]], North Gateway, North Mountain, Paradise Valley, [[Rio Vista, Phoenix|Rio Vista]], and South Mountain.

The urban village of Paradise Valley is distinct from the nearby [[Paradise Valley, Arizona|Town of Paradise Valley]]. Although the urban village is part of Phoenix, the town is independent.

In addition to the above urban villages, Phoenix has a variety of commonly referred-to regions and districts, such as [[Downtown Phoenix|Downtown]], [[Midtown, Phoenix, Arizona|Midtown]], Uptown,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/ReinventPHX%20Uptown%20District%20Profile.pdf |publisher=City of Phoenix |title=ReinventPHX District Profile: Uptown |access-date=October 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102180553/https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/ReinventPHX%20Uptown%20District%20Profile.pdf |archive-date=January 2, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> West Phoenix, [[North/Northwest Phoenix|North Phoenix]], [[South Phoenix]], [[Biltmore Area]], [[Arcadia, Phoenix, Arizona|Arcadia]], and [[Sunnyslope, Phoenix|Sunnyslope]].