Tucson, Pittsburgh, and the Lessons of Density

Tucson’s Promise and Its Flaws

Tucson has so much going for it: mountains in every direction, desert light that feels alive, and eight months out of the year with weather that most people would kill for. There’s a deep sense of culture there too — not the pasted-on, “invented” culture that some Sun Belt cities try to manufacture, but something rooted in history and place. Southern Arizona is tied to Sonora in ways you can hear and see.

The tragedy is that Tucson was developed in the height of America’s car-centric sprawl. What could have been one of the most walkable, human-scaled cities in the country got paved over and spread thin. The city stretches forever. Distances are too long, transit struggles, and daily life is basically impossible without a car. If Tucson had been built with density and neighborhoods like Pittsburgh, I honestly would never have left.

Tucson’s Cultural Depth

What makes Tucson stand out in the United States is its cultural depth. You can’t separate Southern Arizona from Sonora. The language, the traditions — they all cross the border and have for centuries. It’s not “Mexican influence” as if it’s external; it’s shared culture. The everyday experience of Tucson is built around that connection: music spilling from porches, mesquite smoke in the evening, family gatherings that stretch across borders. It’s not a niche or a specialty. It’s the foundation.

Tucson vs. Pittsburgh: A Study in Density

Part of why I keep comparing Tucson to Pittsburgh is because I live here now. But it’s also because the contrast is so sharp. On paper, Tucson looks like the bigger city. Tucson proper has about 540,000 people, and the metro area just over 1 million. Pittsburgh has only around 300,000 in the city proper but more than 2.3 million in the metro. Tucson covers far more land, sprawled across the desert, while Pittsburgh is tight, compact, and built around hills and rivers.

And here’s the thing: Pittsburgh feels bigger. It feels denser, busier, more urban. The neighborhoods are compact, with row houses stacked shoulder-to-shoulder. Transit works better because the distances are shorter. I can live in Pittsburgh without a car, something that would be nearly impossible in Tucson.

That density changes everything. Walking is normal. The bus is normal. You see your neighbors because you share walls or at least porches. In my own neighborhood,  the Hill District,  I can step outside and see people talking on their porches, grilling, playing music, walking around. It reminds me of my parents’ small, rural towns in Arizona in a way, lower income, but alive, human, connected.

Where Tucson Falls Short

All that cultural richness gets undercut by the way Tucson was built. You can have the best climate and natural beauty, but if you have to spend hours driving across the city to get anywhere, daily life suffers. Downtown Tucson has improved a lot;  it’s dense, lively, full of nightlife and offices. They even put in a streetcar. But it’s small, just a fraction of the city. Step outside of downtown and you’re in strip malls and subdivisions, with long distances that make walking miserable.

The climate makes it worse. Without shade, walking in Tucson for much of the year is brutal. With more trees, more shaded walkways, and smarter design, the city could be livable by foot eight or nine months of the year. Right now, it’s just not. Compare that to Pittsburgh, where walking is built into the city itself, even if the winters are rough.

Glimpses of Hope

The hopeful thing is that change is happening. Even Arizona has started to recognize the problems of sprawl. The state recently passed a law requiring cities over 75,000 people to rezone for more density;  duplexes, multiplexes, housing that makes walkable neighborhoods possible again. It’s controversial, but it’s the direction things need to go.

You can already see it in Tempe, where ASU has driven massive redevelopment. Entire areas that were once suburban are becoming dense, urban, and connected. Phoenix will never be Pittsburgh, but the rate of change is real. Even in the suburbs, you see more apartments and townhomes going up instead of endless strip housing. Population is power, and cities are realizing they need density to compete.

Why I Still Care About Tucson

Tucson will never be Pittsburgh,  the climates, geographies, and histories are too different. But it doesn’t have to be. Tucson can be the best version of itself by leaning into its culture, its Sonoran ties, and its natural beauty, while also embracing smarter growth.

I don’t romanticize poverty, and I don’t ignore the real challenges Tucson faces. But I know what it feels like to walk through Barrio Viejo, smell mesquite smoke, hear music on a porch, and feel like I’m home. I know what it’s like to live in a city where culture isn’t something imported — it’s in the soil, in the air, in the everyday.

That’s why I care, and that’s why I compare it to Pittsburgh. Tucson has the raw ingredients of a great city. If it can grow smarter, denser, and more connected, maybe one day I’ll move back;  not just to visit, but to stay.

Copyright © 2025 Ryan Badertscher. All rights reserved.