[McBane]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Phoenix's "core" is very small, roughly 4 square miles. The easiest approximation of the core is zip codes 85003 and 85004. These zip codes include some areas, especially to the south of downtown, that most would consider outside the core, but it's close enough. Those two zip codes have a population of ~14,000. If you wanted to expand the core to include Midtown, you would include zip codes 85012 and 85013; the total area would increase to roughly 10 square miles, and the population would be up to 40,000.

So based on either definition, it's a pretty pitiful density of 3,500 - 4,000 people per square mile. That said, those are 2010 numbers. I expect those numbers to significantly increase in the 2020 census--the true "core" zip codes of 85003 and 85004 will probably double.

This seems off. Four square miles for a central core seems huge, even for a sprawly city like Phoenix. And 10 square miles? This definition does not seem to align with common understandings of a city's central core.