Surprisingly, the biggest municipal park in the U.S. is not New York’s Central Park. Rather, it is Phoenix’s South Mountain Park, which happens to also be at the top of the list of the largest urban parks in North America.

Many of the Valley’s gated master planned communities are built where cotton once grew. Subdivisions have sprouted up on farmland in all directions. Areas that were once rural are now home to a more diverse population, who enjoy amenities that were previously out of their budget.