South Side Story: Urban Changes in South Phoenix

[ifuckingfarted]

Stupid ass bitch is retarted ass fuck I grew up on 24 street and baseline actually 24th St and Winston Dr. and my whole family is from South Phoenix Esta buta esta benche RETARDANDO LOL stop with the racism jajaja BUTA i'm all South Side Bitches and Im white Fuck this retarded narrator with her fear mongering BULL SHIT!!

[PatriotAr15]

By the way, when those people told you that South Phoenix was "not safe"... IT WASN'T! You *WERE* statistically more likely to be murdered in South Phoenix, more than other areas.

South Phoenix has gotten better, to the point that it is one of the safest areas of Phoenix... and now the "most dangerous area" is Marryvale.

[PatriotAr15]

By the way, as a FLUENT Spanish speaker, and a Spaniard by descent... Your pitiful attempt at spanish sent chills down my spine in utter disgust.

Seriously, quit the "Waaahh poor disadvantaged people, who commit crime". Revitalization is the best thing that could have happened to South Phoenix... Displacement? Sounds like a lot of criminals were displaced, seeing as now South Phoenix is actually safer than some of the more traditionally-considered "affluent" Communities.

[PatriotAr15]

I have to admit, South Phoenix has definitely improved. But I'm sick of people insinuating that people who don't want to live in a ghetto, with gang-bangers living as next-door neighbors... is a "racist".

I'd rather have a White collar black man, who owns AR15 rifles, but goes to work for L3 Communications in Glendale, or for Intel, over some poor white, gang-banger who "pretends he's black" and all into the gang-banger culture.

[BluePooSonic]

Bravo

[SSPHOENIQUERA1]

Like your story, breaking boundaries! :)

[chamba84]

I used to live in South Phoenix until late 2010, its nice out there now is not as bad as it the video makes it seem, now MaryVale its a different story, maryvale is the new south phoenix if you catch my drift.

[endless5]

so... did she ever move to southside or what?

[turdferguson9725]

South Phoenix is ok in some areas. Although some others look like something out of district 9. I did have some mexicans make a pistol gesture towards me and say something about "that white boy".

The only thing good about south Phoenix is the Phoenix rod and gun club. :)

[firebird960]

u should do a video about maryvale

[crumblingcookiesful]

heard of "Da Hood"? O.o you stupid?

[jazzbo13]

It's not safe because of the diversity. What a third world dump.

[vipadrian]

Ponchos :)

[757Lilman]

Nigga same shit goes on in those cities. For example detroit. They dont have as big of a population as phoenix and they have 400 to 500 murders a year. Phoenix has 220 to 260 murders a year. So i wouldnt be sayin phoenix is worse the detroit or cleveland.

[smash8979]

South Phoenix is A WALK IN THE PARK.. compared to Detroit or Cleveland. You kids don't know ghetto! :D

[spetsnazGRU]

@smash8979 you dont understand i live on South mountain ave and Central i hear gunshots all the time, i heard one two nights ago in the ally, its these VHHS and 19th ave fools blastin on each other

[JosephMontag]

@smash8979 you guys are in a different hood with different niggas niggas down here mob hella deep and they will fuck you up

[Rayamana7x]

@smash8979 your probly a white kid who lives in montana haha :P but nah fereals if u think Phoenix aint bad and u think if u go over there nd talk shit that nothing is gonna happen then by all means u go ahead nd try it ur self. i live here i know what its like. every place has real gangsters sum more than others. but South Phoenix got a shit ton of them

[smash8979]

@Rayamana7x lol! I am white, and i'm not really a kid anymore.. 31.. lol. I don't go into any neighborhood and talk shit to people.. i show people the same amount of respect, wherever I go..

except when I'm in like.. gilbert.. I bitch about the white mormons. hahaha

[MesaZona480]

go home u white people AZ all day fuck u haterz if ur not from a ARizOna hood then shut ur fucken mouth dont say u know the hood or ur gonna get shoot AZ stand up fuck these white people!! im from WEst side MEsa but got love for all of AZ!!

[fngirls]

@MesaZona480 well im white but i love AZ, so do i gota shut my mouth? an i get along with mexicans great haha

[sparknight70]

Whats the first song?

[itbcoupe]

Loved you Video... South Phoenix is a great place i grew up there thats my home town

[agent5250]

now it just sucks to much traffic on baseline road to many houses that block the view of downtown PHX crime has gone up in the laveen area drop house in that area as well no more farm land that means no more rain you say it was good you are WRONG IT WAS A BAD IDEA REALLY BAD IDEA THEY FIND DEAD PEOPLE ON THE GILARIVER INDINA REZ AND ALL IN THE NAME OF URBAN CHANGE...!!!!!!!!!!!! > ( i LOVED IT WHEN NOONE CAME HERE

[Joshy51112]

i never go there for any reason. is ghetto u cud drive thru there and get yr windows shot at.

[myarizonabones]

im from south phoenix it has nothing to do with being racist it has to do with people walking down the street and getting shot in the face over a dime bag. getting your car stolen when you just run inside to get your backpack. and south phoenix also has a lot of women like you koptiuch, who dont know like they think they do and get raped and killed. you should look into the baseline rapist whos from south phoenix. and maybe look up the names of the cops that get killed there

[tika427]

Atleast someone is reaching out to the community instead of turning their noses up at the people and being racist. I think it's a good thing you're doing (I'm Afro-American and grew up in the projects)

[frostycookiepk]

with all do respect, south pheonix, is a shit hole, in mesa, i meen its one thang, but south pheonix is like......hell

[Tippet76]

Maybe they told you not to go there because its a piece of shit community where somebody gets killed almost everyday.

[ezekielg1989]

@Tippet76 She is a liberal who thinks that every opinion ever spouted by someone white and middle class is that driven by racism and bigotry. If you ask me, she is the real bigot... Everyone knows South Phoenix is not that safe. It's a fact, and has nothing to do with being poor, black, hispanic, or whatever the hell kind of person you want to label! I wonder if she is still full of hatred and blind ignorance as she was three years ago when she posted this video...

[Tippet76]

@ezekielg1989 She probably still has the same ideas. She said that she made the video in 2003 and she just posted it in 2007. So if she had the same feelings for 4 years they are pretty deeply rooted.

[RachelRachellll]

well done! i wouldnt go to south phoenix and i live in another ghetto of phoenix; sunnyslope

[mucho111calore]

thank you for the posting

[koptiuch]

Aww, be kind--it was my first movie ever, using FinalCut Pro, and I did it in two days with no chance to make changes. I'm not a professional movie maker, just a hack; but I am a professional anthropologist, not a hippie! (I'm wondering what makes you think I'm a hippie?)

[ezekielg1989]

@koptiuch What makes you a hippie is the fact that you assume people say South Phoenix is not safe because they are secretly racist. I thought I was going to take something away from your video, but all I heard was ignorance in the first minute. You're right, South Phoenix has a lot of culture. Your starting-point for the video, however, totally detracted from any valid points you were trying to make. People don't want to listen to someone who assumes they are racist because they are white.

[atreveteaz]

All the fun is in Arizona?! Did you happen to stop by Phoenix?! There is this great extreme ride - the Zero Gravity! Man, it's super fun! I've tried all rides but this one is great for fitness and fun at the same time. Try searching the ATREVETEINC and see some videos- see how your jaw will drop by merely watching - what more in actual?!

[repenphx]

good points i grew up there in south central when i was 5-11 i lived der prettg long time its was ghetto i used to get into fignts alot i missed it but i moved to west phoenix over is kool too but not ghetto like over i only got into 2 fights here......i dont claim west or south cuz i grew up both ...i claim PHOENIX im loyal to my city dont care how much L.A ppl talk shit how its better jus cuz its famous

[JDMOZART1]

I STILL LIVE IN THE SOUTH'CENTRAL!!! PEOPLE WHO LIVE DOWN HERE, THEY UNDERSTAND HOW WE GET DOWN HERE BABY!!! SUNLAND ELEMENTARY, CESAR CHAVEZ HIGH SKOO, SOUTH POINTE!!! Cheeaa!!! I LOVE THE SOUTH!! -JD

[all4dapaper11]

this lady is a shithead, lmao, well c how badly she likes south phoenix when she gets robbed over there

[videogamerobot123]

Hmmm I volunteered to clean up alleys of south phoenix and found a 50.cal armor piercing bullet shell O_o

[602MrAZ]

hell yeah south phoenix is da bomb good work lady i live by that botaz juarez

[tac602]

Hell yeah ponchoz!! dat shyts da bomb

[tac602]

hell yeah south side phx

[desterrrrrrrr]

i live in South Phoenix and this place sucks ... I wanna move to chandler or awatukee , some place nice ... oh im also hispanic but i dont really like hispanics lol

[jrlvnlife2009]

Move to Gilbert!!!  It's great.

[daviddpb75]

Thank You! I miss the orange groves and fields of flowers, the cotton and and canals. The clear blue of a crisp March morning and the spring green or snow on South Mountain. The dust blowing over the Sierra Estrellas and even the wildfires at night. Those are the Mountains of my home. Keep your progressive urban sprawl all i have are memories.

[beanershot2007]

i grew up south phoenix as a kid and it wasnt as bad as every one is talkin about. i made some good friends down here and had my share of fun times but i also didnt live in the heart of the "ghetto" so there was crime but not like killings everyday like people point it out to be. its changed alot tho. it was changing while i was young. its alot safer now. i miss phx

[poophyphy4]

yo i was born nd raised nd south central nd i bet that the worst place to ever live nd the US

i lived in juarez mexico for a while nd ima tell u guys now dont ever even drive through it people get shot by the cartel mafia jus because ur walkin across the street

but now i stay in phx nd i love it cuz there some drama but it doesnt get to crazy

[johnnycoupedeville1]

It's fun talking about things you apparently know nothing about isn't it

[spetsnazGRU]

As someone who grew up on 24th and southern...i will say, anyone who moves here with thier babys...kiss them and know them well...becuase they are gonna get the streets shakeup. No shit. South Phoenix is as bad as it sounds. you havnt been where i been

[fdxboy]

I wish someone would have warned me not to move to South Phoenix. I would have listened!!! Biggest mistake of my life!!!!

[pinksk8ter19]

uhh.. you dont have a very good music/voice ratio going for you in this vid... i think the music was too loud :/ but good vid tho!

[jjsmead]

A great project you have put together. I was born and raised in Phoenix (Glendale). Every area of our state has good and bad, you just have to set the bad aside and continue to look for the good. The shop owners in South Phoenix are some of kindest people you will ever meet or talk to, and you can learn so much from thier stories. Good job on this piece.

[chvipergts]

16th st and southern...nice area..lol

[gearedtowardssalad]

For how big it is, Phoenix is the most boring place on earth.

[muaythaistud12]

hahaha i know right there aint shit to do here exept work sleep and drive around

[gearedtowardssalad]

Ya Phoenix sucks. Probably the worst downtown of any major city too. Drive downtown at midnight on a Saturday night and no one will be down there. Tempe, on the other hand, is somewhat decent. I think there's more culture there than Phoenix.

[muaythaistud12]

i know man i wish i lived closer to tempe there definatly is more stuff to do there

[iamababy19]

yes it might be full of culture but south phoenix and all other slums have higher crime rates and illegal rates than any other part of the cities. The people there wish to live in neighborhoods like arrowhead and desert ridge just like we would all like to live in Beverley Hills. No normal person would wanna live in the slum. We all want the very best in everything.

[tobar1p]

Man, there is nothing wrong with South Phoenix. There are a lot worse parts of town.

[curlykidz]

I'm a pretty normal person, and I want to live here. there may be a lot of crime, but there's more culture and community in South Phoenix than Arcadia, Arrowhead or Scottsdale... and I lived in both those neighborhoods, too.

[itb222]

thanks for posting this. i'm sick of minority neighborhoods being known just for crime.

[getgus]

A-Wax living in the projects.

[krews12]

i got robbed twice in one holloween night i got hit with a fence pole and they took my money, earings, jacket, and my shoes i stay at 27th avenue and vanburen

[qzetu]

I work in phx 16st the south side is really cleaned up you have those ghetto's but wow its cleaned up back in the day south side was seriously bad

[navajoe091n23o]

i live south mountain ave

and it heaven and the weed and guns it everywhere it nice high all the time

vist it if ur look for drugs and guns

[oingofan]

Great Peggy Hill impersonation at 1:53. Mike Judge would be proud!!!

[jettercat]

I believe you read into their words a bit too much. They just meant "It's not safe"... trust me. Have you been OUT of south PHX?

Here's a hint for ya... the entire city is diverse.

You managed to make your bogus racist point by the first minute of the vid. Nice job.

[jettercat]

Ok, I've watched twice. You've packed so much in here, that it's easy to misunderstand a few things, but I must retract the attitude of my first post, if I may. I come from the midwest, where there is -true- racism. There are parts of Milwaukee that I wouldn't survive a block at high noon, yet I feel safe to walk -any- street in Phoenix, and yes, even at night. I've found the people and experiences to be purely magical. NOW, I understand your first minute. Glad I took the time to watch twice.TBC

[jettercat]

Before I go, I must say... great video, altogether. Favorited for sure. Take care!

[PhxSix0Two]

any street? Your kidding right?

[jettercat]

Or avenue.

Why would I be kidding?

[JReyes123]

i got to agree with you i dont feel that nervousness walking in the south side streets of phx like i did in south central los angeles

[firemanstud1981]

This is soooo funny. Illegal mexicans come in the country a SOVEREIGN nation (the USA) come in illegally pledge loyalty not to the USA but to mexico and complain when "gentrification" is happening (whites moving in)!!!! Can someone say hypocrites?

[firemanstud1981]

mgonzales- Thanks. This "community" bullshit is just that---bullshit. Blacks stay with blacks, whites stay with whites, latinos with latinos and so on istead of latinos living by blacks who live by whites who live by asians. BTW I am NOT saying that just because someone is of mexican heritage they are illegal. My aunt is not mexican but she immigrated here from Peru legally so thats why I am involved in the immigration issue. I can not believe the hate that comes from BOTH sides of the issue.

[firemanstud1981]

Nice to hear man. U are a true patriot serving and standing up for your country. Peace and stay safe.

[vatorat88]

West PHX Rules 83rd and Indian School RD

[joeschickenshack]

south phoenix fuckin sucks I've been here my whole life and I'm white.So what lady you want a fucking cookie because you were "brave" enough to move to the south side?fuck off and die and for fuck sake learn how to say prohibido....ready pdo ee bee tho..you sound like a fuckin retard!

[dg123dcanime]

south phoenix also home to the biggest suburban area in the country, not the city the country. and I hear you on chicago. I know alot about that place. my girl is from that place, in I have always been interested on going there.

[blueplanetdrive2]

oo yall call that bad huu look pretty shity too me, phx really aint got no hoods its all a bunch of lame ass mexicans an rich ass white ppl, see i come from chicago were we have puerto ricans, dominicans,cubens,a huge black population,sum mexicans, an a good amount of whites. if u want to see sum real latino culture type in humbolt park an u will see, chicagos were its at!

[dg123dcanime]

not really all of PHX is an hispanic in white base there is only a few black neighborhoods in thats on the southside trust me I went to south mountian 27% black isnt really black. if you go to Atlanta the city itself is 70 % black 4,000,000 ppl leaving the fact that majority of all schools are black. PHX aint got black ppl nowhere really except in exception of few neighborhoods on broadway, and roeser roads in park south, and mills ave. thats it though. westside sucks phx really sux really

[marissa08224]

man fuck tha west side sur phx is where its at

[VanDam08]

Man South PHX is full of Black mother Fuckers.

West PHX is were all the real Hispanics are at.

[mgonzales420]

fuck the wack side, SXS PHX

[VanDam08]

man fuck your shit side

[aznativethug]

phoenix is known for many things: bad politicians, an asshole sherrif, crime, extreme heat, bad cops, and having a lot of different cultures. native americans, latinos, and blacks have a large population in phoenix. i'm very proud of being from phoenix and i'll live here all my life.

[jahermos]

Greetings from East LA... My mother is moving to South Phoenix, so I thought I'd do a little youtube "research" on the neighborhood. Seems awfully familiar! Including the gentrification issue.

[jahermos]

Greetings from East LA... My mother is moving to South Phoenix, so I thought I'd do a little youtube "research" on the neighborhood. Seems awfully familiar! Including the gentrification issue.

[firemanstud1981]

And what is wrong with gentrification?  Its change--things change.

[Diehard2k0]

I've been living here in South Phoenix for about 3 years now. I'm pretty close to 19'th ave and Southern. When i first moved here, the area was CRAP. It cleaned up a little over the past few years, but now it's starting to fall apart again. One of the people that lived a few houses down, from what i have been told, was just shot in the head on sunday (3-23-08).

[jsphmerc]

I like this video..I've never lived in South Phoenix, but an ex girlfriend of mine used to live there and I frequented the area alot because of it, I tell you, for someone who's been all over Phoenix,it was like passing through another world.. it was really a strong cultural area. It's admirable, as is this video. Good job.

[BEAR1ER]

i gotta story.. that is completly retarded.. any way.. my grandma owned some homes out there and she rented a house to those people that started the Poor brothers potatoe chip company.. and when my mom moved to phoenix we moved in that house when they moved out... yup those are good potatoe chips

[jsphmerc]

Naw that was interesting.. yeah the Poore Brothers chips are the only ones I'll eat. They're somewhere over in Goodyear now, right on the border of Avondale I think is where their factory or headquarters or whatever is.

[mz602phoenix13rider]

wat year did u do this vid?

[koptiuch]

As I note at the end of the About This Video comments, I made this digital story in June 2003. Some of the footage and images date from 2001.

[ezekielg1989]

@koptiuch It's a shame that you automatically assumed "not safe" meant "too black, too mexican, and too poor"... It's a real shame. I'm astonished that this is how you saw what was said, and not for what it is. I had lived in Phoenix my whole life, and when I used to live in South Phoenix I *SAW* for myself how rampant crime was... I heard gunshots, been approached by gang members telling me I was "sporting the wrong color in the wrong hood", been asked if I "bang" (i.e. in a gang)...

[ezekielg1989]

@koptiuch It's unfortunate that people such as yourself view things through the lens of skin color. When a "white middle-class" person says something, it is shameful that you automatically dismiss it as silent racism. South Phoenix is not safe compared to some other parts of the city. Maybe you should do your research, and listen to the experience of the residents. Maybe one day, your ignorance will go away... I can only hope so, so that you stop spreading hatefulness.

[petion2010]

@ezekielg1989 I'm black, not African American and I don't live anywhere near Arizona, to make matters clear. However, it's funny when college educated socio-liberal white middle class try to sugarcoat urban problem in mainly minority neighborhood. The reality is that I happen to believe that government handouts and central planning to be the main reasons for creating those socio-economic problems. When government "helps" it creates dependencies, poverty, hopelessness on generation scale.

[petion2010]

@ezekielg1989 This lady think that "white" people who told her to avoid South Phoenix are racist, well, I don't anything about Phoenix. But let me tell you something, there're areas right here in New York and the surrounding areas that I would never even consider to move. There're others that I don't drive through specially at night. Not everyone in those places are criminals, but I know that the risk of being harm is greater than other place. And that's not racism, it's common sense safety