Surprise, Arizona

The city of Surprise is the 6th fastest growing city in Arizona with a population of over 102,000 residents. It began as just one square mile with a gas station and several houses. In 1938 the land was subdivided into parcels to be developed as low income housing for local workers. It stayed a small, sleepy town for many years, and has only experienced this unprecedented growth over the last 30 years. In the last couple of years a number of local businesses and community based organizations have been involved in a revitalization initiative in the original, historic square mile of Surprise. In developing our Communities for All Ages team, we aim to strengthen the alliances already developed by organizations and businesses participating in this revitalization effort.

Our Communities for all Ages team, a cross sector, intergenerational group of community residents, local institutions, community groups and policy makers has worked very intentionally to bring youth on board as meaningful members of the coalition. This included working with local schools and colleges to help us successfully identify strong youth leaders for the team. To date, our team surveyed a broad range of community residents aged 14-75 on local community issues and community change practices. After the information gathering process we held a town hall style visioning meeting town to identify the vital components in creating a strong and viable community.